EPISODE · Aug 23, 2025 · 36 MIN
And I Love Her - Lecture Series 57 (bonus)
from The Beatles: Note By Note
In this episode of the Lecture Series, Kenyon unpacks the quiet power and tonal ambiguity of Paul McCartney’s “And I Love Her.” He traces how even the song’s title hints at emotional complexity—why not just “I Love Her”? With lyrical imagery like “the kiss my lover brings,” Paul paints love as something distant, mysterious, even cosmic. Kenyon highlights the unusual harmony and modal drift that blur the line between C♯ minor and E major, calling into question where the tonal center really lies. He explores George’s classical guitar solo, a pastiche of glissandos, pull-offs, and triplets, and argues that the surprise modulation into a completely foreign key at the end of the song mirrors the feeling of getting lost in space—an echo of the song’s emotional ambiguity. With Paul in full romantic mode, this track still carries a sense of unresolved tension beneath the surface.Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeriesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
In this episode of the Lecture Series, Kenyon unpacks the quiet power and tonal ambiguity of Paul McCartney’s “And I Love Her.” He traces how even the song’s title hints at emotional complexity—why not just “I Love Her”? With lyrical imagery like “the kiss my lover brings,” Paul paints love as something distant, mysterious, even cosmic. Kenyon highlights the unusual harmony and modal drift that blur the line between C♯ minor and E major, calling into question where the tonal center really lies. He explores George’s classical guitar solo, a pastiche of glissandos, pull-offs, and triplets, and argues that the surprise modulation into a completely foreign key at the end of the song mirrors the feeling of getting lost in space—an echo of the song’s emotional ambiguity. With Paul in full romantic mode, this track still carries a sense of unresolved tension beneath the surface.Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeriesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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And I Love Her - Lecture Series 57 (bonus)
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