Anna (Go To Him)

Album

Single

Label

Dot Records

Genre

Soul

Composer(s)

Arthur Alexander

Entered Chart

Oct 27, 1962

Peak Date

Nov 24, 1962

Released

September 17, 1962

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Dot 45-16387

B-Side

I Hang My Head And Cry

Arthur Alexander wrote this song, making it one of the world's great trivia questions: Alexander is the only person to write songs that were recorded by Bob Dylan ("Sally Sue Brown"), The Rolling Stones ("You Better Move On") and The Beatles, who included this song on their debut album, Please Please Me, in 1963. This was released as a single by Dot Records in 1962, peaking at a modest #68. Not many remember the Dot Records' label, which was rebranded in the late '60s and folded by 1977. But some of Arthur Alexander's fellow Dot Records colleagues include Pat Boone, Lawrence Welk, Liberace, and... Leonard Nimoy, whose singing career included the album Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space and the unforgettable "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins." John Lennon loved this song, which is why The Beatles recorded it and added the song to their early stage catalog. According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, John Lennon had a terrible cold during the recordings, thus leading to his strange vocals in the song. >> The subtitle (Go to Him) is a little confusing, as in both Alexander and The Beatles versions of the song, they sing "Go with him." The Beatles' recording was distributed to US disc jockeys in 1963 on a single with "Ask Me Why." The promotional disc is a rare collectors item. Report this ad The Beatles performed this in 1963 when they appeared on the BBC TV special Pop Go The Beatles. This was one of 10 songs The Beatles recorded this in one day (February 11, 1963) for the Please Please Me album, their debut in the UK. This song featured as a minor plot point in a 1991 episode of the TV sitcom Married With Children, in which Ed O'Neill has "Anna (Go To Him)" stuck in his head for half the episode while being unable to remember the title or words. The song comes on a jukebox in one scene and then he yells it out.

Anna,
You come and ask me, girl,
To set you free, girl,
You say he loves you more than me,
So I will set you free,
Go with him.
Go with him.

[Chorus]
Anna,
Girl, before you go now,
I want you to know, now,
That I still love you so,
But if he loves you mo',
Go with him.

All of my life,
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you.
Oh, now, but every girl I've ever had,
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad.
What am I, what am I supposed to do.

Anna,
Just one more thing, girl.
You give back your ring to me, and I will set you free,
Go with him.

[Chorus]

All of my life,
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you.
Oh, now, but every girl I've ever had,
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad.
What am I, what am I supposed to do.