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I'll Follow the Sun (WORD)
I'll Follow the Sun (PDF)
You can play along with the video in GCEA tuning!
"I'll Follow the Sun" was released in 1964 on the Beatles for Sale album in the United Kingdom and on Beatles '65 in the United States, but was written long before that year: a version recorded in 1960 can be found on the bootleg record You Might As Well Call Us the Quarrymen. When asked about the lyrics, McCartney would say: "I wrote that in my front parlour in Forthlin Road. I was about 16. I'll Follow The Sun was one of those very early ones. I seem to remember writing it just after I'd had the flu and I had that cigarette. I remember standing in the parlour, with my guitar, looking out through the lace curtains of the window, and writing that one."
A rough home recording of the song exists on bootleg, believed to date from around Spring 1960. By the time the band recorded the song for their fourth LP in late 1964, the rhythm had changed from a rockabilly shuffle to a gentle cha-cha. Ringo Starr kept the beat by smacking his palms on his knees. McCartney said of the song, "The next [single] had to always be different. We didn't want to fall into the Supremes trap where they all sounded similar, so we were always keen on having varied instrumentation. Ringo couldn't keep changing his drum kit, but he could change his snare, tap a cardboard box or slap his knees."(Wikipedia)