It’s fascinating to track The Beatles‘ songwriting tendencies as they progressed through the 1960s. In particular, the leap that they made from their earliest albums to their mid-period work on masterpieces like Rubber Soul and Revolver is nothing short of staggering.
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They were growing fast as artists and young men, and their experiences became more complex and less innocent as they matured. That kind of transformation plays into “You Won’t See Me,” Paul McCartney’s somewhat prickly look at the frustration of a one-sided romantic relationship.
The Singer and the Actress
Paul McCartney dated British actress Jane Asher for a long stretch during The Beatles’ heyday in the mid-‘60s. He actually lived for a while at the Asher family home, where he also became close with Asher’s brother Peter, who became a pop star in his own right as a part of the duo Peter & Gordon. McCartney and Jane Asher also moved into their own home together at one point.
The conflicting career demands of a major rock star and an in-demand actress sometimes kept the pair apart from each other. And, if you listen to some of McCartney’s music from the mid-‘60s, you can hear him writing about the tumult in the relationship.
In fact, on Rubber Soul (from 1965) alone, not only did “You Won’t See Me” refer to a squabble between McCartney and Asher, but “I’m Looking Through You” did as well. That’s not to say there were only rocky times in that coupling. After all, McCartney wrote “Here, There and Everywhere,” one of the finest love songs of all time, as a tribute to her.
Because the music of “You Won’t See Me” is so bouncy and sunny, thanks to a Motown-inspired bass line from McCartney and some playful falsetto backing vocals from John Lennon and George Harrison, it doesn’t feel like all that downbeat of a song. But a closer inspection of the lyrics reveals a relationship that wasn’t, at least at that moment, firing on all cylinders.
A Closer Look at the Lyrics to “You Won’t See Me”
“You Won’t See Me” benefits from Paul McCartney’s commitment to making sure each line is tight in how the words fit the meter. That allows those lyrics to deliver an even greater impact, in that none are wasted. Which is important to the narrator, because time, especially time spent with the one he loves, is precious to him.
When I call you up, your line’s engaged, McCartney begins. You might find it a bit nasty when he tells this girl to act your age, but there’s an honesty to that line that makes it feel true to the hurtful things sometimes said when a couple argues. The issue: We have lost the time / That was so hard to find.
He knows that there isn’t a lot he can do to change the situation if he can’t speak to her: But I can’t get through, my hands are tied. You can sense his hurt at what he feels is her neglect of his feelings: But I get turned away / And you won’t see me. Granted, this is a one-sided take, but it has to be since his whole point is that she’s not there to try and work it out with him.
In the bridge, McCartney adds a little bit of sarcasm to get his point across: Time after time, you refuse to even listen / I wouldn’t mind if I knew what I was missing. The final verse reveals tear-filled days and a deep desperation creeping up in him: And I just can’t go on / If you won’t see me.
Whether that last line is an idle threat to break things off with the girl doesn’t matter. What matters is he expresses himself about his displeasure so things don’t get to that point. “You Won’t See Me” finds Paul McCartney, aka the “Nice Beatle,” unafraid to get downright confrontational when it comes to matters of the heart.
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