John Bayless started playing the piano when he was four, receiving lessons from his mother. She taught him the standard teaching methods and music including Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov, and Gershwin. As soon as he was old enough, he says, he was drawn to the piano whenever he had heard or emotionally experienced anything, and expressed these impressions by improvising.
One of his primary influences was the movies. His town on the West Texas Plains, Borger, Texas was typical for its time, with a drive-in movie where the family went every Friday "regardless of rain, dust storms, tornadoes, whatever," as he recalls. Along with the chili-cheese hamburgers, doughnuts, and popcorn, he ingested the music of film scores and was soon rushing over the piano afterwards to recreate the music of Mancini, Rota, Steiner, Rozsa, Herrmann, and Williams.
He won a scholarship to the Aspen School of Music at fifteen, and at seventeen went to Juilliard in New York to study piano with Adele Marcus. She recognized his unusual ability at improvisation (an art long in decline among classical musicians) and encouraged it. He was invited to participate as a composer in New York University's Masters Degree Musical Theatre Program, studying with Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green.
His first recording, "Happy Birthday Bach," was released in 1985 on the Pro Arte label. He has primarily recorded on Angel. His "Bach Meets the Beatles" and its follow-up, "Bach on Abbey Road" were hits, the first of them being one of Billboard's Top Ten crossover albums of the 1980s. "The Puccini Album ‹ Arias for Piano" was at the top of the classical crossover chart for eighteen weeks. Other hits have been a set of variations on songs from Bernstein's West Side Story and a set of classical film scores.
Bayless tours widely, playing around fifty concerts a year. He frequently appears at Pops concerts, and since the mid-1990s also appears often in Europe. As a composer, he has been commissioned to write for the Newport Music Festival, the University of Maryland International Piano Competition, and the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, the latter for a score to a film about its Lila Acheson Wallace Exhibition of 20th Century American Art.
A Hard Day's Night
John Bayless Lyrics
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It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
You know I work all day to get you money to buy you things
And it's worth it just to hear you say you're going to give me everything
So why on earth should I moan, 'cause when I get you alone
When I'm home everything seems to be right
When I'm home feeling you holding me tight, tight
It's been a hard day's night, and I been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright, ow
So why on earth should I moan, 'cause when I get you alone
You know I feel OK
When I'm home everything seems to be right
When I'm home feeling you holding me tight, tight
It's been a hard day's night, and I been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
You know I feel alright
You know I feel alright
"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the Beatles that reflects the band's hectic life during their touring years. The song opens up with the line "It's been a hard day's night, and I been working like a dog," which refers to the exhausting schedule that the band had to endure during their tours. John Lennon, who wrote the song, seems to be lamenting about how tired he is after performing and traveling all day, but adds that he can find solace in the fact that he has a significant other to come home to. The chorus of the song emphasizes this by saying that "when I get home to you, I find the things that you do will make me feel alright."
The verse "You know I work all day to get you money to buy you things, and it's worth it just to hear you say you're going to give me everything" sheds light on the financial struggles that the Beatles had faced during their early years. They worked tirelessly, trying to earn enough money to support themselves and their families. The second verse also highlights the tense relationship between John and his lover: "So why on earth should I moan, 'cause when I get you alone, you know I feel OK." The song notes how even though their relationship may be fraught with issues and the artist could be physically and mentally exhausted, his love for his partner is what makes everything right in his world.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a hard day's night, and I been working like a dog
I've had a tough day, putting in long hours at work with little rest or time off.
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
After such a long day I should be able to sleep soundly and without disturbance.
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
However, when I come home to you, I feel comforted and at ease. Your actions make me feel good and calm.
You know I work all day to get you money to buy you things
My job revolves around earning money to provide for you and purchase material items.
And it's worth it just to hear you say you're going to give me everything
The satisfaction of hearing you say that you'll reciprocate what I give you makes the hard work worth it.
So why on earth should I moan, 'cause when I get you alone
You know I feel OK
I don't see why I should complain when I get to be with you and feel content in your presence.
When I'm home everything seems to be right
Being in the comfort of my own home with you makes everything feel okay and normal again.
When I'm home feeling you holding me tight, tight
The physical act of you holding me tightly brings a sense of security which puts me at ease.
You know I feel alright, ow
Knowing that I have you and the comfort of my home makes me feel content and relaxed.
You know I feel alright
The reassurance that I have you and a sense of familiarity in my home environment brings me emotional comfort and stability.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind