The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (1965)

In George Harrison’s autobiography, I Me Mine, Harrison mentions that although he played the sitar on “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” adding the sitar to the song was more of an after-thought and the song hadn’t really been written with the sitar in mind. Regardless, the inclusion of the sitar (and The Beatles’ immense, global popularity at the time) resulted in widely introducing Indian instruments to all of Western society. After “Norwegian Wood” had been released on The Beatles’ Rubber Soul in 1965, Indian and other Eastern instruments soon started appearing in music by other mainstream acts such as The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, and Donovan. By the following year, “raga rock” was common and the inclusion of Eastern instruments remained popular until it eventually faded out of popularity in the very late 1960s.

The song below was credited to Lennon-McCartney, but the majority of the song is believed to have been written by John Lennon. The lyrics tell an autobiographical story of Lennon having an extra-marital affair behind the back of his then-wife Cynthia Lennon née Powell. When Paul McCartney was asked for his interpretation of the lyrics, he said that the Norwegian wood mentioned in the song was the wood paneling found on the walls of homes, which was popular at the time, and that the last line, “So, I lit a fire // Isn’t it good Norwegian wood?” indicated that the singer set the house on fire as an act of revenge.



The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (1965)

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Lyrics:

I once had a girl
Or should I say she once had me?
She showed me her room
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?

She asked me to stay
And she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around
And I noticed there wasn't a chair

I sat on a rug, biding my time
Drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said
“It’s time for bed”

She told me she worked in the morning
And started to laugh
I told her I didn't
And crawled off to sleep in the bath

And when I awoke I was alone
This bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?

The Beatles - Watching Rainbows [Demo] (1969)

Although Ringo Starr was the first member of The Beatles to temporarily quit in 1968, George Harrison, too, quit the band for a brief period starting on January 10th, 1969. At the time, The Beatles were practicing at a film studio, Twickenham, so that their rehearsals could be filmed. After a morning filed with verbal altercations between George and Paul, a quiet George Harrison eventually met up with the group and crew for lunch a bit late. Rather than joining them, he simply stated, “See you ’round the clubs” and disappeared. The three remaining Beatles went back to the recording room not knowing what to do and unleashed an angry improvisational ruckus with John Lennon sarcastically leading the group to play The Who’s “A Quick One, While He's Away.” Days later, word got back to Harrison that Lennon had mentioned bringing in Eric Clapton as a replacement, which Lennon had probably said as a ploy to get George back rather than a real solution. After a five hour meeting, Harrison rejoined the group on January 15th, 1969.

This song, recorded on January 14th, 1969 was nothing more than the result of a loose jamming session during Harrison’s five day absence. The song features no bass, as Paul McCartney had to abandon the instrument to fill in for George’s lead guitar as Lennon sang. Although the song was never officially released, the melody evolved into their future song “Two of Us”* "I've Got a Feeling." The reason these lyrics didn’t survive, perhaps, could have been because they were too reminiscent of “I Am the Walrus.”

*Update from the Editor 10/16/2014: Putting "Two of Us" was a typo which was not discovered until now, thanks to Twitter. It was incorrectly here for nearly two years - sorry!



The Beatles - Watching Rainbows [Demo] (1969)

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Lyrics:

Standin' in the garden
Waitin' for the sun to shine
Hand on my umbrella, with his girl
I wish she was mine
Everybody knows to think a thing
It didn't come

Instead of watchin' rainbows
I'm gonna make me some
Instead of watchin' rainbows
I'm gonna make me some

Standin' in the garden
Waitin' for the English sun to come
And make me brown so I can be someone

Lookin' at the fancy next-door neighbors
Cryin' to their mom, "I'm dyin' to set sail there"
Everybody's got to have somethin' hard to hold

Well, instead of watching rainbows under the sun
You gotta get out, son, and make you one
You gotta get out, son, and make your run
Because you're not gonna make it if you don't try, no

Shoot big
Shoot big
Whatever you do you gotta kill somebody to get what you wanna get
You gotta shoot big
You gotta shoot big
Until you shoot big
I can't stand no more

The Beatles - Brian Epstein Blues [Demo] (1968)

The Let It Be release was going to be much different than what actually came to be. Rather than a film accompanying the album’s release, it was initially planned that a live televised concert would precede the album’s release so that everyone at the show and tuning in would hear the songs for the first time, live, via the concert.
Places considered for the concert included a lunatic asylum and the Roman Colosseum. Another idea being thrown around was getting all of the attendees who had tickets, putting them on cruise ships, sailing them through the Mediterranean Sea, and having the concert in the middle of the Tunisian desert.
Needless to say, those ideas never came to fruition. Aggravation within the band led the members to being more concerned with actually finishing the album rather than the location of the concert. As we now know, the concert took place on Apple Corps’ rooftop, which is now famously known as “the rooftop concert”.

Quite separately, today’s song comes from an earlier time, in 1968, when The Beatles were recording “Sexy Sadie” for The Beatles (The White Album). John Lennon improvised this song about The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, while the other members of the group loosely jammed along in the background. Although it cannot be found on any of The Beatles’ official releases, you can locate it if you go sifting around in the bootlegs. Enjoy!



The Beatles - Brian Epstein Blues [Demo] (1968)

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Lyrics:

What about Brian Epstein?
And his brother Sam?
They was workin' in a coal mine
Doing what I am
And what about brother Ernie?
He's shuttin' down the fire
But if you tell the time
About his brother Sam

…
…about his brother Clive
He's a dirty old man

Well what about Brian Epstein?
He's God damned in jail
He's workin’ in the coal mine
Sittin' there in his cell
His mother got a queenie
Well, she's the queen of them all

The Beatles - From Then To You (1963-1969)

Unable to respond to the countless fan mail that they received each year, The Beatles decided that they would send out a special album every Christmas to the members of their fan club. Released annually from 1963 to 1969, the albums contained impromptu sketches, songs, humor, and messages of thanks from John, Paul, George, and Ringo. In 1970, a compilation LP was sent out combining all previous recordings.

Merry Christmas!



The Beatles - The Beatles' Christmas Record (1963)

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The Beatles - Another Beatles Christmas Record (1964)

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The Beatles - Christmas Message Outtake (1964)

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The Beatles - The Beatles' Third Christmas Record (1965)

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The Beatles - The Beatles' Fourth Christmas Record (1966)

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The Beatles - Christmas Time is Here Again! (1967)

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The Beatles - Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (1967)

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The Beatles - The Beatles' 1968 Christmas Record (1968)

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The Beatles - The Beatles' Seventh Christmas Record (1969)

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The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps [Demo] (1968)

The most critically acclaimed band of all time. The best selling band of all time. My favorite band of all time. These four guys from Liverpool changed everything about the world of music. They led the British Invasion as well as the direction of popular music for nearly a decade. They turned the entire music industry upside-down, led the counter-culture of the 1960s, and even had their own movies, television shows, and video games. They are the most important thing to happen to rock music in its history. If you haven’t listened to their entire discography, you’re missing out.

In 1968, when inner turmoil first started amongst the band, George Harrison’s talent and skill as a songwriter began to shoot skyward. Still seen as “a younger brother” to the older John and Paul, his songs were usually overlooked and underappreciated. Luckily, this song was recognized for the classic it was and became one of the best songs off of The White Album. This somewhat rare version was released in 1996, on Anthology, Vol. 3, and provides an extra verse later omitted in the final version.



The Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps [Demo] (1968)

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Lyrics:

I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you

I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted, too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one elected you

I look from the wings at the play you are staging
While my guitar gently weeps
As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still, my guitar gently weeps