"Help!"

Song: "Help!"
Album: Help! (1965)

“Help” was the title song to the Beatles’ tenth North American album (and fifth British LP), released as a single (B-sided by “I’m Down) on July 19 and 23 in the U.S. and U.K., respectively. It was also the title song to the Beatles’ second film, which was released in London 47 years ago yesterday, followed by the release of the full LP on August 6.

The song was primarily composed by Lennon, credited to Lennon-McCartney. Lennon said that it was one of his favorite songs that he wrote with the Beatles, and, along with “Strawberry Fields Forever,” was his most honest and personal. He revealed that the song was a meditation on the Beatles’ meteoric rise to fame, and the sense of “helplessness” that came with it. He did, however, wish he had recorded the song at a slower tempo.

Writer Ian MacDonald called it the “first crack in [John’s] protective shell,” and an important entry in John's canon and influence on his composing style.