The Beatles Song John Lennon Said Was Sabotaged
The collaboration of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, two spirits who were frequently in tune with one another but occasionally drove each other insane, propelled The Beatles onward. Consider “Across The Universe,” a song that is frequently regarded as one of the band’s best. John Lennon described the arrangement of this melancholic hymn as “subconscious sabotage.”
It’s one of Lennon’s most exquisite lyrics. Unease in his marriage was the source of the first line, “words spilling out into a paper cup,” which came to mind following an awkward talk with his first wife, Cynthia.
As I lay in bed with my first wife, you know, I was thinking and getting agitated. I continued hearing these words over and over, like an unending stream, even after she had probably fallen asleep after talking for a very long time about something. When I went downstairs, the melody stopped being one of irritation and started sounding more like a cosmic song. [The words] came to me like a boom and were entirely motivating. You know, it didn’t come through like that; I don’t own it.
The song was first recorded in 1968 at Abbey Road, with two fans who were rescued from outside the studio gates famously singing the high notes. It was a dreamy, fuzzy song that was never released as
Going back to “Across The Universe” for the suggested “Let It Be” sessions, John Lennon can be heard strumming through several arrangements of the song in both Let It Be and Get Back. Phil Spector saw the project through to completion, although the finished product never quite achieved the quality John Lennon had envisioned.
In an interview with Playboy from 1980, John Lennon had some nasty words to say about Paul McCartney. Paul would essentially attempt to subtly ruin a fantastic tune. Usually, we would spend hours fine-tuning Paul’s tunes; but, with my songs, an air of looseness, casualness, and experimentation would always seep in. unconscious destruction.
Was he really saying that? Paul McCartney, on the other hand, was also quite fond of the song.
mentioned Phil Spector’s arrangement as a major flaw. By taking out the strings on “Let It Be… Naked,” Paul McCartney demonstrated that he had no desire to subtly undermine John Lennon’s contributions.
Maybe John Lennon was so frustrated that the song didn’t live up to his expectations that he made the charge. He called it one of his all-time best in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1970.
It’s among my best lyrics to date. It might even be the greatest. Whatever you want to call it, it’s good poetry without chewing it. You see, the ones that just stand as text without tune are the ones that I enjoy. You can read them without them needing to have a melody, just like in a poetry.
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