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The Beatles Lyrics, album "Revolver"
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 GEORGE 1980: ''Taxman' was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes. It was and still is typical.'JOHN 1980: 'I remember the day he (George) called to ask for help on 'Taxman,' one of his first songs. I threw in a few one-liners to help the song along because that's what he asked for. He came to me because he couldn't go to Paul. Paul wouldn't have helped him at that period. I didn't want to do it. I just sort of bit my tongue and said OK. It had been John and Paul for so long, he'd been left out because he hadn't been a songwriter up until then.'PAUL 1984: 'George wrote that and I played guitar on it. He wrote it in anger at finding out what the taxman did. He had never known before then what could happen to your money.'GEORGE 1987: 'I was pleased to have Paul play that bit on 'Taxman.' If you notice, he did like a little Indian bit on it for me.' 1,2,3,4Hrmm!1,2...1,2,3,4.Let me tell you how it will be There's one for you, nineteen for me Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxmanShould five per cent appear too small Be thankful I don't take it all Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxmanIf you drive a car, I'll tax the street If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat If you get too cold I'll tax the heat If you take a walk, I'll tax your feetTaxman! Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxmanDon't ask me what I want it for (Aahh Mr. Wilson) If you don't want to pay some more (Aahh Mr. Heath) Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxmanNow my advice for those who die Declare the pennies on your eyes Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxmanAnd you're working for no one but me Taxman! PAUL 1966: 'I was sitting at the piano when I thought of it. The first few bars just came to me, and I got this name in my head… Daisy Hawkins picks up the rice in the church. I don't know why. I couldn't think of much more so I put it away for a day. Then the name Father McCartney came to me, and all the lonely people. But I thought that people would think it was supposed to be about my Dad sitting knitting his socks. Dad's a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name McKenzie. I was in Bristol when I decided Daisy Hawkins wasn't a good name. I walked 'round looking at the shops, and I saw the name Rigby. Then I took the song down to John's house in Weybridge. We sat around, laughing, got stoned and finished it off.'JOHN 1980: 'Paul's baby, and I helped with the education of the child… The violin backing was Paul's idea. Jane Asher had turned him on to Vivaldi, and it was very good.'PAUL 1984: 'I got the name Rigby from a shop in Bristol. I was wandering round Bristol one day and saw a shop called Rigby. And I think Eleanor was from Eleanor Bron, the actress we worked with in the film 'Help!' But I just liked the name. I was looking for a name that sounded natural. Eleanor Rigby sounded natural.' Ah, look at all the lonely people Ah, look at all the lonely peopleEleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been Lives in a dream Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door Who is it for?All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear No one comes near Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there What does he care?All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?Ah, look at all the lonely people Ah, look at all the lonely peopleEleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name Nobody came Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave No one was savedAll the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people) Where do they all come from? All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people) Where do they all belong? JOHN 1980: 'It's got backwards guitars… that's me dreaming my life away.'PAUL circa-1994: 'It was a nice idea – 'There's nothing wrong with it. I'm not being lazy, I'm only sleeping, I'm yawning, I'm meditating, I'm having a lay-in.' The luxury of all that was what it was all about. The song was co-written but from John's original idea.' When I wake up early in the morning Lift my head, I'm still yawning When I'm in the middle of a dream Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me Leave me where I am, I'm only sleepingEverybody seems to think I'm lazy I don't mind, I think they're crazy Running everywhere at such a speed Till they find there's no need (There's no need)Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away And after all I'm only sleepingKeeping an eye on the world going by my window Taking my timeLying there and staring at the ceiling Waiting for a sleepy feeling...Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away And after all I'm only sleepingOoh yeahKeeping an eye on the world going by my window Taking my timeWhen I wake up early in the morning Lift my head, I'm still yawning When I'm in the middle of a dream Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping Love You To (George Harrison) GEORGE 1980: ''Love You To' was one of the first tunes I wrote for sitar. 'Norwegian Wood was an accident as far as the sitar part was concerned, but this was the first song where I consciously tried to use the sitar and tabla on the basic track. I overdubbed the guitars and vocals later.' Each day just goes so fast I turn around, it's past You don't get time to hang a sign on meLove me while you can Before I'm a dead old manA lifetime is so short A new one can't be bought But what you've got means such a lot to meMake love all day long Make love singing songsMake love all day long Make love singing songsThere's people standing round Who'll screw you in the ground They'll fill you in with all their sins, you'll seeI'll make love to you If you want me to JOHN 1972: 'This was a great one of his.'JOHN 1980: 'That's Paul's song completely, I believe. And one of my favorite songs of the Beatles.'PAUL 1984: 'I wrote that by John's pool one day. When we were working together, sometimes he came in to see me. But mainly, I went out to see him.'PAUL circa-1994: ''Here, There and Everywhere' has a couple of interesting structural points about it… each verse takes a word. 'Here' discusses here, Next verse, 'there' discusses there, then it pulls it all together in the last verse with 'everywhere.' …John might have helped with a few last words.' To lead a better life I need my love to be here...Here, making each day of the year Changing my life with the wave of her hand Nobody can deny that there's something thereThere, running my hands through her hair Both of us thinking how good it can be Someone is speaking but she doesn't know he's thereI want her everywhere and if she's beside me I know I need never care But to love her is to need her everywhere Knowing that love is to shareEach one believing that love never dies Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always thereI want her everywhere and if she's beside me I know I need never care But to love her is to need her everywhere Knowing that love is to shareEach one believing that love never dies Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always thereI will be there and everywhere Here, there and everywhere PAUL 1966: 'It's a happy place, that's all. You know, it was just… We were trying to write a children's song. That was the basic idea. And there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song.'JOHN 1972: 'Paul wrote the catchy chorus. I helped with the blunderbuss bit.'JOHN 1980: ''Yellow Submarine' is Paul's baby. Donovan helped with the lyrics. I helped with the lyrics too. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul's inspiration. Paul's idea. Paul's title… written for Ringo.'PAUL 1984: 'I wrote that in bed one night. As a kid's story. And then we thought it would be good for Ringo to do.'PAUL circa-1994: 'I was laying in bed in the Asher's garret, and there's a nice twilight zone just as you're drifting into sleep and as you wake from it – I always find it quite a comfortable zone. I remember thinking that a children's song would be quite a good idea… I was thinking of it as a song for Ringo, which it eventually turned out to be, so I wrote it as not too rangey in the vocal. I just made up a little tune in my head, then started making a story – sort of an ancient mariner, telling the young kids where he'd lived. It was pretty much my song as I recall… I think John helped out. The lyrics got more and more obscure as it goes on, but the chorus, melody and verses are mine.'GEORGE 1999: 'Paul came up with the concept of 'Yellow Submarine.' All I know is just that every time we'd all get around the piano with guitars and start listening to it and arranging it into a record, we'd all fool about. As I said, John's doing the voice that sounds like someone talking down a tube or ship's funnel as they do in the merchant marine. (laughs) And on the final track there's actually that very small party happening! As I seem to remember, there's a few screams and what sounds like small crowd noises in the background.' In the town where I was born Lived a man who sailed to sea And he told us of his life In the land of submarinesSo we sailed up to the sun 'Til we found the sea of green And we lived beneath the waves In our yellow submarineWe all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarineAnd our friends are all aboard Many more of them live next door And the band begins to playWe all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarineFull speed ahead, Mr. Boatswain, full speed ahead! Full speed it is, Sergeant! Cut the cable, drop the cable! Aye-aye, sir, aye-aye! Captain, Captain!As we live a life of ease (a life of ease) Everyone of us (everyone of us) has all we need (has all we need) Sky of blue (sky of blue) and sea of green (sea of green) In our yellow (in our yellow) submarine (submarine, ah-ha)We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarineWe all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine JOHN 1968: 'That was pure. You see, when I wrote that I had the 'She said she said,' but it was just meaning nothing. It was just vaguely to do with someone who had said something like he knew what it was like to be dead, and then it was just a sound. And then I wanted a middle-eight. The beginning had been around for days and days and so I wrote the first thing that came into my head and it was 'When I was a boy,' in a different beat, but it was real because it just happened.'JOHN 1980: 'That's mine. It's an interesting track. The guitars are great on it. That was written after an acid trip in L.A. during a break in the Beatles tour where we were having fun with the Byrds and lots of girls. Peter Fonda came in when we were on acid and he kept coming up to me and sitting next to me and whispering, 'I know what it's like to be dead.' He was describing an acid trip he'd been on. We didn't 'want' to hear about that. We were on an acid trip and the sun was shining and the girls were dancing, and the whole thing was beautiful and Sixties, and this guy – who I really didn't know – he hadn't made 'Easy Rider' or anything… kept coming over, wearing shades, saying, 'I know what it's like to be dead,' and we kept leaving him because he was so boring! And I used it for the song, but I changed it to 'she' instead of 'he.' It was scary… I don't want to know what it's like to be dead!' She said, "I know what it's like to be dead. I know what it is to be sad." And she's making me feel like I've never been bornI said, "Who put all those things in your head? Things that make me feel that I'm mad. And you're making me feel like I've never been born."She said, "You don't understand what I said." I said, "No, no, no, you're wrong. When I was a boy everything was right, Everything was right."I said, "Even though you know what you know, I know that I'm ready to leave 'Cause you're making me feel like I've never been born."She said, "You don't understand what I said." I said, "No, no, no, you're wrong. When I was a boy everything was right, Everything was right."I said, "Even though you know what you know, I know that I'm ready to leave 'Cause you're making me feel like I've never been born."She said, "I know what it's like to be dead. I know what it is to be sad. I know what it's like to be dead..." JOHN 1972: 'Paul. But I think maybe I helped him with some of the lyric.'JOHN 1980: ''Good Day Sunshine' is Paul's. Maybe I threw in a line or something.'PAUL 1984: 'Wrote that out at John's one day… the sun was shining. Influenced by the Lovin' Spoonful.'PAUL circa-1994: ''Good Day Sunshine' was me trying to write something similar to 'Daydream.' John and I wrote it together at Kenwood, but it was basically mine and he helped me with it.' Good day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshineI need to laugh and when the sun is out I've got something I can laugh about I feel good in a special way I'm in love and it's a sunny dayGood day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshineWe take a walk, the sun is shining down Burns my feet as they touch the groundGood day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshineThen we'd lie beneath the shady tree I love her and she's loving me She feels good, she knows she's looking fine I'm so proud to know that she is mine.Good day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshine Good day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshine Good day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshine Good day... JOHN 1972: 'Another horror.'JOHN 1980: 'Another of my throwaways.'GEORGE 1987: 'I think it was Paul and me, or maybe John and me, playing (guitar) in harmony – quite a complicated little line that goes through the middle-eight.'PAUL 1995: 'One of my favorites on the Anthology is, 'And Your Bird Can Sing,' which is a nice song, but this take of it was one we couldn't use at the time. John and I got a fit of the giggles while we were doing the double-track. You couldn't have released it at the time. But now you can. Sounds great just hearing us lose it on a take.' You tell me that you've got everything you want And your bird can sing But you don't get me, you don't get meYou say you've seen Seven Wonders and your bird is green But you can't see me, you can't see meWhen your prized possessions start to weigh you down Look in my direction, I'll be 'round, I'll be 'roundWhen your bird is broken will it bring you down You may be awoken, I'll be 'round, I'll be 'roundYou 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 JOHN 1972: 'Another of his I really liked.'JOHN 1980: 'Paul's. One of my favorites of his. A nice piece of work.'PAUL 1984: 'I wrote that on a skiing holiday in Switzerland. In a hired chalet amongst the snow.'PAUL circa-1994: 'I suspect it was about another argument. I don't have easy relationships with women, I never have. I talk too much truth.' Your day breaks, your mind aches You find that all the words of kindness linger on When she no longer needs youShe wakes up, she makes up She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry She no longer needs youAnd in her eyes you see nothing No sign of love behind her tears Cried for no one A love that should have lasted yearsYou want her, you need her And yet you don't believe her when she said her love is dead You think she needs youAnd in her eyes you see nothing No sign of love behind her tears Cried for no one A love that should have lasted yearsYou stay home, she goes out She says that long ago she knew someone but now he's gone She doesn't need himYour day breaks, your mind aches There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head You won't forget herAnd in her eyes you see nothing No sign of love behind her tears Cried for no one A love that should have lasted years JOHN 1972: 'Me. I think Paul helped with the middle.'JOHN 1980: 'Another of mine. Mainly about drugs and pills. It was about myself. I was the one that carried all the pills on tour… later on the roadies did it. We just kept them in our pockets, loose, in case of trouble.'PAUL circa-1994: 'John and I thought that was a funny idea – the fantasy doctor who would fix you up by giving you drugs. It was a parody on that idea.' Ring my friend, I said you call Doctor Robert Day or night he'll be there any time at all, Doctor Robert Doctor Robert, you're a new and better man He helps you to understand He does everything he can, Doctor RobertIf you're down he'll pick you up, Doctor Robert Take a drink from his special cup, Doctor Robert Doctor Robert, he's a man you must believe Helping everyone in need No one can succeed like Doctor RobertWell, well, well, you're feeling fine Well, well, well, he'll make you... Doctor RobertMy friend works for the national health, Doctor Robert Don't pay money just to see yourself with Doctor Robert Doctor Robert, you're a new and better man He helps you to understand He does everything he can, Doctor RobertWell, well, well, you're feeling fine Well, well, well, he'll make you... Doctor RobertRing my friend, I said you'd call Doctor Robert Ring my friend, I said you'd call Doctor Robert Doctor Robert I Want to Tell You (George Harrison) GEORGE 1980: '…about the avalanche of thoughts that are so hard to write down or say or transmit.' I want to tell you My head is filled with things to say When you're here All those words, they seem to slip awayWhen I get near you The games begin to drag me down It's alright I'll make you maybe next time aroundBut if I seem to act unkind It's only me, it's not my mind That is confusing thingsI want to tell you I feel hung up but I don't know why I don't mind I could wait forever, I've got timeSometimes I wish I knew you well, Then I could speak my mind and tell you Maybe you'd understandI want to tell you I feel hung up but I don't know why I don't mind I could wait forever, I've got time, I've got time, I've got time JOHN 1968: 'We were doing our Tamla Motown bit. You see, we're influenced by whatever's going. Even if we're not influenced, we're all going that way at a certain time.'JOHN 1972: 'I think George and I helped with some of the lyrics. I'm not sure.'JOHN 1980: 'Paul. I think that was one of his best songs, too, because the lyrics are good and I didn't write them. You see? When I say that he could write lyrics if he took the effort – here's an example.'PAUL 1984: 'That's mine – I wrote it. It was the first one we used brass on, I think. One of the first times we used soul trumpets.'PAUL circa-1994: 'I'd been a rather straight working class lad, but when we started to get into pot it seemed to me to be quite uplifting. It didn't seem to have too many side effects like alcohol or some of the other stuff, like pills, which I pretty much kept off. I kind of liked marijuana and to me it seemed it was mind-expanding, literally mind-expanding. So 'Got To Get You Into My Life' is really a song about that. It's not to a person, it's actually about pot. It's saying, 'I'm going to do this. This is not a bad idea.' So it's actually an ode to pot, like someone else might write an ode to chocolate or a good claret. I haven't really changed my opinion too much, except if anyone asks me for real advice, it would be stay straight. That is actually the best way, but in a stressful world I still would say that pot was one of the best of the tranquilizing drugs. I have drunk and smoked pot and of the two I think pot is less harmful. People tend to fall asleep on it rather than go out and commit murder, so it's always seemed to me to be a rather benign one.' I was alone, I took a ride I didn't know what I would find there Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind thereOoh, then I suddenly see you Ooh, did I tell you I need you Every single day of my lifeYou didn't run, you didn't lie You knew I wanted just to hold you And had you gone you knew in time we'd meet again For I had told youOoh, you were meant to be near me Ooh, and I want you to hear me Say we'll be together every dayGot to get you into my lifeWhat can I do, what can I be When I'm with you I want to stay there If I'm true I'll never leave And if I do I know the way thereOoh, then I suddenly see you Ooh, did I tell you I need you Every single day of my lifeGot to get you into my life Got to get you into my lifeI was alone, I took a ride I didn't know what I would find there Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind thereThen suddenly I see you Did I tell you I need you Every single day? JOHN 1968: ''Tomorrow Never Knows' …I didn't know what I was saying, and you just find out later. I know that when there are some lyrics I dig, I know that somewhere people will be looking at them.'JOHN 1968: 'Often the backing I think of early-on never comes off. With 'Tomorrow Never Knows' I'd imagined in my head that in the background you would hear thousands of munks chanting. That was impractical, of course, and we did something different. It was a bit of a drag, and I didn't really like it. I should have tried to get near my original idea, the munks singing. I realize now that was what I wanted.'JOHN 1972 'This was my first psychedelic song.'JOHN 1980 'That's me in my 'Tibetan Book of the Dead' period. I took one of Ringo's malapropisms as the title, to sort of take the edge off the heavy philosophical lyrics.'PAUL 1984: 'That was one of Ringo's malapropisms. John wrote the lyrics from Timothy Leary's version of the 'Tibetan Book of the Dead.' It was a kind of Bible for all the psychedelic freaks. That was an LSD song. Probably the only one. People always thought 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' was but it actually 'wasn't' meant to say LSD.' Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream It is not dying, it is not dyingLay down all thoughts, surrender to the void It is shining, it is shiningYet you may see the meaning of within It is being, it is beingLove is all and love is everyone It is knowing, it is knowing...... that ignorance and hates may mourn the dead It is believing, it is believingBut listen to the colour of your dreams It is not living, it is not livingSo play the game "Existence" to the end... ... of the beginning, of the beginning Of the beginning, of the beginning Of the beginning, of the beginning Of the beginning, of the beginning |
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