In My Life
"In My Life" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It first appeared on the Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul.
While the lyrics were indisputably written by Lennon, it is not clear who wrote the music. While Lennon claimed in 1980 that McCartney's contribution was limited to helping out with the "middle eight" or bridge section of the song, McCartney claimed in 1984 to have set Lennon's lyrics to music from beginning to end. Paul has said he composed the melody inspired on the Miracles' Tears of a Clown. "In My Life" features a Baroque-styled piano solo played by Beatles producer George Martin; because Martin's technique on the piano could not match the tempo of the song, the solo was recorded at half-tempo and the tape speed was doubled for the final recording, giving the piano solo a unique timbre.
There have been a number of covers including those by Judy Collins, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ozzy Osbourne and Johnny Cash. A cover by Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk was used as the theme for the NBC show, Providence. Dave Matthews played the song during a tribute show honoring John Lennon.
George Martin would later borrow the song title for an album of various artists covering Beatles songs. In the tribute song, Sean Connery narrates the lyrics with minimal support from Martin's piano.
"In My Life" was ranked # 23 on Rolling Stone's article "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and was placed second on CBC's 50 Tracks.
During George Harrison's 1974 US tour, the band played a version of the song that was drastically slower than the Rubber Soul version.
It was also the name of a Broadway musical.