Not A Second Time is innovative. In the beginning of the song Lennon suddenly throws the melody up almost an octave. In the second verse Lennon varies the melody by singing the same note first with the mouth shut, and the next with open mouth. The melody ends with a low joking minor key? singing “…not a second time”If you study the lyrics of the songs up until Not a Second Time, you see they tend to be submissive, passive. The woman is in charge: Please, please me. Baby take a chance on me. The world is treating me bad- misery. Not a Second Time represents a break from this type of lyric in that John Lennon is putting his foot down and saying, “No more.” Not A Second Time is a turn in a new lyrical direction of the man calling the shots, and without this song you don’t get to I Want To Hold Your Hand, You Can’t Do That, Hard Days Night, When I Get Home, et. al. Not a Second Time is a key song in the lyrical development of the whole group.
