The Meaning Behind “No Reply” by The Beatles and the Song That Inspired It
Casual fans of The Beatles probably know “Eight Days a Week.”
It appears at the midway point of their fourth album, Beatles for Sale. The song fits with the group’s early period pop on an album where The Beatles began to experiment. “Eight Days a Week” begins with its intro fading in—unheard of at the time for a pop song.
But The Beatles had become restless. Their comfort in the recording studio showed in how they manipulated its technology. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, inspired by Bob Dylan, aimed for something higher than the charts. And a new writing style emerges immediately on Beatles for Sale with the opening track, “No Reply.”
The song describes Lennon trying to reach an unfaithful girlfriend. Though his songwriting had evolved, he drew inspiration from an older song. Lennon adapted his song from The Rays’ 1957 R&B hit “Silhouettes.” He said, “It was my version of ‘Silhouettes’: I had that image of walking down the street and seeing her silhouetted in the window and not answering the phone, although I never called a girl on the phone in my life. Because phones weren’t part of the English child’s life.”
This happened once before
When I came to your door
No reply
They said it wasn’t you
But I saw you peep through your window
“Silhouettes” gave Lennon a blueprint for his story. It marked a turn toward the kind of detailed narratives in Dylan’s songwriting. The Beatles’ publisher, Dick James, said to Lennon, “That’s the first complete song you’ve written where it resolves itself.”
Here’s the opening verse to The Rays’ song for comparison:
Took a walk and passed your house late last night
All the shades were pulled and drawn way down tight
From within the dim light cast
Two silhouettes on the shade
Oh, what a lovely couple they made
Source: americansongwriter.com/Thom Donovan
