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Mary McCaslin — Things We Said Today
Album: Old Friends
Avg rating:
7.1

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1833









Released: 1977
Length: 2:54
Plays (last 30 days): 1
You say you will love me
If I have to go
You'll be thinking of me
Somehow I will know
Someday when I'm lonely
Wishing you weren't so far away
Then I will remember
Things we said today
You say you'll be mine, girl
Till the end of time
These days such a kind girl
Seems so hard to find
Someday when we're dreaming
Deep in love, not a lot to say
Then we will remember
Things we said today
Me, I'm just the lucky kind
Love to hear you say that love is luck
And though we may be blind
Love is here to stay and that's enough
To make you mine, girl
Be the only one
Love me all the time, girl
We'll go on and on
Someday when we're dreaming
Deep in love, not a lot to say
Then we will remember
Things we said today
Me, I'm just the lucky kind
Love to hear you say that love is luck
Though we may be blind
Love is here to stay and that's enough
To make you mine, girl
Be the only one
Love me all the time, girl
We'll go on and on
Someday when we're dreaming
Deep in love, not a lot to say
Then we will remember
Things we said today
Comments (182)add comment
I love hearing this song and being reminded of Mary. She had a radio show on KZSC (UC Santa Cruz’s campus station), and when I was a student there I had the show right before hers one summer. We’d have a few minutes to talk in the studio between our shows, and she was always kind and funny.
RIP Mary.
Sorry, to me it's a failure, it loses the swing and the right speed.
This is super. I gave it a ten and wished I could add to that!
Wow I had no idea this is from 1977! It sounds so current.
did the gals from first aid kit listen to mary's music?
A great album
For me a great lyric well performed. I don't have to be reminded of anything. I recognize it instantly!
 AndyJ wrote:

Song lyrics and poetry are affective dependent upon the person, their history, their situation and their hopes.

Writers never really know how their message will be received. Some songs arrive just as the writer meant. Others arrive at times melancholy, wistful, joyous and sad... Words are symbols that carry thoughts but are never as specific as we wished... or maybe they are.   If we could convey our pure thoughts, with history, emotions, hopes and feelings, would we-?   Are we ready to share that much of ourelf-?

Are we ready to accept that much of another-?  Can we trust another and are we really that trustworthy-?   Complete trust and honesty with another-?   It seems childish fantasy. Age and experience have taught that betrayal of confidence is cheap and easy.  

I have always loved this song for the hope it carries.   I also liked "Words of Love" that was the B-side of "8 Days A Week" way-back-when.

We spend a lot of our life seeking another we can trust and so often fail their self-same test of us.   Going through life lonely and alone is our biggest motivator. We say and do so much to avoid being alone. We will say, do, surrender anything for love, isn't that just another way of saying trust and companionship...?  


Very well articulated post. I simply must point out though...there are some, myself an example, that have just accepted being alone. Our every breath is pre-destined. That being said, if it is written for me to be joined unto another, it is only as our Creator has seen fit to happen. I accept this. God bless. ✌

Her 'Last Cannonball' is also great.
 southpaw wrote:

Thanks for the shot of Mary. It will prompt me to pull out the vinyl I have of hers.

She at one time lived up Highway 1 in Cambria. 20 minutes from where I'm writing this. Not sure where she is now or if she still performs? Anyone know? Looks like her website last update was 2013. 



Sadly this answers some of your questions (and her website now appears to be offline):

Fundraiser Offers Support to Santa Cruz Folk Scene's Mary McCaslin (goodtimes.sc)
just moved this up to 8. beautifully simple. 
I miss the particular harmony between John and Paul. This version is fine, but that Beatles harmony made this song even more poignant. 
Cover songs are only truly inspired when they take a distinctly different approach to the original - they really transform it into something conceptually different than what it started from.  A different tone, and different feel, to a song that was probably very strong in concept to begin with.  That's not easy to do.  

Great covers do not simply sing the same notes and play the music in roughly the same manner.  Yes, the vocalists and performers are inherently different (they're different people), but there needs to be more than that.  Otherwise, the cover will never stand on its own and is merely mimicry.

Examples of great covers: 
Pretty Woman - Van Halen
Ziggy Stardust - Bauhaus
China Girl - David Bowie
The absolute best rendition of ... just maybe... the Beatles' best track. Nope not kidding.
A fine cover of a great song. I think Sir Paul would approve. 
moved from a 7 to an 8....so nice. 
Excellent song by Mary
So nice to hear Mary.s voice again. Thank you RP
 bodyschool wrote:
Still would prefer to hear the Fab Four for this pretty little song.
 
Oddly, I think I heard the original here yesterday.  She does some cool, unexpected covers.
 southpaw wrote:
Thanks for the shot of Mary. It will prompt me to pull out the vinyl I have of hers.

She at one time lived up Highway 1 in Cambria. 20 minutes from where I'm writing this. Not sure where she is now or if she still performs? Anyone know? Looks like her website last update was 2013. 
 
Mary has lived in the Santa Cruz area for quite a while -- at least 25 years or so. 
Still would prefer to hear the Fab Four for this pretty little song.
Thank you! I hadn't heard this song in years
 WonderLizard wrote:

This is a good one, tho' I'm partial to 801's "Tomorrow Never Knows" and Gomez's "Fixing a Hole." Anyone else remember Matthews Southern Comfort's version of "Hide Your Love Away?"


 
No. but I do remember a version of HYLA by The Silky, late 60's maybe that charted. Kinda Muzak like but it still got airplay. Carpenters Ticket to Ride?  I used to think Beatle music was locked into the only way it should never be. I've grown some since then. I now think of the original artist performance as a source, not an ending. Look at Revolution, which is the original and which is the "cover" version? Which is "better"?  Or watch the film Across The Universe.

 southpaw wrote:
Thanks for the shot of Mary. It will prompt me to pull out the vinyl I have of hers.

She at one time lived up Highway 1 in Cambria. 20 minutes from where I'm writing this. Not sure where she is now or if she still performs? Anyone know? Looks like her website last update was 2013. 

 
I wonder when she lived in Cambria?  I lived there in the 70's.... and still spend a lot of time on the Central Coast.  
This is what I love about RP. Never heard of Mary McCaslin before this moment. Love this version of "Things We Said Today."
Thanks for the shot of Mary. It will prompt me to pull out the vinyl I have of hers.

She at one time lived up Highway 1 in Cambria. 20 minutes from where I'm writing this. Not sure where she is now or if she still performs? Anyone know? Looks like her website last update was 2013. 
Does anyone else think it curious that the posted lyrics say "girl" when she sings "babe"?
 wierdsley wrote:
Sorry to be tardy but I had password issues. 
I love this version of the Beatles "things we said today". When I play the song on guitar this is the version I try to emulate, Mary nails it. 
Sbed wrote:
i do the same thing!
 
Ditto.
 wierdsley wrote:
Sorry to be tardy but I had password issues. 
I love this version of the Beatles "things we said today". When I play the song on guitar this is the version I try to emulate, Mary nails it.  

 
i do the same thing!
Captivating but I'm not a fan of redoing Beatles' tunes.
 ceicilbee wrote:
very shook twins/first aid kit sound. but this was before they were born probably.

 
True!
a little over an hour ago i heard Mary McCaslin on public radio doing The Supremes 'My World Is Empty Without You'
this is fine
Sorry to be tardy but I had password issues. 
I love this version of the Beatles "things we said today". When I play the song on guitar this is the version I try to emulate, Mary nails it.  
This did not need to happen........
Why?
Sent me scrambling to my vinyl collection to play the original. I like them both. But the first is always the best...
Blasphemy, but I like it beter than the original. 9.
It's a little lackluster, but I admire it as a reimagining of a tune that we all think we "know." This isn't one of my favorite Beatles tunes, but I kind of dig this. I don't know if I want to listen to it over and over, but as a musician, it gives me ideas. Someone unfamiliar with The Beatles would have no idea this was a Beatles tune, but it's actually pretty true to the original in terms of tempo and groove. Which is, to me, just a testament to their songwriting and arrangement.

One band I'm in covers I've Just Seen a Face as kind of a faux newgrass/bluegrass (I say "faux" because I can't remotely claim to be a bluegrass player). Pretty straight arrangement - works great. It's like they wrote a bluegrass tune, but didn't know it. We have a lot of people ask "Whose tune is that?" because they *know* they know it, but they can't place it.

Another band I'm in covers I Feel Fine, in a jazz / bossa nova groove, with the melody slightly altered on the verse. Also, I think, works great - not too much cheese. The kind of thing that, if people know the tune, they appreciate. If they don't know the tune, they're like, hey, great tune.

So - too much about me. But my point - I think this cover is kind of interesting. 
Lame.
very shook twins/first aid kit sound. but this was before they were born probably.
 mcdonna wrote:
Starting to grow on me. Just upgraded from 5 to 6. At this rate, it may hit 8 in a year or two.

 
I appear to be following in your footsteps, 2+ years later.  {#Laughing}

Song lyrics and poetry are affective dependent upon the person, their history, their situation and their hopes.

Writers never really know how their message will be received. Some songs arrive just as the writer meant. Others arrive at times melancholy, wistful, joyous and sad... Words are symbols that carry thoughts but are never as specific as we wished... or maybe they are.   If we could convey our pure thoughts, with history, emotions, hopes and feelings, would we-?   Are we ready to share that much of ourelf-?

Are we ready to accept that much of another-?  Can we trust another and are we really that trustworthy-?   Complete trust and honesty with another-?   It seems childish fantasy. Age and experience have taught that betrayal of confidence is cheap and easy.  

I have always loved this song for the hope it carries.   I also liked "Words of Love" that was the B-side of "8 Days A Week" way-back-when.

We spend a lot of our life seeking another we can trust and so often fail their self-same test of us.   Going through life lonely and alone is our biggest motivator. We say and do so much to avoid being alone. We will say, do, surrender anything for love, isn't that just another way of saying trust and companionship...?  


From Anna Ternheim — Solitary Move — to this.   I cannot think of DJ better at the segue than our man Bill. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_We_Said_Today

McCartney wrote the song in May 1964 while cruising the Caribbean aboard a yacht called Happy Days with his then-girlfriend Jane Asher. Music critic Ian MacDonald said, "The sombre lyric—provoked by the frustrating interruptions of a relationship between two career people—matches the lowering gloom of the music."

The song is one of three main compositions (along with "And I Love Her" and "Can't Buy Me Love") that Paul McCartney wrote for the film. Recorded in advance of film production for lip-synching reasons, "Things We Said Today" has a reverse nostalgia premise. McCartney said, "I wrote this on acoustic. It was a slightly nostalgic thing already, a future nostalgia. We’ll remember the things we said today, sometime in the future, so the song projects itself into the future."

McCartney was particularly satisfied with his chord change, F major to B flat major—instead of the more obvious F minor—which first occurs beneath "…wishing you weren't so far away" in the song. John Lennonaccentuates the strident acoustic guitar strumming by triple hitting a low A note on a piano. The tempo of the song moves from ballad to rock and back with a minor to major key change during its middle eight section.

Recording and performing

The Beatles recorded "Things We Said Today" in three takes on 2 June 1964. Take one was a false start, take two was the rhythm track, and take three was used for overdubs of the main vocal, tambourine, and piano. According to author and Beatle historianMark Lewisohn, the piano was supposed to be omitted from the mix but is audible owing to leakage onto other microphones during the recording of the overdubs, but MacDonald was sceptical about that conclusion.

The group also recorded "Things We Said Today" twice for BBC radio, on 14 and 17 July 1964. The first, a performance for the Top Gear radio show, was featured on the Live at the BBC album in 1994. These performances took place around the same time as the theatrical release of the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night, and on the 14 July performance the song was erroneously introduced as "one of their film songs." The song was not in the film, but was included on Side 2, the "non-soundtrack" side of the British A Hard Day's Night LP. 

The Beatles included "Things We Said Today" as part of their live set during their 1964 tour of the United States and Canada. George Harrison sang harmony vocals alongside Paul McCartney during the performances.


like it.
Did I mention that this is pathetic?
Pathetic.
The pace or tempo of this version seems a tad rushed, which is what ruins it for me.
I think the relaxed execution of this really sweetens the melody. More so than on the original.

Nice cover. 
Agree that the vocals are too similar to the original.  But the acoustic guitar gives Mary's cover her signature.  I like it.
I liked it, but the trick with any good cover is to avoid trying to sound like the original, you have to do some serious re-imagining to pull it off. See Deep Purple's Beatles covers, or Gary Jules' Mad World
Rarely ever should a Beatles song be copied, this ain't one of them.
I remember seeing her at The Main Point in 1976 in BRyn Mawr , PA.  She was angelic.
 lemmoth wrote:

Having put out 24 covers of songs by well known (Berry, Richard, Holly, Miracles, Shirelles) and obscure (Arthur Alexander, Barrett Strong, Larry Williams) artists and composers, in 1963 to 1965 alone, the Beatles themselves would have no issue with covers.

This one was decent, not great, but good.

 

I have to agree with this.  Nice rendition, not really my cup of tea but good.  Some of the Beatles tunes are can be rearranged to make them better others not so much.  This ones hit or miss. 


 tapatia1072 wrote:
This is just - just - awful. Some people should not re-make Beatles songs, because they don't have sufficient chops for the task. Mary McCaslin is one of those people.

 


I agree NOT
I like the real mountain sound here.  very peaceful.......
Starting to grow on me. Just upgraded from 5 to 6. At this rate, it may hit 8 in a year or two.
I'm not big on Beatles' covers however, Mary McCaslin did a very nice job on this one.
Haven't heard this in a long while. On the eve of my oldest brother's passing, this is touching deep in my heart.
 Proclivities wrote:

What would those "sufficient chops" be to record a Beatles' tune?  It's a folk arrangement from an artist who has been recording music for about 45 years.
 
Here Here Proclivities........
 lemmoth wrote:

Having put out 24 covers of songs by well known (Berry, Richard, Holly, Miracles, Shirelles) and obscure (Arthur Alexander, Barrett Strong, Larry Williams) artists and composers, in 1963 to 1965 alone, the Beatles themselves would have no issue with covers.

This one was decent, not great, but good.
 
Fair point. 

Having put out 24 covers of songs by well known (Berry, Richard, Holly, Miracles, Shirelles) and obscure (Arthur Alexander, Barrett Strong, Larry Williams) artists and composers, in 1963 to 1965 alone, the Beatles themselves would have no issue with covers.

This one was decent, not great, but good.
 siskinbob wrote:
The Beatles Bigots are in full flood I see.

Mary McCaslin has put her spin on this song and made a good job of it. If we could only listen to and like the originals this would be a boring old world.

She gets my vote for this rendition.
 
My hearty agreement with you, sir.
I am SUCH a sucker for harmony. Ahhhh… {#Biggrin}
I rather enjoyed that.
The Beatles Bigots are in full flood I see.

Mary McCaslin has put her spin on this song and made a good job of it. If we could only listen to and like the originals this would be a boring old world.

She gets my vote for this rendition.
 jadewahoo wrote:
It is so very hard to top a Beatles song with a cover. That said, this is a good rendition (still doesn't top the original, IMHO). Had I never heard the Beatles singing this, and I heard Mary McCaslin doing this song, I would have thought: "Wow! What a beautiful song!" Alas, that is not how the Time Lords have dictated that it should be.

 
I went through Beatlemania so I feel covers are a tribute to the originals-for what this is-acoustic folky-countrish-it is quite good!{#Wave}
Wonderful cover of a fondly remembered tune.
Quite a feat.

I'd really like to hear some Carpenters here. 


 tapatia1072 wrote:
This is just - just - awful. Some people should not re-make Beatles songs, because they don't have sufficient chops for the task. Mary McCaslin is one of those people.
 
What would those "sufficient chops" be to record a Beatles' tune?  It's a folk arrangement from an artist who has been recording music for about 45 years.
 Roonie wrote:
nice cover
 
You are full of "i", Roonie!
 scraig wrote:
A duo of Sinead O'Conner and Bjork counldn't butcher this any more.
 
Leave Sinead alone - she is a holy potsmoking divorcee on diet!
Sounds like a song I know!
A duo of Sinead O'Conner and Bjork counldn't butcher this any more.
Lots of artists covering Beatles tunes (or tunes of other icons) do a servicable job handling the material.

This? Well, it reminds me of the cousins et al at family reunions who haul out an instrument... Pleasant enough if enough people have had enough beer to sing along.  Otherwise... just say "No". 

Still, it doesn't come close to rock bottom.  That dubious honor I've reserved for only one song so far: Ry Cooder's cover of It's All Over Now.
nice cover
Back in 2003 I rated this a "2" and made a comment, since deleted, expressing my displeasure with this cover version. Today, 9 years later (!!) I find that it's really not so bad. Moving my rating up to "4". Time has mellowed me, I fear...
One of my fav beatle songs. Nice cover.
The Dwight Yoakam cover of Things We Said Today is worthy of an RP play.
 tapatia1072 wrote:
This is just - just - awful. Some people should not re-make Beatles songs, because they don't have sufficient chops for the task. Mary McCaslin is one of those people.

I was going to comment about the countless Beatle tunes in the Muzak collection.  Changed my mind, though, to point out that Ms. McCaslin certainly has the chops to interpret (ie, cover) this song in her own folk-music style.  In fact, I'd say she demonstrates significant command of her genre on this recording, therefore lending a degree of respect to the tune (and it's composer) that seems — to me, anyway — tragically missing from the elevator music versions.
No. 2 this week on the list of unnecessary remakes.
She handles this song as her very own .
This is very good.  It respects the original, but does not merely imitate it.

And I don't get the point of view that no one should cover the Beatles because it's somehow too sacred.  It does not diminish or insult the Beatles' talent or accomplishments for another artist to take a Beatles song and put her own spin on it, as long as it's well done.
A very very nice cover!
Always nice to hear something from so long ago.............
It is so very hard to top a Beatles song with a cover. That said, this is a good rendition (still doesn't top the original, IMHO). Had I never heard the Beatles singing this, and I heard Mary McCaslin doing this song, I would have thought: "Wow! What a beautiful song!" Alas, that is not how the Time Lords have dictated that it should be.

 petrfas wrote:
I think it misses it all and brings nothing to this Beatles piece
 
I think you've missed it all. What do you suppose this song sounded like as the Beatles wrote it, or performed it acoustically for the first time? What do you think it would have sounded like a thousand years ago? The "folkification" of this tune reminds one well of the roots of the music and the influences insinuating themselves into its creation. Listen to some Fairport Convention, and then spout off about how they've brought nothing to the music.

People have been re-interpreting all kinds of classics ( Bach, Mozart et all.). Nothing wrong with doing the same thing with "Beatles Tunes". And I think this particular one is not half bad. I'll rate it a Seven.
I like this cover ...

Sang with no pretensions, I have no problem with it. Nice voice, acoustic guitar. A 6.
I think it misses it all and brings nothing to this Beatles piece
 sandyclaws wrote:


I could not agree more. Make. It. Stop. PLEASE! {#Stop} {#Frustrated} {#Crashcomp}
 

{#Stop} is right!
 tapatia1072 wrote:
This is just - just - awful. Some people should not re-make Beatles songs, because they don't have sufficient chops for the task. Mary McCaslin is one of those people.
 

I could not agree more. Make. It. Stop. PLEASE! {#Stop} {#Frustrated} {#Crashcomp}
love the harmonies
Always liked her version.  I thought she had a unique take on the song.  Saw her live a long time ago with her husband at the time.  She did this one and Blackbird.
I don't think it's "awful," but I agree in principle...

 
tapatia1072 wrote:
This is just - just - awful. Some people should not re-make Beatles songs, because they don't have sufficient chops for the task. Mary McCaslin is one of those people.
 


This is just - just - awful. Some people should not re-make Beatles songs, because they don't have sufficient chops for the task. Mary McCaslin is one of those people.
 WonderLizard wrote:

This is a good one, tho' I'm partial to 801's "Tomorrow Never Knows" and Gomez's "Fixing a Hole." Anyone else remember Matthews Southern Comfort's version of "Hide Your Love Away?"

 
Never heard Matthew's Southern Comfort version of that; but can someone upload his version of "Woodstock?" ( I don't know how to upload yet.)

this whole album is God—-she's a good songwriter and i love her voice and guitar tunings.
...nice, she sounds a bit like Nancy Griffith.
Nice cover
 LastChance wrote:
You just can't top the Beatles. You just can't.
 

Harry can.....{#Dancingbanana_2}Nilsson. that is!!!!!
 forge wrote:
Best. Beatles cover. Ever.
 
Joe Cocker doing "With a Little Help from My Friends" is pretty darn good.  And Richie Havens' version of "Here Comes the Sun" isn't bad either.


Absolutely far from my culture. But I love it! Well, I love any sincere song, band or whatever.
 forge wrote:
Best. Beatles cover. Ever.
 
This is a good one, tho' I'm partial to 801's "Tomorrow Never Knows" and Gomez's "Fixing a Hole." Anyone else remember Matthews Southern Comfort's version of "Hide Your Love Away?"

Best. Beatles cover. Ever.
 Mandible wrote:


No you can't, but it's still a respectable cover.  Pretty.
 
Yep  {#Sunny}
 LastChance wrote:
You just can't top the Beatles. You just can't.
 

No you can't, but it's still a respectable cover.  Pretty.
You just can't top the Beatles. You just can't.
Love Mary's version of this classic - warm emotions in those harmonies
I've always loved this song.  Decent cover!
 RadioDoc wrote:
Hey, who knew the Beatles wrote a bluegrass tune... A solid 8 in spite of the narrow minded haters below. As a side note, I finally identified the thing that irritates me about a certain Death Cab for Cutie song, which rips off its vocal phrasing directly from this one.
 

Actually you would be surprised the number of covers of Beatles tunes that are done by bluegrass groups.

 


Dwight Yoakam has a great cover of this.  

Not as good as the original, but not bad.
 onerb wrote:
Goosebumps!

 

Yeah, me too.  A very understated cover, but her voice shines in this.
playing a song in a way that suits itself.very comfortable another solid 8
Not bad...it happens to be one of my fave Lennon/McCartney melodies and she puts it front and centre.

Also, rather oddly, I just heard this in my car about 10 minutes ago (the original, that is).
Hey, who knew the Beatles wrote a bluegrass tune... A solid 8 in spite of the narrow minded haters below. As a side note, I finally identified the thing that irritates me about a certain Death Cab for Cutie song, which rips off its vocal phrasing directly from this one.