The Beatles had to choose a name for their second feature film while hammering out the specifics. After A Hard Day’s Night established a standard for absurd mispronunciations, the title Eight Arms To Hold You was considered but ultimately rejected due to its fundamental notion of introducing a Hindu cult. When The Beatles released their most recent single, “Eight Days a Week,” which epitomized their unstoppable catchiness, that title quickly lost all meaning.
John Lennon told Hit Parader in 1972, “I think we wrote this when we were trying to write the title song for Help! because there was at one time the thought of calling the film Eight Arms To Hold You“. But for Lennon, expansive art was proving too time-consuming to pursue. The movie and the song were just boxes to be checked off on The Beatles’ hectic schedule.
“Aid! as a movie was similar to “Eight Days a Week” in terms of our record. The public well-received both the movie and the record. However, neither was what we desired because we knew they weren’t truly us, as Lennon was later cited in the book Anthology. Although our close friends were aware that the photo and “Eight Days” weren’t our best, we weren’t ashamed of the movie. They both seemed a little forced.
Lennon was not above criticizing some of his Beatles compositions. Lennon rejected several songs over the years, including “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “Good Morning, Good Morning.” Though the band’s simpler early years were sometimes viewed through rose-colored glasses, Lennon was more pleased with the song that would eventually become Help’s official title.
The working title for the project was ‘Eight Days A Week’ before Help! developed. Paul was trying to get a single for the film, Lennon said to David Sheff in 1980. Fortunately, that changed to ‘Help!’ I wrote it exactly like that and instantly got the single. The song “Eight Days A Week” was never good. We had a hard time recording it and turning it into a song. Although it was his first attempt, I believe we both contributed to it. I’m not certain. But it was still terrible.
Paul McCartney, on the other hand, always seemed to enjoy “Eight Days a Week.” While The Beatles never played the song live in their last years as a touring act, McCartney brought it back. He performed it for the first few stops of his 2013 “Out There” tour. McCartney wrote the song quickly, inspired by a comment made by his driver on his way to see Lennon.
McCartney recollected in Anthology, “I remember writing that with John, at his place in Weybridge, from something said by the chauffeur who drove me out there.” John had relocated to the suburbs of London. Normally, I drive myself there, but that day, the chauffeur took me there, and I asked, “How are you doing?” “Oh, working hard, working eight days a week,” he remarked.
This immediately inspired McCartney, as he was constantly searching for wordplay with a hint of similarity. “This guy just said ‘eight days a week” I exclaimed when I got to John’s house because I had never heard anyone use that phrase. John responded, “That’s right—’Ooh, I need your love, babe.‘” McCartney continued.
“We wrote quickly every time. We would scribble right away. I would go there hoping to find some kind of inspiration; either John would give it to me, or I would hear someone else say it.
The formulaic way of writing what they knew was becoming stilted. Especially since the band was looking to move into spiritualism and arrangements with more scope to match. The song is significant to the band because it captures a turning point in their career. Having perfected their craft, they were afraid that things had become too easy and had become shallow. So, before “Eight Days a Week,” there was The Beatles, and then there was the band that came after.
Check out ‘Eight Days a Week’ down below.
