"When I'm Sixty-Four"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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I listened to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds yester-day, and I think I found an influence for "When I'm Sixty-Four."

A particular instrument (the identity eludes me) doubles the melody of the vocals during the first verse of "I'm Waiting for the Day":

I came along when he broke your heart
That’s when you needed someone
To help forget about him
I gave you love with a brand new start
That's what you needed the most
To set your broken heart free

I'd thought it was oboe, but according to The Pet Sounds Sessions box set, the only woodwind present is flute.  As far as the influence it (probably) had on the Beatles, the particular instrument isn't as important as the instrument's doubling the vocal melody.  The same thing is present (with clarinet, according to Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions [21 December 1966]) on (most of) the last verse of "When I'm Sixty-Four":

Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine forevermore

I've read a few things about how much Paul McCartney liked Pet Sounds, but I haven't seen anything where he talks specifically about "I'm Waiting for the Day."  Still, I'm fairly certain that this connection is valid.  At the very least, it's possible, as Pet Sounds was released on 16 May 1966 (although I sort of remember something about how Lennon and McCartney heard it before it was officially released) and that section of "When I'm Sixty-Four" was recorded on 21 December 1966.

EDIT: I did some more research, and according to Peter Ames Carlin's Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall & Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, that instrument that doubles the vocal melody in "I'm Waiting for the Day" is a viola.