“Misery” is a McCartney-Lennon Beatles song released in 1963 on Please Please Me. John Lennon and Paul McCartney share the lead vocal, giving it a punchy, almost call-and-response feel that suits the song’s brisk pace.
It is also an early milestone for the band as songwriters. A 1963 single by Kenny Lynch made “Misery” the first Beatles song to be covered by another artist, right as the Beatles were breaking nationally in early 1963.
Key Facts
- Album: Please Please Me (track 2)
- Release Date: 22 March 1963 (UK). First US album release featuring the track: 10 January 1964 (Introducing… The Beatles)
- Recorded: 11 February 1963 (basic track). 20 February 1963 (piano overdub)
- BBC Recording (Official Release): 6 March 1963 (recorded). 12 March 1963 (broadcast on “Here We Go”)
- Studio: EMI Studios, London (Studio Two for the basic track; Studio One for the piano overdub)
- Genre: Pop rock
- Track Duration: 1:47 (album). 1:50 (BBC version)
- Record Label: Parlophone
- Songwriters: McCartney-Lennon (as credited on Please Please Me)
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Norman Smith
Performers And Instruments
- John Lennon: lead vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney: lead vocal, bass guitar
- George Harrison: lead guitar
- Ringo Starr: drums
- George Martin: piano
Where To Find “Misery”
- Please Please Me (the 1963 studio master)
- Introducing… The Beatles (first US album appearance)
- On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2 (BBC performance, recorded 1963)
Misery: Background
“Misery” began as a practical assignment. While The Beatles were touring with Helen Shapiro in January 1963, Norrie Paramor, her producer and A&R man, wanted possible material for a country-and-western project. Lennon and McCartney started the song backstage at King’s Hall in Stoke-on-Trent on 26 January 1963, then completed it at Paul McCartney’s family home, 20 Forthlin Road, Liverpool.
Paramor turned the song down, but the Beatles kept it. When they needed strong originals for their debut LP, they reshaped the song into a tight two-voice performance that sits perfectly near the start of Please Please Me.
Kenny Lynch Connection
Kenny Lynch, who was also on the Helen Shapiro tour, recorded “Misery” for HMV and released it in March 1963. That made it the first Beatles song covered by another artist, even though Lynch’s version did not chart. The timing is the interesting part: another singer had already put out a Lennon-McCartney song before Please Please Me reached the shops.
Lyrics And Arrangement
For a song called “Misery”, it moves fast. Lennon and McCartney share the vocal and lean into simple, direct lines (“The world is treating me bad”) that sound like young heartbreak rather than adult tragedy. The brisk tempo stops it turning maudlin, and it makes the hook land in under two minutes.
George Martin’s piano part is the detail that lifts the master take. The short, descending runs act like punctuation between vocal lines, and they help separate “Misery” from the more straight-ahead guitar-driven tracks recorded the same day.
Recording At EMI Studios
The Beatles recorded the basic track for “Misery” during the famous 11 February 1963 marathon session for Please Please Me, completing 11 takes. George Martin added the piano overdub on 20 February. The technical trick is worth explaining clearly: the backing track had been recorded at 30 ips, then slowed for Martin’s piano overdub, so the piano returned brighter and higher when played back at normal speed.
McCartney later described the writing bluntly as a job rather than an inspired breakthrough. That matters because “Misery” shows Lennon and McCartney already functioning as professional songwriters: writing to order, adapting quickly, and then keeping the song when it suited their own debut album.
One extra early-catalogue detail is worth keeping: the original Please Please Me release credited Lennon-McCartney songs as “McCartney-Lennon”. The credit order changed to the more familiar “Lennon-McCartney” from With The Beatles onwards.
Take A Listen
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Sources And References
- The Beatles – Official “Misery” song page.
- The Beatles – On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2 page.
- The Paul McCartney Project – Songwriting, recording, and BBC details.
- 45cat – Kenny Lynch “Misery” single details.
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