Classic rock bands were full of surprises. Paul McCartney revealed there’s a big connection between The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Interestingly, one of those songs became a huge smash in the United States while the other wasn’t even released as a single.
Ringo Starr gave us The Beatles’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’
During a 2020 interview with Uncut, Paul was asked if he hoped flashes of genius would appear. “Yes, that’s something I’m very grateful for in life,” he said. “So much of what I’ve done, I didn’t particularly set out to do! Somebody might say something, I picked up on it and then we ran with it. A lot of what The Beatles did was like that.
“Ringo might say, ‘It’s been a hard day’s night’ or ‘Tomorrow never knows’ and me and John would go, ‘What?!! Write that down! What a great title!’” he said. “So much of what happens arrives out of the blue. One of the things about The Beatles is that we noticed those accidents. We loved them and grabbed them.”
The songs highlighted the talents of The Beatles
Paul discussed his artistic process. “So often in your life you think, ‘Oh, I daren’t do this. Oh no, I can’t do that. I shouldn’t do this because it’ll have this effect. I shouldn’t, I shouldn’t, I shouldn’t,’” he said. “Then you suddenly think, ‘It’s allowed.’ And you do it and it’s great.”
The fact that Paul was willing to use the happy accidents that came out of Ringo’s mouth as a basis for his songs shows Paul was willing to think outside the box. This anecdote also shows that Ringo was quite the lyricist, even when he didn’t intend to write lyrics! In addition, it’s amazing “A Hard Day’s Night” or “Tomorrow Never Knows” are connected, since those two songs represent the range of The Beatles’ artistry.
How ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ performed in the United States
“A Hard Day’s Night” became a massive hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and staying on the chart for 13 weeks. The tune appeared on the album of the same title. A Hard Day’s Night was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks and remained on the chart for 56 weeks. “A Hard Day’s Night” remains one of th band’s most acclaimed rock songs, partly because of its complex opening chord.
On the other hand, “Tomorrow Never Knows” didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100 because it wasn’t a single. The track appeared on The White Album. That record was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for nine weeks and stayed on the chart for 215 weeks. While “Tomorrow Never Knows” was not a hit single, it had a huge influence on both psychedelia and raga rock, a subgenre influenced by Indian classical music.
“A Hard Day’s Night” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” are very different but they came from the same talented minds.
