Beatles – I’ll Cry Instead

“I’ve got a chip on my shoulder that’s bigger than my feet”…you didn’t see lines like this in early pop songs very much. The song was the A Hard Day’s Night album released in 1964. The song was going to be in the film but it got replaced by Can’t Buy Me, Love. “I wrote that for ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ but Dick Lester didn’t even want it,” John explained, “He resurrected ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ for that sequence instead.”

The song did get released as a single in the US in 1964 and peaked at #25 in the Billboard 100.

John Lennon on the Dylan influence – “I’d started thinking about my own emotions,”  “Instead of projecting myself into a situation, I would try to express what I felt about myself, which I’d done in my books. I think it was Dylan who helped me realize that – not by any discussion or anything, but by hearing his work.”

Cynthia Lennon said this: “It reflects the frustration he [John Lennon] felt at that time. He was the idol of millions, but the freedom and fun of the early days had gone.”

I’ll Cry Instead

I’ve got every reason on earth to be mad
‘Cause I just lost the only girl I had
If I could get my way
I’d get myself locked up today
But I can’t, so I’ll cry instead

I’ve got a chip on my shoulder that’s bigger that my feet
I can’t talk to people that I meet
If I could see you now
I’d try to make you sad somehow
But I can’t, so I’ll cry instead

Don’t want to cry when there’s people there
I get shy when they start to stare
I’m gonna hide myself away
But I’ll come back again someday

And when you do you’d better hide all the girls
I’m gonna break their hearts all round the world
Yes, I’m gonna break them in two
And show you what your lovin’ man can do
Until then I’ll cry instead

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

28 thoughts on “Beatles – I’ll Cry Instead”

  1. So Dylan inspired him to be more introspective by processing his emotions? What do you glean from that quote Bad, because I’ve read it several times and I’m not quite sure. As you alluded to their lyrics were becoming more brazen, if you could call it that.

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    1. From what I got out of it…him and Paul were just making up stories as songs instead of how they actually felt about things.
      John started to write true things…like how he felt at the time…at a time when pop songs were just made up stories about other imaginary people.
      BTW…I’ll be by your site soon…I’m way behind checking blogs.

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    1. I always liked the line “I got a chip on my shoulder that’s bigger than my feet”…I don’t know why but it just sticks with me…and it’s a Beatles song that is not worn out.

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  4. Love this song! I was hooked from the opening line.

    There is a lot of truth to this song, and I think that’s what makes it so good.

    Anyone who has been through a break up has felt the things John sings about in this song. There is that helpless feeling where you feel like doing and saying so much, but you can’t – so you cry. The last verse reflects exactly what someone hurting would feel – “I’ll be back…and when I do, I’m gonna be a heartbreaker, too” But until then, I’ll cry instead.

    Such a short song, yet a powerful one.

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    1. Personally…I like it better than the big hit it was replaced by on A Hard Days Night film…Can’t Buy Me Love…you know me well enough to know I’m a huge Beatles fan but Can’t Buy Me Love just never clicked with me as much as others.

      I totally agree with you…he has that bravado thing going and then he tells the truth.

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      1. The Beatles Channel on SiriusXM did a countdown all weekend of the Top 100 Beatles songs as picked by listeners. I caught bits and pieces of it. I have a book at home with Beatles songs in it, and have been meaning to blog about them for some time. Soon, I am guessing. Getting ready to follow up on your Dwight Yoakam post with one of my own for Tune Tuesday here in a few…

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      2. I’ve been listening to Dwight lately also…
        With the Beatles it depends on my mood lol on which goes on top…but I think that A Day In The Life is probably considered their best.

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      3. I believe that was #1 this time around.

        I tend to favor early Beatles stuff, but their later years really had some great songs too. Some of the experimental stuff I really have to be in the mood to listen to.

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      4. I Am The Walrus does take a certain mood. Iike the middle part a lot also. I liked how they changed their sound through the years yet you still knew who they were

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      2. This one helped lyric wise… this was the first that Lennon started to write about himself. I like the country feel that is in it.

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    1. LOL…
      Oh this weekend I watched Sling Blade….I’m writing about it tomorrow. It was better than I remembered. Man I feel so much for that character…
      I know where you live you have known people like the characters in that movie…I sure have.

      How is that for off topic?

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      1. I’ve encountered just about all of those characters at some point across four states…except one. I have never met anyone like J. T. Walsh’s character. And, I don’t want to. 😳

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      2. Yea he was creepy….or if you did encounter him you didn’t know. He talked freely in there…
        I had forgotten how good that movie was… I saw an interview with Dwight and he said his mom told him she was glad he got killed in the movie lol…
        The sad part is thinking about after the movie ends. After Karl takes care of the problem…would Linda probably get in a same releationship with someone else? I’m not cutting women either…men do the same thing. It’s a cycle that is not always broken.

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      3. You are probably right. And, they can just keep on walkin’. 👹

        Dwight was a good actor. He was also the bad guy in Panic Room. His SB character deserved to get whacked. But, I just love him esp. after our Italian buddy’s story.

        Nah. Her son would have prevented that. And, cleaning up body parts from your living room would tend to change you…a bit. 😉😁

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      4. I loved that story… uh Dwight we know…
        I haven’t seen Panic Room in forever…
        You would hope that cleaning up brains would have that effect.

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