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I'm a Loser

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"I'm a Loser"
Song by The Beatles
Album Beatles for Sale
Released 4 December 1964
Recorded 14 August 1964,
EMI Studios, London
Genre Folk rock, country rock
Length 2:31
Label EMI, Parlophone, Capitol
Writer Lennon/McCartney
Producer George Martin
Beatles for Sale track listing
'I'm A Loser' is me in my Dyland period, because the word 'clown' is in it. I objected to the word 'clown', because that was always artsy-fartsy, but Dylan had used it so I thought it was all right, and it rhymed with whatever I was doing. Part of me suspects I'm a loser, and part of me thinks I'm God Almighty.

—John Lennon, The Beatles Anthology, p.160, 2000

Most of my good songs are in the first person. 'In My Life', 'I'm A Loser, 'Help!', 'Strawberry Fields' — they're all personal records. I always wrote about me when I could.

—John Lennon, The Beatles Anthology, p.197, 2000

I'd started thinking about my own emotions. I don't know when exactly it started, like 'I'm A Loser' or 'Hide Your Love Away', those kind of things. Instead of projecting myself into a situation, I would try to express what I felt about myself, which I'd done in my books. I think it was Dylan who helped me realise that — not by any discussion or anything, but by hearing his work.

—John Lennon, Rolling Stone Interview, RS74, 4 Feb 1971

Looking back on it, I think songs like 'I'm a Loser' and 'Nowhere Man' were John's cries for help. We used to listen to quite a lot of country and western songs and they are all about sadness and 'I lost my truck' so it was quite acceptable to sing 'I'm a loser'. You didn't really think about it at the time, it's only later you think, God! I think it was pretty brave of John. 'I'm A Loser' was very much John's song and there may have been a dabble or two from me.

—Paul McCartney, Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 1994

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