Some Other Guy


"Some Other Guy" is a rhythm and blues song, written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Richie Barrett. First released as a single in 1962 by Barrett, it featured an electric piano, then an unusual sound in pop music. Covered shortly afterwards by Liverpool's the Big Three, the song was a standard in the Merseybeat scene.

The Beatles

The song was part of the Beatles' early repertoire, and film footage of The Beatles performing it live is the only known film with synchronized sound showing the group at the Cavern Club. The grainy footage features John Lennon and Paul McCartney singing the song's melody in 1962. It is also the first film of Ringo Starr as the Beatles drummer, Pete Best having been terminated the week before. At the end of the song, someone in the audience can be heard shouting "We want Pete!" This footage was featured on Anthology, while a BBC live version was released on the album Live at the BBC in 1994.
McCartney stated: "It is a great song... It really got us started because that's one of the earliest bits of film of The Beatles. It was the song we sang when Granada Television came to the Cavern. It was also a bit of a muso song..." The Beatles play it in the key of D, with a slow A-C-D intro and second interval I-♭VII-I on every tonic. The "muso song" reference may relate to it being early example of a rock & roll song topped and tailed by a ♭VII-I cadence.
Pete Best released a cover on his 1965 album, Best of The Beatles. Best's version and The Beatles's version are similar in sound and structure.

Misheard lyrics

Neither Richie Barrett's original nor The Big Three's cover have crystal clear lyrics, and this has led to mishearings. The Beatles altered the lyrics or sang misheard words that were not Richie's original lyrics, and even though the Fab Four's words make little or no sense, their amended lyrics have stuck and have been used in subsequent covers. Barrett's original lyrics chime in with the bitter anger and sadness of a guy who has lost his girlfriend, whereas the incorrect lyrics miss the point altogether. The affected lines are as follows:
Verse 1, line 3: Some other guy, now, I just don't want to hold my hand should be Some other guy, now, has just thrown water on my fire;.
Verse 2, line 1: Some other guy, now, is sippin' up the honey like a yellow dog should be Some other guy, is tippin' up behind me like a yellow dog;.
Verse 2, line 2: Some other guy, now, has taken my love just like I'm gone should be Some other guy, has taken our love just like a hog;.
Verse 3, line 2: Some other guy, now, is making my past seem oh so bad should be Some other guy now, is breaking the padlock off my pad.
In a short documentary film with a John Lennon voiceover, all three co-writers of "Some Other Guy" discuss the song. Barrett confirms his original lyrics, saying, "I put the part to it that made the story... stealing my girl... stepping away... pouring water on my fire... taking her love... just like a hog... taking her love just like a dog, like a yellow dog. A situation with a guy in Harlem going through trials and tribulations with his girlfriend".
In the three-part TV series Cilla featuring Sheridan Smith playing Cilla Black, Smith sings the song as "Some Other Girl", but otherwise her lyrics are the Barrett originals. Smith also starts singing the line "Some other girl, now, is sipping up the honey like a yellow dog", but the scene is cut before the line is completed. She sings the line, "is breaking the padlock off my pad" three times.

Other recorded versions

The song was popular in Liverpool's Merseybeat scene. The song was covered by numerous artistes, as follows: