"Paul and I were staying somewhere and he walked in and hummed the first few bars, with the words...and he says, "Where do I go from here?" I had been listening to Nina Simone--I think it was "I put a Spell On You." There was a line in it that went... "I love you, I love you, I love you." That's what made me think of the middle eight for "Michelle": 'I love you, I love you, I l-o-ove you.'"
-John Lennon, Playboy
Michelle is song by The Beatles, credited Lennon/McCartney. It appeared on the Rubber Soul album and one of the few Beatles songs that includes French lyrics.
Recording
November 3, 1965, 2:30-11:30 pm-The afternoon was spent filling four tracks with the rhythm track. Then, this was mixed down onto three tracks so they could fill the fourth track with overdubbed vocals and guitar. Occasional EMI tape operator Jerry Boys, on listening to playback of the song as they were working on it that night, said: "I stood there quite spellbound. It sounded lovely. George [Martin] asked me what I thought of the Beatles singing a song with French lyrics and I got the impression that with me being a young chap he was sounding me out, perhaps because they weren't too sure themselves. I said it sounded very pleasant, which it certainly did!"*
November 9, 1965- Mono mixing (unused) and stereo mixing.
November 15, 1965- Mono mixing.
*The Beatles Reocrding Sessions
Translation
| FRENCH | ENGLISH |
| "Michelle, Ma Belle." |
"Michelle, My Beautiful." |
| "Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble." | "These are words that go together well." |
Credits
- Paul McCartney - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (Epiphone Texan), Bass Guitar (Rickenbacker 4001S)
- John Lennon - Rhythm Guitar (Classical), Backing Vocals
- George Harrison - 12-String Guitar (Framus Hootenanny), Lead Guitar (1962 Gibson J-160E), Backing Vocals
- Ringo Starr - Drums