Julia ( Beatles song ) - wikipedia Julia ( Beatles song ) `` Julia '' Song by the Beatles from the album The Beatles Published Northern Songs Ltd. Released 22 November 1968 Recorded 13 October 1968 Genre Folk Length 2 : 54 Label Apple Songwriter ( s ) Lennon -- McCartney Producer ( s ) George Martin `` Julia '' is a song by the Beatles, but performed as a solo work by John Lennon. The song was written by Lennon ( though credited to Lennon -- McCartney ) regarding his mother Julia Lennon, who died in 1958 at age 44. The track is the final song on side two ( disc one on CD ) of the band 's 1968 double album, The Beatles ( also known as `` White Album '' ) and was the last song recorded for the album. It was also released as the `` B side '' of the Beatles single `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' in 1976. Contents 1 Composition 2 Musical structure 3 Release 4 Personnel 5 Other versions 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links Composition `` Julia '' was written by John Lennon ( credited to Lennon -- McCartney ) and features Lennon on vocals and acoustic guitar. It was written during the Beatles ' 1968 visit to Rishikesh in northern India, where they were studying under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was here where Lennon learned the song 's finger - picking guitar style ( known as ' Travis - picking ' ) from the Scottish musician Donovan. Donovan said : He told me he wanted to write a song about his mother. He said, `` Donovan, you 're the king of children 's songs. Can you help me ?... I want to write a song about the childhood that I never really had with my mother. '' He asked me to help him with the images that he could use in lyrics for a song about this subject. So I said, `` Well, when you think of the song, where do you imagine yourself ? '' And John said, `` I 'm at a beach and I 'm holding hands with my mother and we 're walking together. '' And I helped him with a couple of lines, `` Seashell eyes / windy smile '' -- for the Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland feel that John loved so much. No other Beatle sings or plays on the song. While Paul McCartney made several `` solo '' recordings attributed to the group, dating back to his famous song `` Yesterday '', this is the only time that Lennon played and sang unaccompanied on a Beatles track. `` Julia '' was written for John 's mother, Julia Lennon ( 1914 -- 1958 ), who was killed by a car driven by a drunk off - duty police officer when John was 17 years old. Julia Lennon had encouraged her son 's interest in music and bought him his first guitar. But after she split with John 's father, John was taken in by his aunt, Mimi, and Julia started a new family with another man ; though she lived just a few miles from John, Julia did not spend much time with him for a number of years. Their relationship began to improve as he neared adolescence, though, and in the words of his half - sister, Julia Baird : `` As he grew older, John would stay with us more often. He and Daddy got along well enough, and in the evenings when our daddy, a headwaiter, was at work, John and Mummy would sit together and listen to records. She was an avid Elvis Presley fan, and she and John would jive around the room to ' Heartbreak Hotel ' and other early Elvis recordings. John inherited his love of music from her, and she encouraged him to start with piano and banjo, making him play a tune again and again until he got it right. '' `` I lost her twice, '' Lennon said. `` Once as a five - year - old when I was moved in with my auntie. And once again when she actually physically died. '' The song was also written for his future wife Yoko Ono, whose first name, which literally means `` child of the sea '' in Japanese, is echoed in the lyric `` Oceanchild, calls me. '' Towards the end of his life, he often called Yoko `` Mother. '' The line `` Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it just to reach you '' was a slight alteration from Kahlil Gibran 's `` Sand and Foam '' ( 1926 ) in which the original verse reads, `` Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you ''. Lennon also adapted the lines `` When I can not sing my heart, I can only speak my mind '' from Gibran 's `` When life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind ''. Musical structure This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2018 ) The song is in the key of D and begins with the chords D -- Bm -- F ♯ / C ♯, then D -- Bm -- F ♯ / C ♯ -- A -- D. The second phrase expands on the word `` Ju -- li - a, '' in which the cadence overlaps with the beginning of the next phrase. Release `` Julia '' was originally released as the final song on side two of The Beatles on 22 November 1968. In 1976, it was released as the B - side of the `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' single. In 1988 `` Julia '' was one of the nine Beatles songs on the soundtrack album Imagine : John Lennon. A portion of the song also appeared on the Love album mixed with `` Eleanor Rigby ''. Personnel John Lennon -- double - tracked lead vocals, acoustic guitar, classical guitar, humming Other versions `` Julia '' has been covered by Ramsey Lewis, Bongwater, Chocolate Genius, Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Waltari, Priscilla Ahn, Pedro Aznar, Mike Patton & Carla Hassett as a duet and Sean Lennon. Sean Lennon performed the song live on 2 October 2001 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, as part of the Come Together : A Night for John Lennon 's Words and Music concert special. On Danger Mouse 's mashup album, The Grey Album, `` Julia '' is mixed with Jay - Z 's `` Dirt Off Your Shoulder ''. According to producer Butch Vig, Kurt Cobain covered `` Julia '' during sound checks for Nirvana 's breakthrough album Nevermind ; it was also said to be Cobain 's favorite Beatles track. Notes Jump up ^ `` Interview : Donovan -- Hit Channel ''. Hit-channel.com. 2014 - 06 - 20. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Donovan on the Time He Helped Write a Beatles Classic ''. vulture. Retrieved 9 November 2016. Jump up ^ `` Nowhere Boy : Maureen Cleave remembers John Lennon ''. The Daily Telegraph. London. 14 December 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` 69 -- ' Julia ' ''. 100 Greatest Beatles Songs. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` John Lennon 's Sister Julia Breaks Silence to Tell of the Brother She Loved and Lost ''. People. 23 ( 18 ). 6 May 1985. Retrieved 18 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` Brought to Book, '' 31 July 1971 interview with Alan Smith, Uncut Presents NME Originals Beatles - The Solo Years 2010, p. 42. Jump up ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 200 -- 201. Jump up ^ Wallgren 1982, p. 109. References Lewisohn, Mark ( 1988 ). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York : Harmony Books. ISBN 0 - 517 - 57066 - 1. Wallgren, Mark ( 1982 ). The Beatles on Record. New York : Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0 - 671 - 45682 - 2. External links Alan W. Pollack 's Notes on `` Julia '' Walter Everett 's Notes on `` Julia '' ( pp. 170 -- 72 ) The Beatles Bible : Julia The Beatles ( White Album ) Songs Side one `` Back in the U.S.S.R. '' `` Dear Prudence '' `` Glass Onion '' `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' `` Wild Honey Pie '' `` The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill '' `` While My Guitar Gently Weeps '' `` Happiness Is a Warm Gun '' Side two `` Martha My Dear '' `` I 'm So Tired '' `` Blackbird '' `` Piggies '' `` Rocky Raccoon '' `` Do n't Pass Me By '' `` Why Do n't We Do It in the Road ? '' `` I Will '' `` Julia '' Side three `` Birthday '' `` Yer Blues '' `` Mother Nature 's Son '' `` Everybody 's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey '' `` Sexy Sadie '' `` Helter Skelter '' `` Long, Long, Long '' Side four `` Revolution 1 '' `` Honey Pie '' `` Savoy Truffle '' `` Cry Baby Cry '' `` Revolution 9 '' `` Good Night '' Non-album single `` Hey Jude Revolution '' Outtakes `` A Beginning '' `` Child of Nature '' `` Circles '' `` Etcetera '' `` Junk '' `` Not Guilty '' `` Sour Milk Sea '' `` What 's the New Mary Jane '' Related articles The Beatles discography The Beatles in India Mother Nature 's Son The Grey Album Please Please Me With the Beatles A Hard Day 's Night Beatles for Sale Help ! Rubber Soul Revolver Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles ( White Album ) Yellow Submarine Abbey Road Let It Be Past Masters The Beatles singles discography UK and US ( all labels ) 1963 `` Please Please Me '' / `` Ask Me Why '' `` From Me to You '' / `` Thank You Girl '' `` She Loves You '' / `` I 'll Get You '' 1964 `` Ca n't Buy Me Love '' / `` You Ca n't Do That '' `` I Feel Fine '' / `` She 's a Woman '' 1965 `` Ticket to Ride '' / `` Yes It Is '' `` Help ! '' / `` I 'm Down '' `` We Can Work It Out '' / `` Day Tripper '' 1966 `` Paperback Writer '' / `` Rain '' `` Yellow Submarine '' / `` Eleanor Rigby '' 1967 `` Penny Lane '' / `` Strawberry Fields Forever '' `` All You Need Is Love '' / `` Baby, You 're a Rich Man '' `` Hello, Goodbye '' / `` I Am the Walrus '' 1968 `` Lady Madonna '' / `` The Inner Light '' `` Hey Jude '' / `` Revolution '' 1969 `` Get Back '' / `` Do n't Let Me Down '' `` The Ballad of John and Yoko '' / `` Old Brown Shoe '' `` Something '' / `` Come Together '' 1970 `` Let It Be '' / `` You Know My Name ( Look Up the Number ) '' 1978 `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band / With a Little Help from My Friends '' / `` A Day in the Life '' 1982 `` The Beatles Movie Medley '' / `` I 'm Happy Just to Dance with You '' 1995 `` Free as a Bird '' / `` Christmas Time ( Is Here Again ) '' `` Real Love '' / `` Baby 's in Black '' UK only ( Parlophone, Apple ) 1962 `` My Bonnie '' / `` The Saints '' `` Love Me Do '' / `` P.S. I Love You '' 1963 `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' / `` This Boy '' 1964 `` Ai n't She Sweet '' / `` If You Love Me, Baby '' `` A Hard Day 's Night '' / `` Things We Said Today '' 1976 `` Yesterday '' / `` I Should Have Known Better '' `` Back in the U.S.S.R. '' / `` Twist and Shout '' US only ( Vee - Jay, Swan, Tollie, Capitol, Apple ) 1963 `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' / `` I Saw Her Standing There '' 1964 `` Twist and Shout '' / `` There 's a Place '' `` Do You Want to Know a Secret '' / `` Thank You Girl '' `` Love Me Do '' / `` P.S. I Love You '' `` Sie liebt dich '' / `` I 'll Get You '' `` I 'll Cry Instead '' / `` I 'm Happy Just to Dance with You '' `` And I Love Her '' / `` If I Fell '' `` A Hard Day 's Night '' / `` I Should Have Known Better '' `` Matchbox '' / `` Slow Down '' 1965 `` Eight Days a Week '' / `` I Do n't Want to Spoil the Party '' `` Yesterday '' / `` Act Naturally '' 1966 `` Nowhere Man '' / `` What Goes On '' 1970 `` The Long and Winding Road '' / `` For You Blue '' 1976 `` Got to Get You into My Life '' / `` Helter Skelter '' `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' / `` Julia '' Other countries ( Odeon, Parlophone, Apple ) 1963 `` All My Loving '' / `` This Boy '' ( Canada ) 1964 `` Komm, gib mir deine Hand / Sie liebt dich '' ( Germany ) 1966 `` Norwegian Wood ( This Bird Has Flown ) '' / `` Nowhere Man '' ( Australia ) 1968 `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' / `` While My Guitar Gently Weeps '' ( Europe, Japan, Australia ) `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' / `` I Will '' ( Philippines ) `` Back in the U.S.S.R. '' / `` Do n't Pass Me By '' ( Sweden ) 1969 `` You 're Going to Lose That Girl '' / `` Tell Me What You See '' ( Japan ) 1970 `` Oh ! Darling '' / `` Here Comes the Sun '' ( Japan ) 1972 `` All Together Now '' / `` Hey Bulldog '' ( Europe ) 1978 `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band / With a Little Help from My Friends '' / `` Within You Without You '' ( Germany ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julia_(Beatles_song)&oldid=842537947 '' Categories : 1960s ballads The Beatles songs 1968 songs Rock ballads Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon -- McCartney Capitol Records singles 1976 singles Songs published by Northern Songs Songs in memory of deceased persons Songs about women British folk songs Hidden categories : EngvarB from September 2013 Use dmy dates from September 2013 Articles with hAudio microformats Articles needing additional references from April 2018 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français Italiano עברית ქართული 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Português Русский Svenska 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 23 May 2018, at 03 : 12. About Wikipedia

Question: what album is julia by the beatles on
Answer: The Beatles