Do You Want To Know A Secret
Lennon/McCartney

 

Lyrics:
You never know how much I really love you
You'll never know how much I really care

Listen, do you want to know a secret
Do you promise not to tell, woh, woh, woh
Closer, let me whisper in your ear

Say the words you long to hear
I'm in love with you, oo

Listen, do you want to know a secret
Do you promise not to tell, woh, woh, woh
Closer, let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you long to hear
I'm in love with you, oo

I've known a secret for a week or two
Nobody knows just we two

Listen, do you want to know a secret
Do you promise not to tell, woh, woh, woh
Closer, let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you long to hear
I'm in love with you, oo, oo
Availability:
Please Please Me
Introducing The Beatles
The Early Beatles
 

Lead Singer: George

Recording: 2/11/63, 3/6/63 (BBC), 3/21/63 (BBC), 4/1/63 (BBC), 5/21/63 (BBC), 5/24/63 (BBC), 7/10/63 (BBC)
Mixing: 2/25/63
Length: 1:55
Take: 8

What Goes On? Anomalies

0:39
George sings wrong note and quickly corrects it on the first "oo-oo-oo"
0:43
Lead vocal quality seems to change here, as if a new take or drop in here.
1:09
George sings "I've known a secret for the week or two" as opposed to the more sensible "the secret for a"
1:11, also 1:49-end
Bass plays wrong notes here.
1:29
"Do you promise not to tell, adh (doo-dah-doo)" Was George about to sing "A Doo Dah Doo" by mistake?
1:50
Reported as a bass trombone note, there is one very bad buzzy note in the guitar here.
 

Notes:

Throughout their careers, John and Paul would of course sing their own songs. Before Geogre began to write, and in order to give George and Ringo original songs to sing, they began wriitng for them. This is one of those songs.Upon The Beatles return from their thirteen-week engagement in Hamburg, and about the same time that Paul broke up with Dot, Cynthia discovered that she was pregnant. To do the traditional thing, she and John Lennon were married on August 23, 1962. Written by Lennon, the theme of this song is to Cynthia, whereby John realized that he did truly love Cynthia - this being the secret. But, the musical inspiration for the song came from the Walt Disney 1937 film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In one of the scenes, Snow White is singing to the doves, saying, "Wanna know a secret? Promise not to tell? We are standing by a wishing well." Although written from John to Cynthia, Lennon decided to give it to George to sing because as Lennon said, "it only had three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world." This song was also offered to and recorded by Billy J. Kramer and his group "the Dakotas." His version went on to become a Number 2 hit in England, and was the first time a Beatles' song by another artist had made the Hit Parade.

 

© 1963 Northern Songs. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
Six BBC broadcasts: 3/12/63 on Here We Go, 3/28/63 on On The Scene, 4/22/63 on Side By Side, 5/25/63 on Saturday Club, 6/4/63 on Pop Goes The Beatles and 7/30/63 on Pop Goes The Beatles.