While not a folk song on its face, “I’m Looking Through You” possesses some folk-rock qualities beyond the acoustic guitar. As Richie Unterberger writes in Jingle Jangle Morning: Folk Rock in the 1960s, the track remains “as thoroughbred folk-rock as anything recorded by anyone in 1965.” The lyrics may have been partially inspired by “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)” from 1964’s Another Side of Bob Dylan. The Beatles had been listening to Dylan during this period; although the troubadour clearly influenced Lennon during the 1964-1965 period, McCartney also became fascinated with his poetic style. “We were highly influenced by him and he was quite influenced by us. … We were cross-pollinating each other,” McCartney told Paul Du Noyer in Conversations with McCartney.A side-by-side comparison of the lyrics of “I’m Looking Through You” and “I Don’t Believe You” reveals striking similarities in subject matter and phrases. Another Side of Bob Dylan proved a departure point for the songwriter, as he transitioned from a purely political songwriter to a highly personal one. The album would alienate traditional folk fans with his tales of broken love (inspired by his breakup with Suze Rotolo over his ongoing affair with Joan Baez), rejection of social conformity, and discomfort with his own protest songs. On Rubber Soul, McCartney would further explore personal themes, drawing from his relationship with Asher.In “I’m Looking Through You,” Paul immediately establishes his girlfriend’s apparent deceit: “I’m looking through you / Where did you go?” In “I Don’t Believe You,” Dylan wonders why his lover left him. “I’d sure like t’ know / Why did she go?” he asks.Payl bemoans that “you don’t look different, but you have changed,” referring to Jane Asher’s desire to pursue her acting career and not remain with him full time. She is wearing a mask, he maintains, emphatically singing “I thought I knew you, what did I know?” Similarly, in “I Don’t Believe You,” Dylan expresses shock at the transformation in his lover: “Yet it’s hard t’ think on / That she’s the same one / That last night I was with,” he sings. As McCartney cries “you’re not the same,” Dylan also wails “But now something has changed / For she ain’t the same.”While Paul has never stated that “I Don’t Believe You” specifically inspired “I’m Looking Through You,” the lyrics and themes strongly resemble each other.
