Don't Bother Me

Don't Bother Me is the first song written by George Harrison to appear on an album by English rock group The Beatles. The upbeat rock and roll song originally appeared on the group's With The Beatles album in the UK, released in 1963, and on their Meet The Beatles! album in the U.S., released in 1964.

Composition
George Harrison wrote the song while sick in bed at a hotel room in Bournemouth, England, where the Beatles were playing some shows during the summer of 1963. He considered it an exercise in whether he could write a song, later saying, "at least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing, and then maybe eventually I would write something good." Harrison received a writing credit for two earlier songs, "In Spite of All the Danger" (McCartney/Harrison) and "Cry for a Shadow" (Harrison/Lennon). Both were recorded by the Beatles but neither was released officially by the band until 1995's Anthology 1 compilation. Because the former was largely a McCartney composition (Harrison received a credit simply for playing the guitar solo) and the latter was an instrumental pastiche of the Shadows, "Don Bother Me" is considered Harrison's first song by most (including the composer himself).

After "Don't Bother Me", it was not until 1965's Help! album that another Harrison-penned song ("I Need You" and "You Like Me Too Much") would appear on record. "You Know What to Do" was recorded in 1964, but was not released at the time.

Musical structure
The sullen mood and desolate lyrics - "So go away, leave me alone, don't bother me" - were unusual for the Beatles at the time but would become characteristic for Harrison. The song mostly stays in a minor key (Em), with a in a i-IV-i Dorian alternation during the chorus: the Em of "since she's gone" shifting to a v (Bm chord) on "gone" then an iv (A minor chord) on "no-one" makes the verse an Aeolian (or natural minor) mode, and an interior guitar part during the verse plays and F natural, briefly referencing and E Phrygian mode. The chords of the chorus (Em-A-Em) also create the Dorian progression i-IV-i. The song achieves a thick sound through it double-tracked vocal, reverbed guitars, and busy drumming. The elaborate percussion lends the song a Latin rhythm accentuated by its stop-time structure.

On some late-1970's Canadian stereo pressings of Meet the Beatles!, an alternate version of the song with an extra "don't" sung at 2:08 is included in a place of the standard stereo version

Recording
They recorded the song on September 11-12, 1963. They were satisfied with the version recorded on the eleventh and did a remake on the twelfth. Just a few days after the recording was completed, Harrison became the first member of the Beatles to travel to the US when he visited his sister in Benton, Illinois.

Appearances
"Don't Bother Me" is one of several songs featured in A Hard Day's Night, during the scene where the Beatles dance at a nightclub while McCartney's grandfather gambles elsewhere. At the end of the film, it is erroneously noted as a Lennon-McCartney composition rather than a Harrison composition.

The song is performed in the 1979 biopic motion picture Birth of the Beatles, showing it was performed in Hamburg but so was not the case.

British singer Gregory Phillips released a version of "Don't Bother Me" as his third single. Though unsuccessful this was the first cover version of a Harrison composition.

Argentinian musician Luis Alberto Spinetta released a version of "Don't Bother Me" on his live album Obras En Vivo (2002)

British singer/songwriter Kamila Thompson released a version of "Don't Bother Me" as the last track on her debut album Love Lies (2011).

Personnel

 * George Harrison - double-tracked lead vocal, lead guitar (1962 Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman), Rhythm guitar (1962 Gibson J-160E)
 * John Lennon – rhythm guitar (1958 Rickenbacker 325), tambourine
 * Paul McCartney – bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1), claves
 * Ringo Starr – drums, bongos
 * George Martin – producer
 * Norman Smith – engineer
 * Personnel per Ian MacDonald