Question: How wise is it to create an alternate version of a Beatles song?

Answer: Not very wise at all.

So the idea of doing a cover of Lennon and McCartney’s absolutely fabulous song, She’s Leaving Home, was met with some trepidation by yours truly. You can’t improve upon those guys; you can only do it differently. Joe Cocker had some success with Beatles covers because his whiskey voice was so different than John and Paul’s. There have been a rare few covers that have been successful, but “rare” is the operative word here.

Many elements on our end seemed right, however. The dramatic idea of a little brother singing this song about his older sister struck both Noah and me as an interesting way to further dramatize the song. His voice and the quality of his acting raised the hopes of speculation. And then, of course, the classical nature of the song thrust me into a more classical approach to the orchestration.

What we ended up with, I believe, is valid. Valid, because it’s different. We’re not in any way trying to improve upon the Beatles. Only a fool would try to do that. That would be like the modern equivalent of trying to improve Mr. Beethoven.

So we approached the song more theatrically. Julia Wade and I played the parents of a daughter who runs away from home one morning and Noah, her little brother, watches it all go down.

Noah was great at living the moment. He has an older sister whom he adores. It would not be a great stretch of the actor’s imagination. I think he nailed it. Hope you agree.

She’s Leaving Home

Music and Lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Italics = The parents

Wednesday morning at five o’clock

As the day begins

Silently closing her bedroom door

Leaving the note that she hoped would say more

She goes downstairs to the kitchen

Clutching her handkerchief

Quietly turning the backdoor key

Stepping outside she is free

 

She

We gave her most of our lives

Is leaving

Sacrificed most of our lives

Home

We gave her everything money could buy

She’s leaving home

After living alone

For so many years

Bye, bye

 

Father snores as his wife gets in

To her dressing gown

Picks up the letter that’s lying there

Standing alone at the top of the stairs

She breaks down

And cries to her husband

“Daddy, our baby’s gone”

“Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly

How could she do this to me?”

 

She

We never thought of ourselves

Is leaving

Never a thought for ourselves

Home

We’ve struggled hard all our lives to get by

She’s leaving home

After living alone

For so many years

She’s leaving home

Bye, bye

 

Friday morning at nine o’clock

She is far away

Waiting to keep the appointment she made

Meeting a man from the motor trade

 

She

What did we do that was wrong

Is leaving

We didn’t know it was wrong

Home

Fun is the one thing that money can’t buy

Something inside

That was always denied

For so many years

She’s leaving home

Bye, bye

Bye bye

Bye, bye