Things We Said Today

When Paul McCartney was vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands in May 1964, he sat down with an acoustic guitar and wrote Things We Said Today. The atmosphere of the place inspired him to compose new songs in the afternoons. On this trip, which he shared with his partner, actress Jane Asher, and also with Ringo Starr and Maureen Cox, they rented a yacht called *Happy Days*. They spent their time fishing, swimming, and listening to music. McCartney described the song as a "future nostalgia," a way of feeling melancholy about the present while projecting forward. The lyrics speak of a love that endures despite distance, and the music accompanies this feeling with shifts between major and minor keys, and alternating verb tenses and grammatical persons in the verses and chorus.

The recording of Things We Said Today took place at EMI, in London, on June 2nd and 3rd, 1964. The recording engineers were Geoff Emerick, along with Ken Scott and Norman Smith, under the production of George Martin. This piece, with a duration of 2:36, was released in July 1964 as the B-side of the single A Hard Day's Night, and also formed part of the album of the same name, except in North America, where it appeared on the record Something New. The track uses chord progressions that move away from the usual in pop music, approaching those of classical music and jazz. It has been noted that its musical style is more akin to the compositions of John Lennon, and its atmosphere has even been compared to that of the song I'll Be Back. Some critics interpreted the lyrics as a reflection of the difficulties in McCartney's relationship with Asher, influenced by their respective careers.