About This Track
“What You’re Doing” is a song written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney), one of eight originals of fourteen songs on the 1964 album Beatles for Sale by the group; it also appeared on the 1965 American release Beatles VI.
The song begins, uncommonly for the band, with a drum intro. It is followed by a guitar sequence used throughout the song as an ostinato figure after each verse (providing the song with a sense of unity). The atmosphere of the song is heavily syncopated, lending it a loose, jazzy feel. The influence of Buddy Holly can be felt in the song as well.
According to Richie Unterberger, the performance includes a “chiming 12-string guitar that sounds uncannily like the kind of sounds that became identified with the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, although ‘What You’re Doing’ was recorded in late 1964, about six months before the Byrds became famous with ‘Mr. Tambourine Man.’”
The song lacks a chorus, so the verses become the melodic focus of the song. In the first half of the verse, the ostinato figure continues to play and the first word of each line is punctuated by exclamatory background vocals. The second half of each verse is harmonized with “oohs,” and the ostinato figure begins before the last line finishes. The overlapping of the ostinato figure contributes to the slightly disordered feel of the song. Each verse ends with a repetition of the title phrase:
Look, what you’re doing
I’m feeling blue and lonely
Would it be too much to ask of you
What you’re doing to me
The overall effect is tense—a tightly arranged song performed very loosely—suiting the lyrical matter of confronting a lover over a crumbling relationship.
The song begins, uncommonly for the band, with a drum intro. It is followed by a guitar sequence used throughout the song as an ostinato figure after each verse (providing the song with a sense of unity). The atmosphere of the song is heavily syncopated, lending it a loose, jazzy feel. The influence of Buddy Holly can be felt in the song as well.
According to Richie Unterberger, the performance includes a “chiming 12-string guitar that sounds uncannily like the kind of sounds that became identified with the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, although ‘What You’re Doing’ was recorded in late 1964, about six months before the Byrds became famous with ‘Mr. Tambourine Man.’”
The song lacks a chorus, so the verses become the melodic focus of the song. In the first half of the verse, the ostinato figure continues to play and the first word of each line is punctuated by exclamatory background vocals. The second half of each verse is harmonized with “oohs,” and the ostinato figure begins before the last line finishes. The overlapping of the ostinato figure contributes to the slightly disordered feel of the song. Each verse ends with a repetition of the title phrase:
Look, what you’re doing
I’m feeling blue and lonely
Would it be too much to ask of you
What you’re doing to me
The overall effect is tense—a tightly arranged song performed very loosely—suiting the lyrical matter of confronting a lover over a crumbling relationship.
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Albums featuring this track
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A Hard Day's Night
The Beatles
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Beatles for Sale
The Beatles Buy- Download Album
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- iTunes $12.99
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- Amazon $14.99
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Beatles VI
The Beatles Buy- Download Album
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Beatles for Sale - Rubber Soul
The Beatles Buy- Download Album
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Shouts
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hellcatshalala wrote:
I love this song, but I think Beatles for Sale is their weakest album. But I'm talking about The Beatles, so is an amazing album anyway.
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Lackie_Chan wrote:
This is from Beatles for Sale not A Hard Day's Night
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JJJ567 wrote:
Sounds like a preview of Help/Rubber Soul. Beatles For Sale is such an underrated album.
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lesliedahlink wrote:
Aaahhh! I love George's 12-string Rickenbacker. Beautiful!
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mugshot_tim wrote:
I wish last.fm would do something about the gross errors regarding the wrong track listing for Beatles albums.. totally fecks up my scrobbles.
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atomicpanda325 wrote:
That riff!
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tigs5959 wrote:
one of my favorite songs of all time also my txt tone
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DrBlur wrote:
Another great and underrated tune from the end of Beatles for Sale
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Gregreen wrote:
so good
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shinohiro929 wrote:
kinda underrated isn't it
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tigs6969 wrote:
most underrated beatles song imo and my fave
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RadioheadOasis wrote:
This song is before the Byrds. Yeah.... the story goes that when The Byrds went on a group homage to see "A Hard Day's Night", McGuinn saw George playing his Rick 12-string, .... and afterwards, he immediately traded in his acoustic 12-string for an electric. Jangle Pop really got jumpstarted because of the Beatles influence on the Byrds.
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BillyShears87 wrote:
I LOVE PAUL'S VOICE IN THIS SONG [2]
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seriouslyso wrote:
I LOVE PAUL'S VOICE IN THIS SONG.
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Dead-Since-1973 wrote:
<3 the intro so much.
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spacefaceinfurs wrote:
nice!
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Manolito91 wrote:
one of their best, even better than many of their classics
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pablo_cerve wrote:
One of their best
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Bolshevized wrote:
Only 20 shouts, huh? This is definitely one of their best early songs.
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lihei wrote:
One of my favs and best song on Beatles for Sale. Love the remastered version.
Track Stats
516,524 Scrobbles
138,292 Listeners
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Recent Activity
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skypoems, MrMxy, tparks9243 and 20 other people loved The Beatles – What You're Doing. 14 hours ago
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LastPh3nom tagged The Beatles – What You're Doing with sad, beautiful, romantic and 43 other tags. 14 days ago
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ruinedtwo, F_Hole, stoptheworld- and 10 other people loved The Beatles – What You're Doing. 15 days ago
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ellesheartsongs added What You're Doing to the playlist John, Paul, George & Ringo. last month
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HayPS, JuanCarloFerraz, daniel-metal and 8 other people loved The Beatles – What You're Doing. last month
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Shoplifter1 added What You're Doing to the playlist 2000 Favorite Songs. last month
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