'One After 909' could be well the
oldest Lennon and McCartney song ever to be recorded by the
Beatles. It was one of 'over a hundred songs' which they
often talked about having written before recording 'Love Me
Do' and goes back to that time together at Forthlin
Road.
The Beatles first recorded 'One
After 909' in March 1963 during the same session which
produced 'From Me To You' but George Martin was so
unimpressed with it that it had never been released. It was
an attempt by John, in 1957, to write an American railroad
song, after skiffle hits such as 'Last Train To San
Fernando' by John Duncan, 'Cumberland Gap' and 'Rock Island
Land' by the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group.
"We used to sag play truant off
school, go back to my house and the two of us would write,"
Paul recalled. "There are a lot of songs from back then that
we've never reckoned on because they're all very
unsophisticated songs... We hated the words to 'One After
909'."
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