"Mother Nature's Son" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As Released by the Beatles (1968)

Born a poor young country boy - Mother Nature's son
All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone.

Sit beside a mountain stream - see her waters rise
Listen to the pretty sound of music as she flies.

Do do do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do
Do do.

Find me in my field of grass - Mother Nature's son
Swaying daisies sing a lazy song beneath the sun.

Do do do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do
Do do do do do - yeah yeah yeah.

Mmm mmm mmm
Ooo ooo ooo
Mmm mmm aah
Aah Mother Nature's son.

"Any Time at All"

"Any Time at All" is a Beatles song credited to Lennon & McCartney and mainly composed by John Lennon. It first appeared on The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night album.

John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for "Any Time At All" were sold for £6,000 at an auction held at Sotheby's in London, on 8 April 1988.

The song was later covered by Nils Lofgren. The song was also covered by Dweezil Zappa on his 1991 album Confessions.

Recording

Incomplete when first brought into Abbey Road Studios on Tuesday 2 June 1964, Paul McCartney suggested an idea for the middle eight section based solely on chords, which was recorded with the intention of adding lyrics later. But by the time it was needed to be mixed however, the middle eight was still without words, and that is how it appears on the LP.

What did get added at the mixing stage was the snare drum "crack" that opens the track (and side two of the album) edited from an unused take.

Personnel

* John Lennon - vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar (Gibson J160E0).
* Paul McCartney - harmony vocal, bass guitar (Hofner 500/10), piano.
* George Harrison - lead guitar (Rickenbacker 360-12 Fireglo).
* Ringo Starr - drums (Ludwig).

Releases

Included on:

* Extracts from the Album A Hard Day's Night British EP.
* Rock 'n' Roll Music compilation LP.
* Capitol album Something New

Album: A Hard Day's Night
Released: 10 July 1964
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 2 June 1964
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:13
Label: EMI Records
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

Wikipedia

"Something" Lyrics

by George Harrison

Original Manuscript (1969)

There's something in the way she moves
attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she wooo's me
I don't want to leave her now;
You know I believe and how;

Somewhere in her smile she knows
that I don't need no other lover,
Something in her style that shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how.

You're asking me will my love grow,
I don't know - I don't know
You stick around and it may show
(but) I don't know, I don't know

[instrumental and counter melody]

D - C - E - C - E - A.

[You know I love that woman of mine
and I need her all of the time ...
and you know what I'm telling to you,
that woman, that woman don't make me blue.]

As Released by the Beatles (1969)

Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe 'n' how.

Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe 'n' how.

You're asking me will my love grow?
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around now it may show
I don't know, I don't know.

Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things she shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe 'n' how.

"Misery" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As Released by the Beatles (1963)

The world is treating me bad, misery.

I'm the kind of guy, who never used to cry.
The world is treating me bad, misery.
I've lost her now for sure, I won't see her no more
It's gonna be a drag, misery.

I'll remember all the little things we've done
Can't she see she'll always be the only one, only one.
Send her back to me, 'cos everyone can see
Without her I will be in misery.

I'll remember all the little things we've done
She'll remember and she'll miss her only one, lonely one.
Send her back to me, 'cos everyone can see
Without her I will be in misery.

(Ooho) in misery
(Ooo) my misery
(La la la la la la) misery.

"Another Girl"

"Another Girl" is a song by the the Beatles released in 1965 on the album Help! The song was written by Paul McCartney but credited to Lennon/McCartney. McCartney wrote the song while on vacation in Hammamet, a resort in Tunisia. In the film Help!, McCartney lip-syncs "Another Girl" while standing on a coral reef on Balmoral Island in the Bahamas, and plays a girl in a bikini as if she is a guitar.

McCartney said of this song and other album tracks, "It's a bit much to call them fillers because I think they were a bit more than that, and each one of them made it past the Beatles test. We all had to like it."

Recording

The Beatles recorded the song on 15 February 1965, in 1 take, with 10 edits of a George Harrison guitar "flourish" which was not used. The master take was take 1 with a guitar solo overdub by McCartney on February 16. It was remixed on 18 February and 23 February.

This is one of the first Beatle songs in which McCartney plays lead guitar, in addition to his usual bass. Music analyst and critic Ian MacDonald, and others, assign the lead guitar credit to McCartney for "Ticket to Ride," recorded the same day as the first session for "Another Girl," and one day before the lead guitar overdub for it.

Credits

* Paul McCartney – double-tracked vocal, bass, lead guitar (solo at end)
* John Lennon – harmony vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar
* George Harrison – harmony vocal, electric rhythm guitar
* Ringo Starr – drums

Album: Help!
Released: 6 August 1965
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 15–16 February 1965
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:04
Label: Parlophone, Capitol, EMI
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

Wikipedia

John Lennon's Record Collection: The Isley Brothers - Twist and Shout

Beatle People: Richard Lester

Richard Lester (director) (born January 19, 1932) is an American-born British-based film director famous for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s.

Early years and television

Lester was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania He was something of a child prodigy, and at 15 began studies at the University of Pennsylvania, He started in television 1950, working as a stage hand, floor manager, assistant director, and then to director less than a year, because no-one else was around that knew how to do the work. In 1953, Lester moved to London and began work as a director in independent television, working for the legendary low cost television producers The Danziger Brothers on episodes of Mark Saber, a half-hour detective series.

A variety show he produced caught the eye of Peter Sellers, who enlisted Lester's help in translating The Goon Show to television as The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d. It was a hit, as were two follow-up shows, A Show Called Fred and Son of Fred.

Film career

A short film Lester made with Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers, The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film, was a favorite of The Beatles, and in particular John Lennon. When the band were contracted to make a film in 1964, they chose Lester from a list of possible directors. A Hard Day's Night showed an exaggerated and simplified version of The Beatles' characters, and proved to be an effective marketing tool. Many of its stylistic innovations survive today as the conventions of music videos, in particular the multi-angle filming of a live performance. Lester was sent an award from MTV as "Father of the Music Video." See IMDB for full list of Films.

Lester directed the second Beatles film Help! in 1965. He then went on to direct several quintessential 'swinging' films, including the sex comedy The Knack...And How to Get It (1965), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Petulia (1968) (both with scores by John Barry), as well as the 1967 darkly surreal anti-war movie How I Won the War co-starring John Lennon, which he referred to as an "anti-anti-war movie"; Lester noted that anti-war movies still took the concept of war seriously, contrasting "bad" war crimes with wars fought for "good" causes like the liberation from Nazism or, at that time, Communism, whereas he set out to deconstruct it to show war as fundamentally opposed to humanity. Although set in World War II, the movie is indeed an oblique reference to the Vietnam War and at one point, breaking the fourth wall, references this directly.

In the 1970s, Lester directed a wide variety of films, including the disaster film Juggernaut (1974), Robin and Marian (1976), starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn and the period romance Cuba (1979), also starring Connery. However his biggest commercial successes in this period were The Three Musketeers (1973) and its sequel The Four Musketeers (1974). The films were somewhat controversial at the time because the producers, Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind, decided to split the film into two after principal photography was completed. Many of the cast sued the Salkinds as a result, stating that they were only contracted to make one film.

Superman

As the release of Superman neared, production on Superman II was halted to concentrate on getting the first movie completed. After the first Superman film was released in late 1978, the Salkinds went back into production on Superman II without informing Superman's director Richard Donner and placing Lester behind the camera for the completion of the film. Although Donner had shot approximately 75% of the film, Lester jettisoned or re-shot much of the original footage, resulting in Lester receiving sole credit for directing Superman II. Gene Hackman, who played Lex Luthor, did not return, and Lester instead used a stunt double and an impersonator to loop Luthor's lines into footage of Hackman shot during Donner's tenure on Superman II. The footage filmed by Donner was later integrated into television versions of the film with Lester's footage. In November 2006, Donner's footage was reedited into Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, using mostly Donner footage, with the only Lester footage being that which is necessary to cover scenes not shot during Donner's principal photography. Donner revealed on the new DVD of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut that he has never heard from Lester since his firing after the completion of the first film.

Lester also directed Superman III in 1983. The third Superman film fared poorly with critics, with fans divided, and did not perform quite as well at the box office as the previous two movies had, although actually, the film still managed to be within the top 10 most successful films of 1983; the number of blockbuster sequels released that year (two 007 movies, Octopussy and Never Say Never Again, Return of the Jedi and Jaws 3) made for stiff competition for Superman III. Despite the competition, naysayers tend to overlook the financial success of the movie and deem it a flop. It is generally seen as the turning point where the series went into decline. As such, Lester is blamed by some fans for helping to ruin the Superman franchise.

Later years

In 1988, Lester reunited the entire Musketeers cast to film another sequel, The Return of the Musketeers. However, during filming in Spain, the actor Roy Kinnear, a close friend of Lester's, died after falling from a horse. Lester finished the film, then retired from directing, only returning to direct a concert film for friend Paul McCartney in 1991, Get Back.

In 1993, he presented Hollywood UK, a five-part series on British cinema in the 1960s for the BBC.

In recent years, director Steven Soderbergh has been one of many calling for a reappraisal of Lester's work and influence. Soderbergh wrote a 1999 book, Getting Away With It which consists largely of interviews with Lester.

Personal life

In Soderbergh's Getting Away With It, Lester reveals that he is a committed atheist and debates with Soderbergh (then an agnostic), largely based on the arguments of Richard Dawkins.

Wikipedia

John Lennon: 1975

By Pete Hamill / June 5, 1975

Do you think much of yourself as an artist at fifty or sixty?

I never see meself as not an artist. I never let meself believe that an artist can "run dry."
I've always had this vision of bein' sixty and writing children's books. I don't know why. It'd be a strange thing for a person who doesn't really have much to do with children. I've always had that feeling of giving what Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland and Treasure Island gave to me at age seven and eight. The books that really opened my whole being.

Is there anything left to say about the immigration case?

People get bored with hearin' about Lennon's immigration case. I'm bored with hearin' about it. The only interesting thing is when I read these articles people write that were not instigated by me. I learn things I didn't know anything about. I didn't know about Strom Thurmond. I had no idea - I mean I knew something was going on, but I didn't have any names. I'm just left in the position of just what am I supposed to do? There doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it. It's just . . . bloody crazy. Terry Southern put it in a nice sort of way. He said, "Well, look, y'keep 'em all happy, ya see? The conservatives are happy 'cause they're doin' somethin' about ya and the liberals are happy 'cause they haven't thrown you out. So everybody's happy! [pause] Except you!" [laughter] I'm happy I'm still here. I must say that. And I ain't going. There's no way they're gonna get me out. No way. They're not gonna drag me in chains, right? So I'm just gonna have to keep paying. It's bloody ridiculous. It's just . . . beyond belief.

So nothing has changed with the departure of Nixon.

I'm even nervous about commenting on politics. They've got me that jumpy these days. But it's a bit of an illusion to think 'cause Old Nick went that it's all changed. If it's changed, prove it, show me the change.

Does the case get in the way of your work?

It did. It did. There's no denying it. In '72, it was really gettin' to me. Not only was I physically having to appear in court cases, it just seemed like a toothache that wouldn't go away. Now I just accept it. I just have a permanent toothache. But there was a period where I just couldn't function, you know? I was so paranoid from them tappin' the phone and followin' me. How could I prove that they were tappin' me phone?
There was a period when I was hangin' out with a group called Elephant's Memory. And I was ready to go on the road for pure fun. I didn't want to go on the road for money. That was the time when I was standing up in the Apollo with a guitar at the Attica relatives' benefit or ending up on the stage at the John Sinclair rally. I felt like going on the road and playing music. And whatever excuse - charity or whatever - would have done me. But they kept pullin' me back into court! I had the group hangin' 'round, but I finally had to say, "Hey, you better get on with your lives." Now, the last thing on earth I want to do is perform. That's a direct result of the immigration thing. In '71, '72, I wanted to go out and rock my balls off onstage and I just stopped.

Have you made any kind of flat decision not to ever go on the road again?

No. I've stopped making flat decisions. I change me mind a lot. My idea of heaven is not going on the road.

Will you ever be free of the fact that you were once a Beatle?

I've got used to the fact - just about - that whatever I do is going to be compared to the other Beatles. If I took up ballet dancing, my ballet dancing would be compared with Paul's bowling. So that I'll have to live with. But I've come to learn something big this past year. I cannot let the Top Ten dominate my art. If my worth is only to be judged by whether I'm in the Top Ten or not, then I'd better give up. Because if I let the Top Ten dominate my art, then the art will die. And then whether I'm in the Top Ten is a moot point. I do think now in terms of long term. I'm an artist. I have to express myself. I can't be dominated by gold records. As I said, I'm thirty-four going on sixty. The art is more important than the thing and sometimes I have to remind meself of it. Because there's a danger there, for all of us, for everyone who's involved in whatever art they're in, of needing that love so badly that. . . . In my business, that's manifested in the Top Ten.

So this last year, in some ways, was a year of deciding whether you wanted to be an artist or a pop star?

Yeah. What is it I'm doing. What am I doing? Meanwhile, I was still putting out the work. But in the back of me head it was that: What do you want to be? What are you lookin' for? And that's about it. I'm a freakin' artist, man, not a fuckin' racehorse.

Beatles Covers: Procol Harum - Eight Days a Week

"I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama, I Don't Wanna Die" Lyrics

by John Lennon

Original Manuscript (1971)

(1) Well, I, don't want to be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Well, I, don't want to be a sailor mama, I don't wanna fly
Well, I, don't want to be a failure mama, I don't wanna cry
Well, I, don't want to be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die

(2) Well, I don't want to be a rich man mama, I don't wanna cry
Well, I, don't want to be a poor man, I don't wanna fly
Well, I, don't want to be a lawyer mama, I don't wanna lie
Well, I, don't want to be a bomber mama, I don't wanna die

(3) Well, I, don't want to be a beggar mama, I don't wanna die
Well, I, don't want to be a theif [sic] now mama, I don't wanna fly
Well, I, don't want to be a churchman mama, I don't wanna lie
Well, I, don't want to be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die

(oh no?
oh no?)

chorus?

As Released by John Lennon (1971)

Well I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Well I don't wanna be a sailor mama, I don't wanna fly
Well I don't wanna be a failure mama, I don't wanna cry
Well I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

Well I don't wanna be a rich man mama, I don't wanna cry
Well I don't wanna be a poor man mama, I don't wanna fly
Well I don't wanna be a lawyer mama, I don't wanna lie
Well I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

Well I don't wanna be a beggar mama, I don't wanna die
Well I don't wanna be a thief now mama, I don't wanna fly
Well I don't wanna be a churchman mama, I don't wanna cry
Well I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
Hit it!

Well I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Well I don't wanna be a sailor mama, I don't wanna fly
Well I don't wanna be a failure mama, I don't wanna cry
Well I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

"Mean Mr. Mustard" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As Released by the Beatles (1969)

Mean Mr. Mustard sleeps in the park
Shaves in the dark
Trying to save paper.

Sleeps in a hole in the road
Saving up to buy some clothes
Keeps a ten bob note up his nose
Such a mean old man, such a mean old man.

His sister Pam works in a shop
She never stops
She's a go-getter.

Takes him out to look at the Queen
Only place that he's ever been
Always shouts out something obscene
Such a dirty old man, dirty old man.

"Anna (Go to Him)"

"Anna (Go to Him)" is a song written and originally performed by Arthur Alexander. His version was released as a single by Dot Records on September 17, 1962. A cover version was performed by The Beatles and included on their 1963 debut album Please Please Me.

Background

According to Richie Unterberger, music critic for Allmusic:

"'Anna' was one of the great early soul ballads, even if its loping groove was closer to a midtempo than a slow ballad. Like several of Alexander's songs, it would come to be more famous in its cover version than through its original release. And it was actually a small hit when it first came out in 1962, getting to #68 in the pop charts and #10 in the R&B listings."

Despite the title, throughout the song the lyric is "go with him" rather than "go to him."

A 1991 episode of the US comedy Married...with Children entitled "Oldies but Young 'uns" was devoted to Al Bundy trying to remember the name of "Anna (Go to Him)." Only after hearing the song on the radio does he recall the chorus' lyrics as he spends the first half of the episode humming the chorus' melody "hmm hmm him." When Al hears the song playing on the record store Jukebox he finally recalls the songs name and calls it out. The Arthur Alexander version of the song plays over the episode's closing titles, instead of the show's regular theme except on the DVD release.

The Beatles version

A personal favorite of John Lennon's, it became part of the The Beatles' early repertoire and was consequently recorded by them for their 1963 debut album, Please Please Me. In the U.S., Vee Jay Records released it on Introducing... The Beatles (July 22, 1963) and Capitol Records re-released it on The Early Beatles (March 22, 1965). Vee Jay also released "Anna (Go to Him)" on the EP Souvenir of Their Visit: The Beatles in the U.S.

The Beatles recorded the song on February 11, 1963 in three takes; the master take was number 3. It was remixed on February 25. George Harrison played the distinctive phrase on guitar; Floyd Cramer played it on piano for the original.

Unterberger praised The Beatles' version in his review, saying:

"Ringo Starr faithfully [replicates] the unusual drum rhythm and high-hat crunches. Lennon's vocal, however, added a tortured pain not present in Alexander's model, particularly when he wailed in his upper register at the conclusion of the bridges. The Beatles' backup harmony vocals, in addition, were superb, and more effective [than on Alexander's version]."

Music critic Ian MacDonald had a different view of Lennon's vocal, saying it sounded like "a passionate youth grappling with a man's song."

The Beatles recorded "Anna (Go to Him)" on June 17, 1963 for the BBC radio show Pop Go the Beatles. The show was broadcast on 25 June. They recorded it once again on August 1, 1963 for the show broadcast on August 25.

As noted in many references including Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Recording Sessions, Lennon had a bad cold which accounts for his very rough, almost strange tone he demonstrates on all his vocals during this historic session, including the last song, "Twist and Shout."

Credits

* John Lennon — lead vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar
* Paul McCartney — bass guitar, backing vocal
* George Harrison — lead guitar, backing vocal
* Ringo Starr — drums

Single by Arthur Alexander
Released: September 17, 1962
Genre: Soul
Length: 2:48
Label: Dot Records
Writer(s): Arthur Alexander

Song by The Beatles
Album: Please Please Me
Released: March 22, 1963 (mono), April 26, 1963 (stereo)
Recorded: February 11, 1963
Genre: Soul
Length: 2:54
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Arthur Alexander
Producer: George Martin

Wikipedia

When Did the Beatles Arrive in America?

The Beatles first arrived in the United States on February 7, 1964 at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens County, New York. George Harrison had been the U.S. once before, having visited his sister Louise in Benton, Illinois in September of 1963. The clip details the famous trip along with commentary from the Beatles and assistant Neil Aspinall, including footage of their departure at Heathrow Airport, inside the plane, arrival at JFK, and the limousine ride to their hotel.

The Maharishi and Me

Allen Ginsberg

I saw Maharishi speak here January 21st and then went up to Plaza Hotel that evening (I'd phoned for tickets to his organisation and on return telephone call they invited me up, saying Maharishi wanted to see me) . . . so surrounded by his disciples I sat at his feet on the floor and listened while he spoke.

Yelling C.I.A.

At a previous press conference I'd not been at I heard he'd said all sorts of outlandish things like poverty was laziness and I saw in "IT" his equatory communism = weakism. So after I was introduced I sat at his feet and literally started yelling at him . . . . spoke for half an hour almost, challenging, arguing . . . all in good humour though his business managers and devotees gasped with horror occasionally. But I never got impolite and he stayed calm and rather sweet so no harm. He'd been discussing U.S. 'dis-satisfaction' as Johnson's phrase had been quoted to him earlier, so I said that specific dis-satisfaction was among young people over the Vietnam war, and it was a problem troubling everyone in his audience that day, at least of the young people; that though the US was as he said Creative, its creations were massively negative as Vietnam at this point and that's why people were restless and looked for spiritual guidance from him and that he, Maharishi, hadn't covered the problem satisfactorily. He said Johnson and his secret police had more information and they knew what they were doing. I said they were a buncha dumbells and they don't know and his implicit support of authoritarianism made lots a people wonder if weren't some kinda CIA agent. He giggled 'CIA?' His devotees began screaming so I said it was a common question so it should be proposed and they shouldn't stand around silent and fearful to speak.

Hari Krishna L.S.D.

Then I asked what about draft resistant kids, going to war and murder? He said either way meditate. I asked about Hari Krishna. He said one mantra won't fit everybody. As he'd put down drugs I said there wouldn't have been anybody to see him if it hadn't been for LSD. Devotees gasped. He said, well, LSD has done its thing, now forget it. Just let it drop. He said his meditation was stronger. I said excellent, if it works why not? I said I would be glad to try; can't do anything but good. Then he said that 'acid' damaged Hippies nervous systems, he had six hippies visit him in a room in LA and had to take them into the garden, they smelled so bad.

Hippies smell

I said WHAT? you must have been reading the newspapers. He said he didn't read newspapers. I said he likely had a misconception from his friends (at that point, I guess I said acid hippies were the largest part of the day's audience). He insisted that hippies smelled. I must say that was tendentious. His final statement on war was he didn't want to get into that, he wanted only to emphasise meditation, meditation, meditation. I said that's fine. I'll meditate.

All in all I thought his political statements not so evil as dim and thoughtless, somewhat sucking up to the establishment so as not to cause opposition and trouble. But judging from voicetone of his business manager -- a sort of business man western square sensitive -- sounds like he is surrounded by a conservative structure and he would come on unsympathetic in relation to social problems. I told him major cause US youth dis-satisfaction was increasing military police state tendency in US and spoiling everyone's normal life and feelings which I think is a statement partially accurate and something to him to consider since he makes social generalisation as apparently he does.

Avoid the authorities

In a sense his position is not far from Krishna-murti or Leary -- stay out of politics, 'avoid the authorities, get into meditation and inner peace etc.' His division of the peace problem into parts . . . . individuals solve their own . . . is real enough. I don't suppose he's built or required to be a social utopian structure messiah. But in as much as he does stray into political generalisations he sounds inexperienced or ignorant and unfamiliarly authoritarian.

So anyway that's what I could come to listening and talking. He was nice to me, didn't know who I was, asked at first what I did. I said Kovie -- poet. There's an element of too much mesmerised politeness at his darshans (public viewings) -- a guru is someone who you should make it with, learn from, listen to, enquire -- otherwise it's mere 'religion' which Maharishi himself puts down as a failure.

Definitely dim-witted

The main burden that everyone should meditate half hour morning and night makes sense. His blank cheque claims that his extra special meditation form is more efficient than any other is something I haven't tried so I can't judge. His high powered organisation method of advertising meditation is getting, like Pyramid club of people meditating and massive enthusiasm application which would certainly tend to accomplish general peacefulness if it caught on massively and universally. His political statements are definitely dim-witted and a bit out of place.

July 28, 1964 - Swedish TV

Taped: Tuesday 28 July 1964

The Beatles flew to Stockholm, Sweden, on the 11.10am flight from Heathrow Airport, London. Despite the fact that the airport was situated more than 25 miles from the centre of Stockholm, more than 3,000 fans assembled to welcome the group to Sweden.

Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, with The Kays, The Moonlighters, The Streaplers, Jimmy Justice, The Mascots and The Shanes. The group did two houses each night in the ice hockey stadium.

During one of their performances on this night, John received a minor electric shock from a stage microphone. Ringo dislodged his vocal microphone during his vocal cameo on 'I Wanna Be Your Man', forcing him to mime manfully through most of the song.

October 14, 1964 - Scene at 6.30

At Granada Television Studios in Manchester, the Beatles spent most of the day miming a performance of "I Should Have Known Better" and filming an interview for the TV programme Scene at 6.30.

The rare film clip below shows the Beatles from the control room, with sound in this case overdubbed from the BBC version of "I Should Have Known Better."

Pattie Boyd Pictures

"How Do You Sleep?" Lyrics

by John Lennon

As Released by John Lennon (1971)

So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise
You better see right through that mother's eyes
Those freaks was right when they said you was dead
The one mistake you made was in your head
Oh, how do you sleep?
Oh, how do you sleep at night?

You live with straights who tell you you was king
Jump when your mamma tell you anything
The only thing you done was yesterday
And since you've gone you're just another day

Oh, how do you sleep?
Oh, how do you sleep at night?

Oh, how do you sleep?
Oh, how do you sleep at night?

Oh, how do you sleep?
Oh, how do you sleep at night?

Oh, how do you sleep?
Oh, how do you sleep at night?

A pretty face may last a year or two
But pretty soon they'll see what you can do
The sound you make is muzak to my ears
You must have learned something in all those years

Oh, how do you sleep?
Oh, how do you sleep at night?

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" Lyrics

by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As Released by the Beatles (1969)

Joan was quizzical, studied 'pataphysical science in the home
Late nights all alone with a test-tube, oh oh - oh oh.

Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine, calls her on the phone
Can I take you out to the pictures, Joan?

But as she's getting ready to go, a knock comes on the door
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer came down upon her head
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer made sure that she was dead.

Back in school again, Maxwell plays the fool again, teacher gets annoyed
Wishing to avoid an unpleasant scene
She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away
So he waits behind, writing fifty times I must not be so oh - oh oh.

But when she turns her back on the boy, he creeps up from behind
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer came down upon her head
(Do do do do do)
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer made sure that she was dead.
(Do do do do do)

PC Thirty-One said, we caught a dirty one, Maxwell stands alone
Painting testimonial pictures oh oh - oh oh.

Rose and Valerie screaming from the gallery say he must go free
(Maxwell must go free)
The judge does not agree and he tells them so oh - oh oh.

But as the words are leaving his lips, a noise comes from behind
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer came down upon his dead
(Do do do do do)
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer made sure that he was dead.
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
(Do do do do do)

Silver hammer man!

"And Your Bird Can Sing"

"And Your Bird Can Sing" is a song by the The Beatles, released on their 1966 album Revolver in the UK and on Yesterday...and Today in the U.S. The songwriting credit is Lennon/McCartney, though the song was written largely by John Lennon. The working title was "You Don't Get Me." Lennon was later dismissive of the song, referring to it as "another of my throwaways...fancy paper around an empty box."

History

The song, a hard-edged rocker, is memorable for its circular, dual-harmony guitar riff played by George Harrison and Paul McCartney.

A version of the song featuring George on his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, was recorded on April 20, 1966, but this was scrapped and the group recorded the album version on April 26. This rejected version is heard on the Anthology 2 album, and features a vocal track in which Lennon and McCartney are giggling hysterically. The Anthology liner notes do not indicate why they are laughing, claiming that the tapes do not indicate the source of the laughter.

A number of incidents have been suggested to have been inspirations for the song's cryptic lyrics.

• One popular belief is that the song is a teasing jibe by Lennon at his friend Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, in reference to Jagger's pop star girlfriend ("bird" in British slang of the era) Marianne Faithfull.

• Prior to the Revolver sessions, Lennon had received a singing mechanical caged bird as a gift from his first wife Cynthia, which he took as a horrible metaphor of his unhappy marriage.

• While high on marijuana, McCartney had reportedly jotted down that the secret of life was in "seven levels" ("seven wonders" in the song), which later became a joke with the group.

• According to an unsourced claim by the author Jonathan Gould, in a 2007 book, Can't Buy Me Love, "bird" was a popular term that Frank Sinatra used to describe himself or others, and that Lennon wrote the song in response to an official press release promoting a Sinatra TV special as a show for those who were "tired of kid singers wearing mops of hair thick enough to hide a crate of melons." Without citing any source for his claim, Gould states that Lennon was also dismayed that Sinatra won Grammys for Best Album and Best Male Vocalist in 1965 over the Beatles' Rubber Soul, or Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. Gould asserts that Lennon's lyrics "Tell me that you've heard every sound there is, and your bird can swing. But you can't hear me. You can't hear me." were a response. No Lennon biography or Lennon quotation is cited to substantiate Gould's theory.

* "And Your Bird Can Sing" was used as the theme song of the Beatles' cartoon series during its third season.

Credits

* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps
* Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass, lead guitar, handclaps
* George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar, handclaps
* Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine

Covers

The popular Beatles-influenced band The Jam covered this song as a B-side. The Georgia-based college band Guadalcanal Diary also covered this song, released as a CD bonus track on their 1987 album 2X4. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered it on their 2006 album Under the Covers, Vol. 1. Jack Black used its opening riff for inspiration in a fight against Satan at each show of the Tenacious D 2006-2007 Tour. Les Fradkin has a snappy instrumental version on his 2005 CD "While My Guitar Only Plays".

Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 20 April; 26 April 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:01
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

Wikipedia