Don't Bother Me - Composition

Composition

Harrison wrote the song while ill in bed at a hotel room in Bournemouth, England where The Beatles were playing some shows during the summer of 1963. He considered it an exercise in whether he could write a song, later saying, "at least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing, and then maybe eventually I would write something good." Harrison received a writing credit for two earlier songs, "In Spite of All the Danger" (McCartney/Harrison) and "Cry for a Shadow" (Harrison/Lennon). Both were recorded by The Beatles but neither was released officially by the band until 1995's Anthology 1 compilation. Because the former was largely a McCartney composition (Harrison received a credit simply for playing the guitar solo) and the latter was an instrumental pastiche of The Shadows, "Don't Bother Me" is considered Harrison's first song by most (including the composer himself).

After "Don't Bother Me", it was not until 1965's Help! album that another Harrison-penned song would appear on record. "You Know What to Do" was recorded in 1964, but was not released at the time.