You’re Going To Lose that Girl is another song from the excellent side one of the Help! album (I also covered The Night Before and Another Girl in the last few days). It was mainly written by John Lennon who takes the lead vocal, but likely includes important contributions from Paul McCartney.

The Beatles Bible

Co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney at the former’s home in Weybridge, ‘You’re Going To Lose That Girl’ was recorded three days before The Beatles left England to film Help! in the Bahamas.

Continue reading on Beatles Bible →

Wikipedia

"You're Going to Lose That Girl"[nb 1] is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album and film Help! Credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership, the song was mostly written by John Lennon with contributions from Pa…

Continue reading on Wikipedia →

The song stands out for its strong backing vocal arrangement – a girl-group-like call-and-response pattern which overlaps the lead vocal running through straight through the verse and chorus, and then moving to three-part harmony in the bridge section.

Lennon also delivers a typically strong doubled lead vocal with excellent falsetto. When John, Paul and George are working together the Beatles vocals are so infectious, it’s hard not to join in. It’s such an important element of their signature sound. I think I might make a separate list of the Beatles’ greatest vocal arrangements and this might well be in the top ten.

The lyrics are pretty original too. Like She Loves You, it’s a bystander’s view of another relationship, but this time with an imaginative twist. The protagonist is advising his friend, but it’s a not entirely benevolent warning: if you continue neglect her I am going to make a point of taking her away from you.

You’re Going To Lose That Girl is a classic Beatles pop song that has several of the hallmarks of their best work even though it is “only an album track”. It’s only in the middle of the ranking and that because, even though I love a well-crafted pop song, I love a song with deeper and more heartfelt lyrics even more. While the vocals are fantastic, other elements of the arrangement are not quite as appealing – the guitar solo, the frantic bongos and the piano (apparently not quite in tune with the guitars) are additions that slightly detract from its strengths in my view.