Near as I can figure, The Beatles have released three official versions of the Larry Williams song Dizzy Miss Lizzy, all recorded in 1965. On the Help! version, John sang this verse:
Run and tell your mama
I want you to be my bride.
Run and tell your brother
Baby, don’t run and hide.
You make me dizzy, Miss Lizzy.
Girl, I want to marry you.
But on The Beatles’ 1965 U.S. tour, as captured on Live at the Hollywood Bowl, John changed the last two lines:
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby,
Love me till I’m satisfied.
The Live at the BBC version omitted the running and telling without hiding verse altogether.
What should we make of these discrepancies? My going-in hypothesis was that “Love me till I’m satisfied,” because it’s slightly racier than “Girl, I want to marry you,” probably appeared in Larry Williams’ original version from 1958, and that John was persuaded to tone it down by omitting the reference to sexual satisfaction on Help!.*
So I searched for every Larry Williams version of the song that I could find . . . and I could find only one version, which ended with “Oh, I want to marry you.”
But other versions of the song appeared between the Larry Williams’ and Beatles’ versions. Ronny Hawkins and the Hawks recorded the song in 1959, but Ronny omitted the mama/brother verse. Ronny altered other lyrics in ways that I haven’t detailed here; it seems like after the original, every new version changed the lyrics.
At least three groups with Liverpool roots recorded versions before The Beatles did:
Kingsize Taylor and The Dominoes (1963) perfomed the verse as Larry Williams had.
The Escorts’ version (1964) contained the mama verse (without the brother reference) and ended with “I wanna marry you.”
The Casey Jones & The Governors version (also 1964) ended the same way.
John performed the song at 1969’s Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, later released on Live Peace in Toronto, but didn’t sing the verse in question. He ended with “Girl, I wanna be your man.”
So I’ve disproven part of my hypothesis: John didn’t get the “Love me till I’m satisfied” lyric from Larry Williams. In fact, The Beatles’ studio version is pretty faithful to the original. But the song was obviously kicking around Liverpool, so maybe some other group added “Love me till I’m satisfied.” Or maybe John himself wrote the line. He was, after all, a pretty fair songwriter.
Do you have any insight into how the line originated and why John didn’t sing it in the studio or on the BBC? Email me at beatletrack@gmail.com.
*Although you know what else was released in 1965? Right–The Stones’ Satisfaction.
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