Lennon copied the opening line from a song that Elvis had sung called Baby, Let's Play House. "I'd rather see you dead, little girl/Than to be with another man" mirrored the violent and misogynistic attitudes that John had often manifested as a young man. Using that opening line as a starting point, Lennon created an alarming portrait of a jealous individual who demands fidelity from his girlfriend. Or else... What makes this even more upsetting is that Lennon was beginning to grow and change in late 1965, as evidenced by mature and introspective songs such as Girl, In My Life and Nowhere Man. Why he felt the need to write this particular song around the same time is a mystery. In later years, he did make some disparaging comments about the song, although he always did so without actually addressing its implications.
It was the first song to be recorded for Rubber Soul, at a session on October 12th, 1965. The basic track features John on acoustic guitar, George on electric guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo at his drum kit. Only the fifth take made it all the way through to the end, and it became the master. George then overdubbed a few more guitar parts, including the sliding part which gives the track its country feel, as well as the part with the recurring riff and the solo for the instrumental break. Ringo added maracas and tambourine, John recorded his lead vocal, double-tracking it during each chorus, and Paul and George sang backing vocals, also double-tracked.
As stated above, Run for Your Life sits at the end of both versions of Rubber Soul. You cannot find it anywhere else. It has wisely never been included on any compilations.
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