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?

Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band - Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) (1970)

This “conceptual band” was started by The Beatles’ John Lennon and Yoko Ono who had met in 1966, became romantically involved with in 1968, and married in 1969. They made their first official release using the Plastic Ono Band name with “Give Peace a Chance” in 1969, even though the couple had been making music and releasing albums together as early as 1968.

Backing them, the Plastic Ono Band had a rotating lineup which at any time could have featured numerous notable musicians, such as George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Keith Moon and many, many others. Lennon and Ono were fond of reminding their fans that “YOU are the Plastic Ono Band.”

The song below was Lennon’s attempt to create an “instant single.” He wrote the song (in an hour) on January 27, 1970, recorded it that very same day, and saw its release about a week later. Playing on the song besides Lennon and Ono (backing vocals), was George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Alan White, Billy Preston, Mal Evans, with Allen Klein and numerous people from a pub down the street who assisted with backing vocals. It was George Harrison who suggested Lennon use famed producer Phil Spector, who happened to be visiting London at the time. Spector obliged, ending a self-imposed retirement he had begun in 1966. His collaboration with Lennon on the song led to his eventual hiring for production of The Beatles’ Let It Be album, which was released later that year in May.



Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band - Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) (1970)

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Lyrics:

…three, four

Instant karma’s gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead
What in the world you thinking of?
Laughing in the face of love
What on earth are you tryin’ to do?
It’s up to you
Yeah, you

Instant karma’s gonna get you
Gonna look you right in the face
Better get yourself together darlin’
Join the human race
How in the world you gonna see?
Laughin’ at fools like me
Who on Earth do you think you are?
A superstar?
Well, right you are

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Everyone
Come on

Instant karma’s gonna get you
Gonna knock you off your feet
Better recognize your brothers
Everyone you meet
Why in the world are we here?
Surely not to live in pain and fear
Why on earth are you there
When you’re everywhere?
Come and get your share

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Yeah, we all shine on
Come on and on and on- on- on

Yeah, yeah
Alright

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Yeah, we all shine on
On and on and on- on and on

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Like the moons and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun

The Rolling Stones - We Love You (1967)

In February 1967, Keith Richard’s chauffeur tipped off reporters, who, in turn tipped off police about a party in Sussex The Rolling Stones’ members were having that “involved drugs.” Although no arrests were made in the ensuing police raid, both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were subsequently charged with drug offenses. On the day of their arrangement, police stormed the home of Brian Jones, arrested him, and pressed him, too, with drug charges. Although Jagger and Richards were imprisoned for their crimes, they were back out on the streets the next morning after making bail, pending an appeal. In the meantime, the public, some branches of the media, and fellow musicians had shown an outpouring of support for the band’s targeted members, feeling that their punishments for first-time offenses were far too harsh, unfair, and attributed to their celebrity-statuses.

While awaiting their appeal hearings, the band recorded this song as a means of thanking its fans for their loyal support. Although uncredited, both Paul McCartney and John Lennon appeared on the track to provide backing vocals. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song’s opening features the sound of prison doors slamming closed, referencing the recent charges against the members. Released as an A-Side in Britain, the song reached number eight. Having been flipped to the B-Side for the US release, the song reached number fifty. “Dandelion” was the flip side for each release.



The Rolling Stones - We Love You (1967)

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Lyrics:

(We don't care if you only love “we”)
(We don't care if you only love “we”)

We love you
We love you
And we hope that you will love “we,” too

We love “they”
We love “they”
And we want you to love “they,” too

We don't care if you hound “we”
And love is all around “we”
Love can't get our minds off
We love you (We love you)

You will never win “we”
Your uniforms don’t fit “we”
We forget the place we're in
‘cause we love you
(We love you) Of course we do

(I love you, I love you)
And I hope that you won’t prove wrong, too
(We love you) We do
(We love you) We do

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 Beach Boys - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (1965)

The Beach Boys were primarily composed of the three Wilson brothers (Brian, Dennis, and Carl) and their cousin Mike Love. Dennis, the middle child, was the band’s drummer from their formation in 1961 until his untimely death in 1983. The Beach Boys’ early music surrounding a surfing lifestyle was usually written by Brian, but it was inspired by Dennis, as he was the only member of the group who actually surfed. He was the first member of the band to release a solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue, which was released in 1977. Comparatively, his role in The Beach Boys was much like that of George Harrison’s in The Beatles; Dennis was considered to be the dark horse of The Beach Boys, growing from a quiet figure in the background to a prominent member who reached critical acclaim. On December 28th, 1983, a little over three weeks after his thirty-ninth birthday, Dennis became intoxicated and drowned at Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles while attempting to retrieve items from under the sea that he had thrown overboard from his yacht three years prior.

Written by John Lennon and first recorded by The Beatles for their August 1965 album Help!, this song was allegedly written about The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, regarding his closeted homosexuality. In the opening lines, Lennon sang “two foot small” instead of the intended “two foot tall” and decided to keep it that way, stating that the “psueds will really love it.”

This particular version of the song, performed solely by Dennis Wilson, was released on The Beach Boys’ album Beach Boys’ Party! in November 1965. Although it sounds live, the laughter and background chatter was in fact mixed in during post production, making this a studio track. It was recorded in haste to meet the demands of Capitol Records who wanted something to release for the holiday season. The band had just released a Christmas album the year prior, had not yet finished their upcoming masterpiece Pet Sounds, and so this album promoting “togetherness” was the result.



The Beach Boys - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (1965)

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Lyrics:

Here I stand, head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone, I can't go on
Feeling two-foot small

Everywhere, people stare
Each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say

“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”
“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”

How can I even try?
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in

How could she say to me
“Love will find a way”?
Gather ‘round all you clowns
Let me hear you say

“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”
“Hey! You've got to hide your love away”

Deep Purple – Help (1968)

Originally known as Roundabout and almost known as Concrete God, this English group is considered a pioneer to the hard rock and heavy metal genres. Formed in 1968, they’ve featured numerous members over their lengthy history and have released such memorable tracks as “Hush,” “Smoke on the Water” and “Woman from Tokyo”.

Originally written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney, this song first appeared on The Beatles’ Help! album, released in 1965. Considered by Lennon to be one of his most genuine songs, he claims he was “fat and depressed” and actually “was crying out for help." This particular version of the song was released on Deep Purple’s debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, and features a much, much slower tempo.



Deep Purple – Help (1968)

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Lyrics:

When I was younger- so much younger than today
Never needed anybody's help in any way
But now, these days are gone- I'm not so self assured
Now I find I've changed my mind- opened up the door

Help me if you can I'm feelin’ down
But I do appreciate your being ‘round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please help me?
Yeah

And now my life has changed in, oh, so many ways
My independence seems to vanish in the haze
But every now and then, I feel so insecure
Now I know I need you like I never done before

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down- down
But I do appreciate your being ‘round me
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please help me?
My love?

(Help)
I need somebody
(Help)
Not just anybody
(Help)
I need someone
Help

Won't you please help me?
My love?
Help me, baby
Help me

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

John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (1971)

When John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono had finished their second experimental album, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions, they decided from that point on anyone who performed with them would be referred to as the Plastic Ono Band. Famous past members of the group have included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman, Alan White of Yes, Delaney and Bonnie, Keith Moon of The Who, Billy Preston, and as John and Yoko always reminded, “YOU are the Plastic Ono Band.”

This song was released too late in the year of 1971 to make any dent in the American charts, but when it was released in the UK the following year, it climbed to the fourth spot. The lyrics were based on an advertising campaign paid for by John and Yoko, where the couple paid for billboards around the world to remind everyone that “WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko”. The backup choir heard in the song is the Harlem Community Choir.



John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (1971)

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Lyrics:

John and Yoko: War is over if you want it.
John: Peace.
Yoko: Peace.
Yoko: Happy Christmas, Kyoko.
John: Happy Christmas, Julian.

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas
I hope you had fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
(War is over)
For weak and for strong
(If you want it)
The rich and the poor ones
(War is over)
The road is so long
(Now)

And so happy Christmas
(War is over)
For black and for white
(If you want it)
For yellow and red ones
(War is over)
Let's stop all the fight
(Now)

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
(War is over)
And what have we done?
(If you want it)
Another year over
(War is over)
And a new one just begun
(Now)

And so happy Christmas
(War is over)
We hope you had fun
(If you want it)
The near and the dear ones
(War is over)
The old and the young
(Now)

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

War is over if you want it
War is over now

Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas!

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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John Lennon - Watching the Wheels [Demo] (1980)

This is the man that started The Beatles, whose writing partnership with Paul McCartney resulted in the greatest and most successful songs of the 20^th century, and who, as a solo artist, wrote iconic rallying songs such as “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine,” in hopes of creating a better world. Like all of The Beatles and other top artists of the ‘60s and ‘70s, there isn’t enough space on this page to give him the credit and respect that he earned.

From 1975 until 1980, Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, put their musical careers on hold to raise their newborn son, Sean. This song is the acoustic demo of what was meant to be a response to those who questioned Lennon’s brief retirement to become a “househusband”. The finalized recording would later appear on his album, Double Fantasy, in 1980, and again as a posthumous single in 1981.



John Lennon - Watching the Wheels [Demo] (1980)

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Lyrics:

People say I'm crazy doin’ what I'm doin’
They give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
And when I say that I'm okay, well, they look at me kind of strange
“Surely, you're not happy now; you no longer play the game”

Ah, people say I'm lazy dreamin’ my life away
Well, they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
I tell ‘em that I'm doin’ fine watchin’ shadows on the wall
“Well, don't you miss the big time, boy? You're no longer on the ball”

I'm just sittin’ here makin’ the wheels go ‘round and ‘round
I love to watch them roll
No longer ridin’ on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go

People asking questions, lost in confusion
Well, I tell them there's no problem, only solutions
Well, they shake their heads and they look at me as if I've lost my mind
I tell them there's no hurry, I'm just sittin’ here doin’ time

I'm just sittin’ here watching the wheels go ‘round and ‘round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go

I just had to let it go