Maxwell's Silver Hammer | The Beatles Maxwell's Silver Hammer Studied pataphysical science in the home. Late nights all alone with a testtube, Oh, oh, oh, oh. 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. Clang! Clang! 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." 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. Clang! Clang! Maxwell's silver hammer made sure that she was dead. P. C. Thirtyone said, "We've caught a dirty one," Maxwell stands alone.

Abbey Road | The Beatles fab4bob 30 Jun 2016 This is probably what the next Beatles album would have been (in the format of the White album.). all tracks were issued by solo Beatles in 1970 on three albums. McCartney, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and George Harrison-All Things Must Pass.

Ringo's track was a single Most Solo Beatles singles were left off (as they would have been Beatles singles) Make a playlist - It plays well the title -Beatles 70 1-That Would Be Something (McCartney) 2-Hold On (Lennon) 3-All Things Must Pass (Harrison) 4-Teddy Boy (McCartney) 5-Rembember (Lennon) 6-Beware of Darkness (Harrison) 7-Every Night (McCartney) 8-Love (Lennon) 9-Oo You (McCartney) 10-What Is Life (Harrison) 11-Well, Well, Well (Lennon) 12-Isn't It A Pity (Harrison) 13-Maybe I'm Amazed (McCartney) 14-Look At Me (Lennon) 15-Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Harrison) 16-Isolution (Lennon) 17-Suiside (McCartney) 18-Junk (McCartney) 19-Let It Down (Harrison) 20-I Found Out 

21-It Don't Come Easy 22-Run Of The Mill (Harrison) 23-Man We Was Lonely (McCartney) 24- Singalong Junk (McCartney) 25-Working Class Hero (Lennon) 26-Behind That Locked Door (Harrison) 27-Mother (Lennon) 1970 solo songs notes- (Ringo plays Drums on John & George's songs) (Paul plays all instruments on his songs) (George plays guitar on Ringo's song) Make a playlist - It plays well fab4bob 30 Jun 2016 Their best production for sure.

I Want You is faultless. So is the Medley..and of course George's Something. It was almost too good to be their last?? BlondGuy 13 Jun 2016 A couple more points: Lennon's fading interest in keeping the band going by this point is reflected in his relative lack of contributions to the album. The production is grand, but it sometimes becomes overly-slick, almost as if Paul and George Martin wanted to make the Beatles palatable to an MOR radio listening, older audience. What brings the album down a bit is that it contains what may be the two worst songs the band ever recorded ("Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Octopuss' Garden"), and one that is lyrically simplistic to the point of redundancy and musically monotonous ("I Want You (She's So Heavy)"). But then side two starts up and all is right in the world again. The album also has a rather melancholy, wistful tone to it that REALLY does sound like the group is saying goodbye for good, and for me, that gives the record a rather sad, depressing overall feeling.

BlondGuy 11 Jun 2016 Side two = probably the best side of an album a rock band has ever made. Side one = kind of uneven once you get past the two brilliant opening tracks ("Come Together" and "Something", both of which are works of genius). Mr.paul66 12 Dec 2015 What a masterpiece! I Love this Album so much. My favorite track is "Something" by George! It's one of the geratest lovesongs ever! FelixW60 25 Jul 2015 I received the album as a music cassette and listened to these iconic songs till the tape was completely through. It means a lot to me and I always say this would be the only album I'd take with me on a desert island. FelixW60 25 Jul 2015 I received the album as a music cassette and listened to these iconic songs till the tape was completely through. It means a lot to me and I always say this would be the only album I'd take with me on a desert island.

Phil O'Brien 15 Jun 2015 their last recorded LP was my first Beatle LP and has always been my #1 overall alltime LP/CD,.. tha lst section, from "Golden Slumbers" on is timelessly fantastic and surely a reason Ringo deserved to be in HOF too.. Hope they release different versions other than on Anthology series.. maybe try it mono..All songs are timeless.. Capt.sanjay 21 Apr 2014 The last song recorded was I want you and we can hear that it stopped abruptly what was the reason, is it the exit from Abbey road, but you guys can not exit our hearts and we have real love for you, for ever. Capt.sanjay 21 Apr 2014 Abbey rd is one of my favorite albums, we sometimes regret another album should had been recorded (studio) after this, but we should say what if there was no Abbey road (album) itself, in any case fans had to wait for quarter of a century for the reunion and magic of songs, free as a bird and real love could be experienced - thank you very much.

The Beatles - Maxwell's Silver Hammer - YouTube The Beatles - Maxwell's Silver Hammer Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jul 12, 2010 Category Maxwell's Silver Hammer | The Beatles Bible Anthology 3 Maxwell's Silver Hammer, a jaunty McCartney-penned song about a homicidal maniac, was considered by its author to be a potential Beatles single. Instead it ended up as a track on the group's 1969 album Abbey Road. Maxwell's Silver Hammer was my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does, as I was beginning to find out at that time in my life. I wanted something symbolic of that, so to me it was some fictitious character called Maxwell with a silver hammer. I don't know why it was silver, it just sounded better than Maxwell's hammer. It was needed for scanning. We still use that expression even now when something unexpected happens.

Paul McCartney Many Years From Now, Barry Miles McCartney wrote the song in October 1968, just too late to be recorded for the White Album . The Beatles also rehearsed it at Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969. The Let It Be film shows McCartney teaching the song to the other Beatles, who are clearly less than enthusiastic. Sometimes Paul would make us do these really fruity songs. I mean, my god, Maxwell's Silver Hammer was so fruity. After a while we did a good job on it, but when Paul got an idea or an arrangement in his head... George Harrison Crawdaddy magazine, February 1977 Maxwell's Silver Hammer was particularly derided by John Lennon , who didn't play on it. It was recorded over three days while Lennon and Yoko Ono were recuperating from a car accident sustained in Scotland. However, they both attended the Abbey Road sessions. That's Paul's. I hate it. 'Cuz all I remember is the track - he made us do it a hundred million times.

He did everything to make it into a single and it never was and it never could've been, but he put guitar licks on it and he had somebody hitting iron pieces and we spent more money on that song than any of them in the whole album. I think. John Lennon All We Are Saying, David Sheff Lennon's assessment, however, is somewhat misleading; the song took just three sessions to record, plus a Moog overdub done alone by McCartney some days later. Additionally, it lacked the expensive orchestral overdubs that several other Abbey Road songs were given. They got annoyed because Maxwell's Silver Hammer took three days to record. Big deal. Paul McCartney Anthology Lennon was not alone in his distaste for the song. George Harrison generally disliked McCartney's whimsical songs, and in a 2008 interview Ringo Starr backed up Lennon's assessment: The worst session ever was Maxwell's Silver Hammer. It was the worst track we ever had to record. It went on for fucking weeks. I thought it was mad. Ringo Starr Rolling Stone, January 2008 In the studio Recording began on 9 July 1969.

McCartney, Harrison and Starr recorded 21 takes of the basic track (although there were no takes 6-10), and spent over two hours overdubbing guitars. Take five, recorded on this day, was preserved on the Anthology 3 album, revealing how the song sounded without the various overdubs which were added to take 21. McCartney sings and plays piano, with Harrison on bass and Starr on drums. On 10 July McCartney added more piano, George Martin played Hammond organ, Starr banged an anvil and Harrison recorded a guitar part, fed through a rotating Leslie speaker. McCartney also taped more lead vocals, and was joined by Harrison and Starr for backing vocals. There was a proper blacksmith's anvil brought to the studio for Ringo to hit. They had it rented from a theatrical agency. Geoff Emerick The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn More guitar and vocals were added on 11 July. Maxwell's Silver Hammer was finally completed on 6 August, when McCartney recorded his Moog synthesiser solo. We put together quite a nice album, and the only arguments were about things like me spending three days on Maxwell's Silver Hammer.

I remember George saying, 'You've taken three days, it's only a song.' - 'Yeah, but I want to get it right. I've got some thoughts on this one.' It was early-days Moog work and it did take a bit of time. Paul McCartney Maxwell's Silver Hammer | The Beatles Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit The song took three days of overdubbing because McCartney imagined that it could be a future single. John Lennon later recalled, "I hate it, 'cause all I remember is the track.. [McCartney] did everything to make it into a single, and it never was and it never could have been." According to Lennon, the band spent more money on that song than any other on Abbey Road , and he derided the song at the time as a prime example of McCartney's "granny-style" writing.

John also remembers: "I was ill after the accident when they did most of that track, and it really ground George and Ringo into the ground recording it" and then later adding, " Paul McCartney said in 1994 that: "the song merely epitomises the downfalls of life, being "my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does, as I was beginning to find out at that time in my life. I wanted something symbolic of that, so to me it was some fictitious character called Maxwell with a silver hammer. I don't know why it was silver, it just sounded better than Maxwell's hammer. It was needed for scanning. We still use that expression now when something unexpected happens." George Harrison described it in 1969 as "one of those instant whistle-along tunes which some people hate, and other people really like.

It's a fun song, but it's kind of a drag because Maxwell keeps on destroying everyone like his girlfriend then the school teacher, and then, finally, the judge." "We spent a hell of a lot of time on it" though eventually admitting, "after a while, we did a good job on it." In 1977, Harrison would be less charitable, stating "I mean, my God, 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' was so fruity." Even Ringo Starr recalled in an interview in early 2008: "The worst session ever was 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer.' It was the worst track we ever had to record. It went on for f--king weeks. I thought it was mad." When asked about arguments when recording Maxwell's Silver Hammer, McCartney reports: McCartney recalled: "The only arguments were about things like me spending three days on Maxwell's Silver Hammer. I remember George saying, 'You've taken three days, it's only a song.' – 'Yeah, but I want to get it right. I've got some thoughts on this one.' It was early-days Moog work and it did take a bit of time".

Recording Edit According to most of the Beatles, they strongly disliked recording Maxwell's Silver Hammer. Recording began at Abbey Road Studios on 9 July 1969. John Lennon, who had been absent from a few recording sessions for the previous eight days after he was injured in a car crash, arrived to work on the song; accompanied by his wife, Yoko Ono, who, more badly hurt in the accident than Lennon, lay on a large double-bed in the studio, of course upsetting the other band members. Sixteen takes of the rhythm track were made, followed by a series of guitar overdubs.The unused fifth take can be heard on Anthology 3. Over the following two days the group overdubbed vocals, piano, Hammond organ, anvil, and guitar. The song was completed on 6 August, when McCartney recorded a solo on a Moog synthesizer. Personnel The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969) - Eclipse of Sound: Music Reviews Eclipse of Sound: Music Reviews The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969) - ABBEY ROAD - The ultimate swan song that boasts the best in production, songwriting, and performance in the face of dissolution.

Primary Genre: Rock Favorite Track: You Never Give Me Your Money Rank: A 6. I Want You (She's So Heavy) 7. Here Comes the Sun 8. Because 9. You Never Give Me Your Money 10. Sun King 13. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window 14. Golden Slumbers 16. The End 17. Her Majesty On my old rating system, this record achieved a rare 10 out of 10, which on this scale, would amount to an S rank. But when I revised my system, I also re-ranked every album I had previously looked at, just to make sure my 'semi-neutral' approach had remained intact. In fact (intact / in fact, what a fun combination), I had simply given this album all green because it is Abbey Road. To be fair, some of the lyrics are completely nonsensical, and John admitted to such in his three tracks (Paul would never confess to a mistake, I don't think).

Just to set the record straight, this is still my favorite Beatles album of all time (in close competition with Magical Mystery Tour), but I had to remain fair and dock it a few precious points because of some lyrical inconsistencies. That being said, this album is immaculate. Never before on a Beatles album had the four of them played in such a tight ensemble with such crystal clear production and beautiful (and never out of place) augmentations from the orchestra. And with their dissolution completely inevitable by this point, the boys pulled out all the stops in terms of songwriting. All four of them had brought their best to the table, and I can honestly say that overlooking the few less-than-perfect tracks is justified because of it. But, I must remain somewhat level-headed about this, but don't let that deter you from the fact that this thing is a masterpiece. From John, we've "Come Together", "I Want You (She's So Heavy", and "Because". The first one is a rather nonsensical tune, and despite having a strong musical section, those lyrics really do bug me.

The second is a heavy, passionate, and hypnotic tune that boasts few (but meaningful words) and a single riff that drives the tension so high that when it just breaks, it breaks you along with it. The third is a beautiful piece based on Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", and the vocal harmonies are the absolute best by the group ever. Well...maybe not, but they're certainly among the best. The lyrics are also at a peak of hippy-ism, but they're still in good taste and make sense without being repetitive or cliche, in my opinion. From George, we've got "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun". The first is easily the best love song the Beatles ever made, and who would have thought that it would come from the 'silent' Beatle? Those lyrics are immensely passionate, the guitar solo is one of the most melodic and loving things I've ever heard, and the song's arrangement couldn't have been done any better (kudos to George Martin, he really brought this whole album together, you know).

The second is a lovely acoustic ditty written in protest of the harsh winters that England supposedly has (it got -30 degrees Fahrenheit here last winter before the wind chill...your move, England). He also wrote it in Eric Clapton's garden while skipping out on his fellow Beatles, if you care to know. From Paul, we've got "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Oh! Darling", and from Ringo (to avoid two short half-paragraphs) we have "Octopus's Garden". The first is a silly little country(?) tune with some Moog in it, and it's got some rather absurd (but not exactly clever) lyrics about a serial killer. The second is a sort of 1950s throwback, and Paul does the song a solid by really stretching his vocal cords out on it. The third is Ringo's other Beatle tune, and it runs circles around his earlier composition on The White Album (although it didn't do too much to shake his 'child-friendly' image). But I've forgotten something...the Abbey Road Medley.

From "You Never Give Me Your Money" to "The End", we have one continuous suite of music formed by song fragments of John's and Paul's. The most complete of these is "You Never Give Me Your Money", which is my second favorite Beatles song of all time. It's got it all; dreamy vocal harmonies, driving piano, awesome guitar work from George (he makes it sound like tubular bells or something at one point), and the lyrics are top-notch. The next three fragments belong to John, and good as they may be, the first two don't have that great of lyrics ("Sun King" is in mock Spanish that doesn't even translate into anything). Hey, if Pink Floyd couldn't get away with it on More the same year, than neither can the Beatles. The remaining fragments are Paul's, and tend to be a bit more melodic and lyrically thought-out than what John contributed.

We've got the tale of his true love appearing from his bathroom window and them living happily ever after, a lullaby based on an old poem, and a reprise of "You Never Give Me Your Money" with lyrics pertaining to the fact that none of the Fab Four will ever shake their Beatle reputation, even if their solo careers take off. "The End" is a guitar jam with John, Paul, and George taking turns soloing in their own styles, followed by the most famous line in a Beatles song. What is that line? Well, you've gotten this far into a Beatle catalog review, so you ought to know it already. "Her Majesty" pops up some twenty seconds after "The End", and is just a little acoustic ditty about a lovely lady. So there you have it. It's a streamlined product unlike anything else at that point in time. Granted, a lot of concept albums done by the proggers that came in the Beatles' wake would do this too (Pink Floyd 1973-1983 comes to mind), but this was still a fresh concept yet.

It was also supposed to be their swan song, the end of the Beatles...but their money-greedy manager decided to bastardize their legacy one last time. That aside, this album is an obvious A rank, and had John put a little more thought into some of his lyrical fragments (and had Paul offered something better than "Maxwell", like maybe "Junk" or "Teddy Boy"), then it would be an obvious S rank. Abbey Road Her Majesty Her Majesty is typically not mentioned on the LP sleeve. Abbey Road didn't get the honour of being the Beatles final LP,even though it was the last one to be recorded. In 1970 some recordings from January 1969 were dusted off and released as "Let It Be" to accompany the documentary motion picture "Let It Be". Abbey Road did not have any writing on the front sleeve, so the four Beatles were selling this record on the basis of their familiar faces. Abbey Road was the first of the Beatles'EMI LP's to be released as a compact disc (CD) in 1984, but only in Japan.

The japanese CD was later withdrawn due to complaints from Apple, who had not authorized the CD-release. It finally appeared on CD again in 1987, this time in better quality and with Apple's approval.. The front cover of this record has been copied and parodied several times by other artists. To see more pictures from the photo session of the album cover, click here . Come Together Recorded 21st July 1969 - 9 takes Overdubs 22nd July 1969 onto take 9 Overdubs 23rd July 1969 onto take 9 Overdubs 25th July 1969 onto take 9 Overdubs 29th July 1969 onto take 9 Overdubs 30th July 1969 onto take 9 Final mix - take 9. Digitally remixed in 2000 for "1" "Come Together" was written mainly by John Lennon; Paul McCartney slowed it down and wrote the bass-riff, among other things. This song was the lead-off track on The Beatles' September 1969 album Abbey Road.

One month later it also appeared as one of the sides of the group's twenty-first single (it was a double A-side, the other side being George Harrison's "Something") in the UK, their twenty-sixth in the USA. Here come ol' flat-top, he come groovin' up slowly He got juju eyeball, he one holy rollah... The song's history began with Lennon writing a song for Timothy Leary's failed gubernatorial campaign in California against Ronald Reagan, one which promptly ended when Leary was arrested for possession of marijuana. It was transformed by Lennon into a track with digs at McCartney and Harrison interspersed alongside tales of his Bagism movement with wife Yoko Ono. It was the subject of a lawsuit brought against Lennon by Chuck Berry's music publisher, Morris Levy, due to the fact that one line in "Come Together" closely resembled a line of Berry's You Can't Catch Me: (i.e. The Beatles' "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up slowly" vs. Berry's "Here come up flattop, he was groovin' up with me").

After settling out of court, Lennon promised to record other songs owned by Levy, all of which were released on Lennon's 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll. Lennon played rhythm guitar and tambourine in addition to singing the vocal (first and second voice; it was claimed that Lennon was so high when singing he had to lie down). McCartney played bass and the electric piano (estimated as "southern" by John), Harrison lead guitar, and Ringo Starr drums and maracas. It was produced by George Martin and recorded at the end of July 1969 at Abbey Road Studios. JOHN 1969: "'Come Together' changed at the session. We said, 'Let's slow it down. Let's do this to it, let's do that to it,' and it ends up however it comes out. I just said, 'Look, I've got no arrangement for you, but you know how I want it.' I think that's partly because we've played together a long time.

So I said, 'Give me something funky and set up a beat, maybe.' And they all just joined in." PAUL 1969: "On the new album I like 'Come Together,' which is a great one of John's." JOHN 1980: "'Come Together' is me-- writing obscurely around an old Chuck Berry thing. I left the line 'Here comes old flat-top.' It is nothing like the Chuck Berry song, but they took me to court because I admitted the influence once years ago. I could have changed it to 'Here comes old iron face,' but the song remains independent of Chuck Berry or anybody else on earth. The thing was created in the studio. It's gobbledygook-- 'Come Together' was an expression that Tim Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and I tried, but I couldn't come up with one. But I came up with this, 'Come Together,' which would've been no good to him-- you couldn't have a campaign song like that, right? Leary attacked me years later, saying I ripped him off.

I didn't rip him off. It's just that it turned into 'Come Together.' What am I going to do, give it to him? It was a funky record-- it's one of my favorite Beatle tracks, or, one of my favorite Lennon tracks, let's say that. It's funky, it's bluesy, and I'm singing it pretty well. I like the sound of the record. You can dance to it. I'll buy it!" (laughs) Something Recorded 25th February 1969 - Demo take 1 Recording 16th April 1969 - 13 takes (backing track only) Re-made 2nd May 1969 - 36 takes (new 1-36) Overdubs 5th May 1969 onto take 36 Overdubs 11th July 1969 onto take 36 creating take 37 Overdubs 16th July 1969 onto take 36 creating takes 38 & 39 Overdubs 15th August 1969 onto take 39 Final mix - take 39.

Digitally remixed in 2000 for "1" "Something", according to most sources, came about as a tribute to Harrison's then wife, Pattie Boyd. Harrison lifted the first line of his song from James Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves" (made popular by Tom Rush's 1968 recording) and used it to write a working lyric ("Something in the way she moves / Attracts me like a pomegranate", in the vein of "Scrambled Eggs," the original lyrics to "Yesterday"). Later in 1969, Harrison offered his story of how he composed it, but oddly didn't make any reference to the numerous anecdotes about "Something": I wrote the song "Something" for the album before this one, but I never finished it off until just recently. I usually get the first few lines of words and music together, both at once... and then finish the rest of the melody. Then I have to write the words. It's like another song I wrote when we were in India. I wrote the whole first verse and just said everything I wanted to say, and so now I need to write a couple more verses. I find that much more difficult.

But John gave me a handy tip. He said, 'Once you start to write a song, try to finish it straight away while you're still in the same mood.' Sometimes you go back to it and you're in a whole different state of mind. So now, I do try to finish them straight away. It later transpired that Harrison didn't actually have Boyd in mind. In his words: "Everybody presumed I wrote ['Something'] about Patti, but actually when I wrote it I was thinking of Ray Charles." The original version, at eight minutes, was even longer than "Hey Jude," featuring Lennon on the piano at the end, with a counter-melody in the middle. These were cut out, the piano part going to a Lennon song, "Remember," and the counter-melody finally appearing on The Beatles Anthology 3. "Something" was nearly polished by the release of the Beatles' self-titled The Beatles album, as it had been recorded, but eventually dropped for the album's release. Harrison explained it in 1980: "Something" was written on the piano while we were making the White Album.

I had a break while Paul was doing some overdubbing so I went into an empty studio and began to write. That's really all there is to it, except the middle took some time to sort out. It didn't go on the White Album because we'd already finished all the tracks. The song was later tried as part of the "Get Back" project which eventually became Let It Be, but again failed to make the final cut. Eventually Harrison succeeded in forcing the song's way into a final release, officially recording it for Abbey Road on his 26th birthday. Harrison played lead guitar, accompanied by McCartney on bass and Ringo Starr on drums. Billy Preston, one of the few non-Beatles to have performed with them on a final release, joined them on the organ. George Martin subsequently edited in a string arrangement to the original recording. Harrison later complained about McCartney's 'fussy' bass playing on the track, saying he'd "rather have Willie Weeks playing bass for me than Paul McCartney". The song runs at a speed of about sixty-six beats per minute and is in common time throughout. The melody begins in the key of C Major.

It continues in this key throughout the intro and the first two verses, until the bridge, which is in the key of A Major. After the bridge, the melody returns to C Major for the guitar solo, the third verse, and the outro. JOHN 1969: "I think that's about the best track on the album, actually." PAUL 1969: "I like George's song 'Something.' For me I think it's the best he's written." Maxwell's Silver Hammer Recorded 9th July 1969 - 21 takes Overdubs 10th July 1969 onto take 21 Overdubs 11th July 1969 onto take 21 Overdubs 6th August 1969 onto take 21 creating takes 22-27 Final mix - take 27. Paul McCartney singing the lead, and is included on their album Abbey Road. It was written by Paul McCartney, though the songwriting credit is Lennon-McCartney.

Beatle George Harrison described it in 1969 as "one of those instant whistle-along tunes which some people hate, and other people really like. It's a fun song, but it's kind of a drag because Maxwell keeps on killing everyone like his girlfriend then the school teacher, and then, finally, the judge." The vaudevillian-style song is about medical student Maxwell Edison, who uses his silver hammer to murder his girlfriend, then his teacher, and finally a judge. According to McCartney, it epitomizes the downfalls of life. He said in 1994: "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does, as I was beginning to find out at that time in my life. I wanted something symbolic of that, so to me it was some fictitious character called Maxwell with a silver hammer. I don't know why it was silver, it just sounded better than Maxwell's hammer. It was needed for scanning. We still use that expression now when something unexpected happens. The song took three days of overdubbing because McCartney imagined that it could be a future single.

John Lennon later recalled, "he did everything to make it into a single, and it never was and it never could have been." According to Lennon, the band spent more money on that song than any other on Abbey Road. McCartney referred to the song when talking about his 2005 album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard: "In the past I may have written tongue-in-cheek, like `Maxwell's Silver Hammer,' and dealt with matters of fate in a kind of comical, parody manner. It just so happens in this batch of songs I would look at these subjects and thought it was good for writing. If it's good enough to take to your psychiatrist, it's good enough to make a song of." Oh!

Darling Recorded 20th April 1969 - 26 takes Overdubs 26th April 1969 onto take 26 Overdubs 17th July 1969 onto take 16 (!) Overdubs 18th July 1969 onto take 26 Overdubs 22nd July 1969 onto take 26 The final vocal - 23rd July 1969 onto take 26 Overdubs 8th August 1969 onto take 26 Overdubs 11th August 1969 onto take 26 Final mix - take 26. Its working title was "I'll Never Do You No Harm". Paul McCartney later said of recording the track, 'When we were recording 'Oh! Darling' I came into the studios early every day for a week to sing it by myself because at first my voice was too clear. I wanted it to sound as though I'd been performing it on stage all week.' In order to make sure he got every precious first take right, McCartney would practice the song in the bathtub.

PAUL circa-1994: "I mainly remember wanting to get the vocal right, wanting to get it good, and I ended up trying each morning as I came into the recording session. I tried it with a hand mike, and I tried it with a standing mike, I tried it every which way, and finally got the vocal I was reasonably happy with. It's a bit of a belter and if it comes off lukewarm then you've missed the whole point. It was unusual for me-- I would normally try all the goes at a vocal in one day." John Lennon's later quote about this song: 'I always thought I could have done it better - it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it.' Lennon can be heard singing background vocals on the version of the song on The Beatles Anthology 3.

John Lennon: Piano and backing vocals Paul McCartney: Bass guitar, lead vocal, and backing vocals George Harrison: Lead guitar and synthesizer Ringo Starr: Drums Recorded 26th April 1969 - 32 takes Overdubs 29th April 1969 onto take 32 Overdubs 17th July 1969 onto take 32 Overdubs 18th July 1969 onto take 32 Final mix - take 32. "Octopus's Garden" is a song written by Ringo Starr with some help from George Harrison, although it is credited solely to Starr. It is featured on the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. The idea for the song came about when Ringo was on a boating trip with his family in Sardinia in 1968. The boat's captain offered him an octopus lunch, but he turned it down. It was then that the captain began to tell him everything he knew about octopuses, and how they travel along the sea bed looking for shiny objects and stones with which to build gardens.

Ringo once said that hearing about octopuses spending their days collecting shiny objects at the bottom of the sea was one of the happiest things he'd heard of. Wanting to write a song on it, Ringo decided to write this song. It is sometimes seen as being a song for children, like "Yellow Submarine" or "Rocky Raccoon," though the latter is also seen as a profound piece on redemption. GEORGE 1969: "'Octopus's Garden' is Ringo's song. It's only the second song Ringo has ever written, mind you, and it's lovely. Ringo gets bored with just playing drums all the time, so at home he sometimes plays a bit of piano, but unfortunately he only knows about three chords. He knows about the same on guitar too. This song gets very deep into your consciousness, though because it's so peaceful.

I suppose Ringo is writing cosmic songs these days without even realizing it." I Want You (She's So Heavy) Recorded 22nd February 1969 - 35 takes Mixing 23rd february 1969 takes 9, 20 & 32 together for new "take 1" Overdubs 18th April 1969 onto take 1 Overdubs 20th April 1969 onto take 1 Overdubs 8th August 1969 onto take 1 Overdubs 11th August 1969 onto take 1 Final mix - "take 1" The song is an unusual Beatles composition for a variety of reasons, namely its length (7:47), its disproportionately small number of lyrics (there are only fourteen different words in the song), its three-minute descension through the same repeated guitar chords, its gravitation towards the genre of heavy rock and roll, and for its instantaneous and unanticipated end. It is also one of the last songs that the Beatles ever recorded as a group, on August 20, 1969.

GEORGE 1969: "It is very heavy. John plays lead guitar and sings, and it's basically just an old blues riff he's doing, but again, it's a very original John-type song as well... It's a very good chord sequence he used on this particular one." JOHN 1969: "We used a Moog synthesizer on the end.

That machine can do all sounds and all ranges of sound." JOHN 1971: "Simplicity is evident in 'She So Heavy.' In fact a reviewer wrote: 'He seems to have lost his talent for lyrics, it's so simple and boring.' When it gets down to it-- when you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream." JOHN 1980: "That's me, about Yoko." Here Comes The Sun Recorded 7th July 1969 - 13 takes (backing track only) Vocal overdubs 8th July 1969 onto take 13 creating takes 14-15 Overdubs 16th July 1969 onto take 15 Overdubs 6th August 1969 onto take 15 Overdubs 11th August 1969 onto take 15 Overdubs 15th August 1969 onto take 15 Moog overdub 19th August 1969 onto take 15 Final mix

 - take 15.

The song, Harrison's most well-known Beatles contribution alongside "Something", had its genesis with a songwriting collaboration between Harrison and close friend Eric Clapton called "Badge", recorded by Clapton's group Cream. It was the song's bridge that formed the basis for "Sun", the final version of which was written in Clapton's garden as Harrison was avoiding Apple Records meetings. 1969 was a difficult year for George: he was arrested for cannabis possession (his wife Pattie Boyd actually had been set up), he had his tonsils out, and he had temporarily quit the band. The song was written while Harrison was happily away from all of these troubles. GEORGE 1980: "...written at a time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen-- all this signing accounts, and 'sign this' and 'sign that.' Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever; by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided, 'I'm going to sag-off Apple,' and I went over to Eric Clapton's house. I was walking in his garden.

The relief of not having to go and see all those dopey accountants was wonderful. And I was walking around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars, and wrote 'Here Comes The Sun.'" John Lennon was absent during the recording of the song, due to a traffic incident in Scotland. Harrison sang lead vocals and backing vocals, and played acoustic guitar, harmonium, synthesiser, and handclaps. Paul McCartney sang backing vocals, and played bass guitar and handclaps. Ringo Starr played drums, handclaps. Unknown musicians played violas, cellos, double bass, piccolos, flutes, alto flutes, and clarinets. The "Badge" bridge/guitar riff would return in two later Abbey Road album tracks, "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "Carry That Weight". Because Recorded 1st August 1969 - 23 takes Vocal overdubs 4th August 1969 onto take 16 Moog overdubs 5th August 1969 onto take 16 Final mix - take 16. Urban legend has it that this song is actually "Moonlight Sonata" by Ludwig van Beethoven played backwards.

While this is not precisely true, "Moonlight Sonata" certainly served as an inspiration for the song. "I was lying on the sofa in our house," said Lennon, "listening to Yoko play Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' on the piano. Suddenly, I said, 'Can you play those chords backward?' She did, and I wrote 'Because' around them. The song sounds like 'Moonlight Sonata,' too." One cover version of the song was recorded by Alice Cooper and the Bee Gees for the movie version of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album; another by indie singer-songwriter Elliott Smith was used in the closing credits of the film American Beauty. Negativland also edited samples of the song's backing vocals on their No Business album for the cuts "Old Is New" and "New Is Old," in which they are made to repeatedly intone the tracks' titles, seemingly indicating the band's stance on sampling. The song was one of the few Beatles songs to include an analog synthesizer arrangement (although analog keyboards such as the Mellotron had been used often by the Beatles, few songs featured the use of a traditional analog synthesizer with voltage-controlled oscillators).

The song has many puns in it; for example, "Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry." PAUL 1969: "I like John's 'Because' on the second side. To say, 'Because the world is round it turns me on' is great. And 'Because the wind is high it blows my mind'" GEORGE 1969: "I think my favorite one on the album is 'Because.' The lyrics are uncomplicated... but the harmony was actually pretty difficult to sing. I think it's one of those tunes that will definitely impress most people." JOHN 1980: "I was lying on the sofa in our house, listening to Yoko play Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' on the piano. Suddenly, I said, 'Can you play those chords backward?' She did, and I wrote 'Because' around them. The song sounds like 'Moonlight Sonata,' too.

The lyrics are clear, no bullshit, no imagery, no obscure references." You Never Give Me Your Money Recorded 6th May 1969 - 36 takes Overdub 1st July 1969 onto take 30 Overdubs 11th July 1969 onto take 30 Overdubs 15th July 1969 onto take 30 Overdubs 30th July 1969 onto take 30 creating takes 37-42 Overdubs 30th July 1969 onto take 40 Overdubs 31st July 1969 onto take 30 (!) Final mix - take 30. "You Never Give Me Your Money" is a song by the The Beatles that opens the climactic medley on side two of the album Abbey Road. It was mainly written by Paul McCartney (though attributed to Lennon-McCartney) and details the Beatles' monetary problems. The song begins with two verses sung by Paul in a large-sound, almost classical style.

This is followed by a much faster section with Paul switching to a more nasal vocal style, using a baritone voice which lends an almost bouncy air in addition to the song's slightly comic lyrics. The song fades out with a chant reminiscent of a nursery rhyme, set to the George Harrison guitar riff introduced in a previous album track, "Here Comes the Sun" (in turn based on a previous Harrison/Eric Clapton composition, "Badge")--the riff will return later in the medley's track "Carry That Weight". The song's production is notable for prominent use of leslie-amplified, arpeggiated guitar parts, which would become synonymous with the late-era Beatles sound. It is notable for the way it opens up, lyrically, from profound introspection, to society at large, to the alienating effects of fame, to heaven itself: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7; All good children go to heaven. Some believe that this song is a reference to the Beatles drug dealer always complaining about payment. As Paul said in an interview to the BBC, "we never wanted to have to pay for drugs.

We expected them to be complimentary." GEORGE 1969: "It does two verses of one tune, and then the bridge is almost like a different song altogether, so it's quite melodic." PAUL 1988: "We wanted to dabble, and I had a bit of fun making some of the songs fit together, with key changes (into the long medley). That was nice. It worked out well." Sun King Recorded 24th July 1969 - 35 takes (together with "Mean Mr. Mustard") Vocal overdubs 25th July 1969 onto take 35 Overdubs 29th July 1969 onto take 35 Final mix - take 35. "Sun King" is the 4th song on side two of The Beatles Abbey Road record. It is the second song of the final medley, although it is in a different key and rhythm. It was originally to be titled "Here Comes the Sun King" but was shortened to just Sun King to avoid confusion with Here Comes the Sun.

The lyrics to start the song are the same as the title and lyrics of Here Comes the Sun, but with the word "King" inserted afterwords, although George Harrison wrote the latter and Sun King is written by John Lennon. Later, the song, in minor key with an organ in the background, breaks into a faux Romance language mixing English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. The song is in three part harmony sung by all John, Paul McCartney, and George, similar to the song "Because", earlier on the album. At the end of the song, the music stops abruptly and a Ringo Starr drum fill leads into the next track, "Mean Mr. Mustard".

The "faux Romance mixing" of languages occurs in the last three lines of the song, which are as follows: Quando para mucho mi amore de felice corazon Mundo paparazzi mi amore chica ferdi parasol Cuesto obrigado tanta mucho cake and eat it carousel Although open for interpretation, it roughly translates as: If for much, my love of happy heart World Paparazzi, my love, green girl for the sun This, thanks very much, cake and eat it, dearest sun On the bootleg LP "Abbey Road Talks" John is interviewed about these lyrics and says: "We just started joking, you know, singing 'quando para mucho'. So we just made up, ah, Paul knew a few Spanish words from school, you know. So we just strung any Spanish words that sounded vaguely like something. And of course we got `chicka ferdy' in.

That's a Liverpool expression - just like sort of - it doesn't mean anything to me but 'na-na, na-na-na'" JOHN 1980: "That's a piece of garbage I had around." GEORGE 1987: "At the time, 'Albatross' (by Fleetwood Mac) was out, with all the reverb on guitar. So we said, 'Let's be Fleetwood Mac doing Albatross, just to get going.' It never really sounded like Fleetwood Mac... but that was the point of origin." Mean Mr. Mustard Recording and mixing; see Sun King Mean Mr. Mustard is the name of a song written by John Lennon (although credited to Lennon-McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on their album, Abbey Road (also released on Anthology 3). Written in India, John said that the song was inspired by a newspaper story about a miser who concealed his cash wherever he could in order to prevent people from forcing him to spend it. Tony Bramwell offers a secondary interpretation: "There was an old 'bag lady' who used to hang around the Knightsbridge end of Hyde Park, London, close to the army barracks.

She had all her possessions in plastic bags and slept in the park. I'm sure that she had something to do with the song." In the original version of the lyrics, Mustard's sister is named Shirley. Lennon changed it to Pam when he saw the opportunity to ease the segue into the song "Polythene Pam", which follows "Mean Mr. Mustard" on the album. Additionally, the original version of the song was much quieter, almost Dylanesque in that it was performed with an acoustic guitar. This song was recorded with "Sun King" in one continuous piece. The version on the film version of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was performed by Mean Mr. Mustard (played by Frankie Howard) and his evil robot companions named the Computerettes (played by Anna Rodzianko and Rosa Aragon). It is very likely that the computerized singing of the Computerettes was achieved by using a vocoder.

Polythene Pam Recorded 25th July 1969 - 39 takes Overdubs 28th July 1969 onto take 39 creating take 40 Overdubs 30th July 1969 onto take 40 Final mix - take 40. Polythene Pam is the name of a song written by John Lennon (although credited to Lennon-McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on their final album, Abbey Road. Superficially about "a mythical Liverpool scrubber dressed up in her jackboots and kilt", the song was inspired by an evening that John spent with poet Royston Ellis and his girlfriend, Stephanie. The three wore polythene (a common British truncation of the word polyethylene) bags and slept in the same bed out of curiosity about kinky sex. Incidentally, John would later admit in the 1980 interview with Playboy that Ellis was the first person to introduce the Beatles to drugs when he showed them how to get high from the strips inside a Benzedrine inhaler. It was in this interview that John supplied the details of this event but refused to elaborate further.

The song may have been equally inspired by Cavern Club fan Pat Hodgetts, who was called "Polythene Pat" because she used to eat the material. "I'd tie it in knots and then eat it," she later reported. "Sometimes I even used to burn it and then eat it when it got cold." On the album, the song is linked with the previous song (Mean Mr. Mustard) both musically (the two run together without pause) and narratively (since "Mean Mr. Mustard" mentions that Mr. Mustard has a sister named Pam before launching into the song about her). "Polythene Pam" also runs directly into the next song, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window". Technically, "Polythene Pam" is over at the end of the guitar solo, at which point Lennon says, "We'll listen to that now," followed by McCartney's "Oh, look out!" At 0:47, someone picks up a maraca and, in the right channel, Paul McCartney can be heard saying "Yeah," while Lennon says, "Great".

She Came In Through The Bathroom Window Recording and mixing; see Polythene Pam She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is a song written by Paul McCartney (although credited to Lennon-McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on the final album they recorded, Abbey Road. The subject of the song is a real life event. A fan named Diane Ashley found a ladder in McCartney's garden and used it to climb up to the bathroom window, which was slightly open. "I was the one who climbed up and got in," she says. Diane was surprised to have become the subject of a Beatles song. "I didn't believe it at first, because he'd hated it so much when we broke in. But then I suppose anything can inspire a song, can't it? I know that all his neighbors rang him when they saw we'd got in and I'm sure that gave rise to the lines, 'Sunday's on the phone to Monday/Tuesday's on the phone to me'." This song was performed directly after "Polythene Pam", the song on the preceding track, without pause. Allegedly, Paul plays lead guitar on this song, while George Harrison plays the bass part.

Golden Slumbers Recorded 2nd July 1969 - 15 takes (as one track) Overdubs 3rd July 1969 onto takes 13 & 15, creating 2 takes (16-17) Overdubs 4th July 1969 onto take 17 Overdubs 30th July 1969 onto take 17 Overdubs 31st July 1969 onto take 17 Overdubs 15th August 1969 onto take 17 Final mix - take 17. "Golden Slumbers" is a Beatles song. It was initially released on Abbey Road. Mainly written by Paul McCartney, it is based upon a poem by Thomas Dekker and written in a lullaby style. Paul McCartney was the lead. Halfway through, Paul briefly switches from his clear melodic voice to a slightly distorted voice, more typical of heavy rock singers. It was covered by Ben Folds on the I Am Sam soundtrack in 2002 and by Phil Collins in In My Life: Tribute to George Martin (1998).

PAUL 1969: "I was just playing the piano in Liverpool at my dad's house, and my sister Ruth's piano book... she was learning piano... and 'Golden Slumbers and your old favorites' was up on the stand, you know-- it was a little book with all those words in it. I was just flipping through it and I came to 'Golden Slumbers.' I can't read music so I didn't know the tune... I can't remember the old tune... so I just started playing 'my' tune to it. And then, I liked the words so I just kept that, you know, and then it fitted with another bit of song I had-- which is the verse in between it. So I just made that into a song. It just happened 'cuz I was reading her book." Carry That Weight Recording and mixing; see Golden Slumbers The middle bridge, featuring brass instruments, electric guitar and vocals, reprises the beginning of "You Never Give Me Your Money", but with different lyrics.

The ending also reprises the guitar motif from the end of that track, also featured prominently in the George Harrison written tracks "Here Comes The Sun" and "Badge" (co-written with Eric Clapton). This was also one of the few songs that the Beatles ever recorded that featured every band member vocally harmonizing. JOHN 1980: "That's Paul. Apparently he was under strain at that period." PAUL circa-1994: "I'm generally quite upbeat, but at certain times things get to me so much that I just can't be upbeat anymore and that was one of those times. 'Carry that weight a long time'-- like forever! That's what I meant... in this heaviness there was no place to be.

It was serious, paranoid heaviness and it was just very uncomfortable." The End Recorded 23rd July 1969 - 7 takes (backing track only) Vocal overdubs 5th August 1969 onto take 7 Overdubs 7th August 1969 onto take 7 Overdubs 8th August 1969 onto take 7 Overdubs 15th August 1969 onto take 7 Overdubs 18th August 1969 onto take 7 Final mix - take 7. The End is a song, specifically the last song, by The Beatles. Composed by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, it was the final song ever recorded collectively by all four Beatles (the four would never record together again), and released on Abbey Road (1969) as the final full piece from the last album they recorded. It is seen by many as a fittingly grandiose finish to their career. The album's preceding track, "Carry That Weight", segues into "The End". The song is unique in that it features Ringo Starr's only drum solo in The Beatles' catalog.

Additionally, there are three extended guitar solos performed in turn by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and John Lennon, although it is not positively known when each one begins and finishes. The final line, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make", in the view of many fans, captures the essence of the Beatles' message. An alternate version (with additional George Harrison guitar work and George Martin orchestration not in the released version) appears on the Beatles Anthology 3 CD. JOHN 1980: "That's Paul again, the unfinished song, right? Just a piece at the end. He had a line in it, (sings) 'And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make,' which is a very cosmic, philosophical line-- which again proves that if he wants to, he can think." PAUL 1988: "Ringo would never do drum solos. He hated drummers who did lengthy drum solos. We all did. And when he joined the Beatles we said, 'Ah, what about drum solos then?' and he said, 'I hate 'em!' We said, 'Great!

We love you!' And so he would never do them. But because of this medley I said, 'Well, a token solo?' and he really dug his heels in and didn't want to do it. But after a little bit of gentle persuasion I said, '...it wouldn't be Buddy Rich gone mad,' because I think that's what he didn't want to do. ... anyway we came to this compromise, it was a kind of a solo. I don't think he's done one since." PAUL 1994: "We were looking for the end to an album, and 'In the end the love you take is equal to the love you make' just came into my head. I just recognized that would be a good end to an album. And it's a good little thing to say-- now and for all time, I think. I can't think of anything much better as a philosophy, because all you need IS love. It still is what you need. There aint nothin' better. So, you know, I'm very proud to be in the band that did that song, and that thought those thoughts, and encouraged other people to think them to help them get through little problems here and there.

So uhh... We done good!!" Her Majesty Recorded 2nd July 1969 - 3 takes Final mix - take 3. Her Majesty is the name of a song written by Paul McCartney (although credited to Lennon-McCartney) that appears on The Beatles' album Abbey Road. "Her Majesty" appears at the very end of the album, however, it was originally meant to sit in between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam". When Paul heard this sequence, he was displeased, so it was edited out and recycled to the end of the tape so that it wouldn't be destroyed. It would remain here, probably because of its seemingly random effect. On the album, there are fourteen seconds of silence between "The End" and "Her Majesty". After the pause, a loud burst, the last chord of "Mean Mr. Mustard", introduces the song. "Her Majesty" ends abruptly (on an A natural, the 5th from the song's tonic) because its own final note was left at the beginning of "Polythene Pam". "Her Majesty" can be considered the first hidden track to appear on an album.

Paul McCartney played "Her Majesty" at British Sovereign Elizabeth II's Jubilee Concert. PAUL 1969: "That was just... I don't know. I was in Scotland, and I was just writing this little tune. I can never tell, like, how tunes come out. I just wrote it as a joke."

Question: Who was holding a Silver Hammer in the 1969 song from the Abbey Road Album by The Beatles?
Answer: Maxwell