Musical Structure
"I Want to Tell You" is in the key of A major. It is driven by bass fours and a catchy, persistent piano discord: a short, distinctive guitar melody opens and closes the song and recurs between verses. Harrison's voice is supported by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in close harmony.
Like "Eight Days a Week", the song begins with a fade-in. The vocals open (on "When I get near you" with a harmonious E-A-B-C#-E melody note progression against an A chord, but dissonance soon arises with a II7 (B7) chord pointedly mirroring the lyrics on "drag me down". The dissonance is immediately further enhanced by the rare use of an E7♭9 chord (at 0.46-0.53 secs). This chord has been termed "one of the most legendary in the entire Beatles catalogue." When interviewed about the "weird, jarring chord at the end of every line that mirrors the disturbed feeling of the song" Harrison replied: "That's an E7th with an F on top played on the piano. I'm really proud of that as I literally invented that chord. The song was about the frustration we all feel about trying to communicate certain things with just words. I realised that the chords I knew at the time just didn't capture that feeling. I came up with this dissonant chord that really echoed that sense of frustration. John later borrowed it on I Want You (She's So Heavy) "It's driving me mad." Everett emphasises McCartney's "finger-tapping impatience" on the piano (at 0.25-0.32) which is countered by the lyric "I don't mind...I could wait forever. I've got time." During the song's ending fadeout (a reprise of the song's guitar intro featuring a prominent group vocal harmony), McCartney makes notable use of melisma while chanting 'I've got time', revealing the song's subtle Indian influence.. Everett considers that the closing on "maybe you'll understand' pointedly involves a descent to a "perfect authentic cadence." Neil Innes of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (and later The Rutles) said the Bonzos' first studio experience was at Abbey Road Studios while The Beatles were recording "I Want to Tell You". Innes said he took a break in one of the studio's hallways and heard The Beatles playing back the song, blasting it at full volume. Innes recounted that he was in a state of immense awe over the song's beauty, and sheepishly returned to the Bonzo session, where they were recording the 1920s Vaudeville song "My Brother Makes the Noises for the Talkies".
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