In the studio
The Beatles began recording ‘Come Together’ on 21 July 1969, recording eight takes in Abbey Road’s studio three. Three of the takes – four, five, and seven – were incomplete, and take six was selected as the basis of the album version.
Take one, with slightly different lyrics and a raw vocal from John Lennon, can be heard on the Anthology 3 album, and take five can be heard on some formats of the 50th anniversary reissue of Abbey Road.
Lennon sang without his guitar, and clapped while singing the line “Shoot me”. The words allegedly referred not to a desire for martyrdom, but to a fix of heroin. They were adapted from the unreleased ‘Watching Rainbows’, a song The Beatles rehearsed on 14 January 1969 during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions.
On the finished record you can really only hear the word ‘shoot’. The bass guitar note falls where the ‘me’ is.
Although ‘Come Together’ was conceived as a Chuck Berry-style rocker, The Beatles slowed it down at Paul McCartney’s suggestion.
He originally brought it over as a very perky little song, and I pointed out to him that it was very similar to Chuck Berry’s ‘You Can’t Catch Me’. John acknowledged it was rather close to it so I said, ‘Well, anything you can do to get away from that.’ I suggested that we tried it swampy – ‘swampy’ was the word I used – so we did, we took it right down. I laid that bass line down which very much makes the mood. It’s actually a bass line that people now use very often in rap records. If it’s not a sample, they use that riff. But that was my contribution to that.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
The Beatles began recording ‘Come Together’ on four-track tape. The initial takes had McCartney’s bass guitar on track one; George Harrison’s guitar on track two; Ringo Starr’s drums on track three; and Lennon’s vocals, handclaps and tambourine on track four.
‘Come Together’ changed at a 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 join in.
Anthology
Lennon’s lyrics changed during the session. On take one he mentioned the singer Eartha Kitt, and on takes two, six, and eight he namechecked Let It Be director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Several times he also sang “Got to get injections ’cause he’s so hard to see” in the final verse.
Take six was chosen as the best of the attempts, and was renamed take nine when the tape was transferred from four-track to eight-track.
Over the next two days the group added a range of overdubs. On 22 July Lennon re-recorded his lead vocals and handclaps, which were both treated with tape delay effects. Electric piano and guitar were added to track five; and more guitar and a maraca were overdubbed onto track six.
The player of the electric piano part is unclear. According to studio engineer Geoff Emerick, it was played by Lennon on the final recording. The book that came with the deluxe edition of the 50th anniversary reissue of Abbey Road, however, claims that it was McCartney.
Initially, Paul played the electric piano part, but John kind of looked over his shoulder and studied what he was playing. When it came time to record it, John played the electric piano instead of Paul. Paul might have been miffed, but I think he was more upset about not singing on the choruses – John did his own backing vocals.
Music Radar
On 25 July harmony vocals were added to track eight, with Lennon also double-tracking some of his lead vocals.
McCartney later expressed regret that he hadn’t sung the harmonies with Lennon on ‘Come Together’.
Even on Abbey Road we don’t do harmonies like we used to. I think it’s sad. On ‘Come Together’ I would have liked to sing harmony with John and I think he would have liked me to but I was too embarrassed to ask him and I don’t work to the best of my abilities in that situation.
Evening Standard newspaper, 1970
‘Come Together’ was completed on 30 July with some final guitar overdubs on track seven.
Chart success
Released as a single on 6 October 1969, ‘Come Together’ reached number one in the US. It entered the top 40 on 18 October, and remained in the charts for 16 weeks.
As a double a-side with George Harrison’s ‘Something’, ‘Come Together’ only released number four in the UK. It was released on 31 October 1969. Its poor chart performance may have been affected by a ban from the BBC, who decreed that the line “He shoot Coca-Cola” was unacceptable product placement.
This was the first single released by The Beatles which contained songs already available on an album; the move was one of Allen Klein’s attempts to put The Beatles’ struggling finances back on an even keel.
Thanks for the post and drilling down so deeply into Abbey Road’s opening track. It does sound like Paul but I don’t think anyone could be sure as there is a lot of distortion on it.
There’s more to the song than that isn’t there? I’ve heard that each verse is a description of each Beatle – goes George, Ringo, John and lastly (and least?) Paul. It seems to make sense. What is your take there? Thanks.
I agree but the order is George/Paul/John/Ringo
I’ve held that belief for many years. However, I would flip Ringo and John.
I played the song revolution the slow version backwards eerily it is the sound of come together listen yourself it’s real easy to hear it
I love Lennon’s flippant comment for one of his greatest songs ever….”its gobbledygook!”
Question: Why wasn’t Paul included in the lawsuit. Is he not legally a co-writer?
Not only that…but why was John sued at all? Didn’t he not own the publishing rights to that song at that time?
John did not own the publishing rights to any Chuck Berry songs.
Lennon played the piano part, not Paul.
On your article:
“Initially, Paul played the electric piano part, but John kind of looked over his shoulder and studied what he was playing. When it came time to record it, John played the electric piano instead of Paul. Paul might have been miffed, but I think he was more upset about not singing on the choruses – John did his own backing vocals.”
But in the end Paul’s intro was used
Yes, there is some confusion as to whether it was John or Paul who played the Fender Rhodes and again, their memories were not 100% infallible or perfect – nobody has a flawless or infallible memory of events that happened so long ago and that’s life.
If some sources erroneously state that Billy Preston played it, they are wrong, because he had a very limited role on “Abbey Road” and played organ on just two songs.
John could have easily played the electric piano solos if it was within his capacity and like Paul, he was a very capable keyboardist in his own right – who cares if he wasn’t Beethoven or Liberace? He was a very multitalented guitarist, keyboardist and harmonica player as well as singer and songwriter.
It just amazes me that people think THEY know better than the composer what the lyrics mean.
Right . So you believe everything you hear and read ? Just because someone who ,at the best of times , isnt giving it to you straight up? Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? Had nothing to do with LSD ? Like John has told the press/world that it had nothing to do with that? Hmmmn ?? sure it doesnt. Lol. The lyrics are hallucinations… Just like the “Paul is Dead” stuff . Yes the Paul McCartney we all know and love isnt dead . Lol but to think they didnt place clues in lyrics, on lp covers and movies is absurd.. They are total artists . The best ever obviously . To give a correct answer if someone asked, would take away their mystique imo. Keep EVERYONE guessing .
COME TOGETHER to me , is about something totally different than what everyone else thinks its about. Everyone has their opinion. You may or may not get a truthful answer from the band themselves. To me Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is 110% about LSD… sure Jules lennon showed his dad the drawing with that title in place. But to think John didnt have the “lightbulb” go off and come up with trippin lyrics for that idea is naive. . The tuned in certainly read the lyrics and can see that he is/was trippin balls lol… just my opinion
I’m pretty sure John plays the lead guitar parts. The sound of his guitar at the Time Epiephone Casino, while George played Telecaster and Les Paul. It’s the same sound and style as John’s solos in Get Back- Honey Pie I Want You.George’s style is very different with more chord progression and playing on bass ( low) strings and more sharper sound ( Telecaster) e.g. Old Brown Shoe, Maxwell, Polythene Pam etc
If George is the lead guitarists in this song, then he’s playing a rarely used guitar by him at the time plus perfectly imitating John guitar style
I hear the guitar solo on “Come Together” to be very reminiscent of George’s solo on “Something.”
George plays lead
Both John and George play the lead guitar on the track. John plays the middle solo. George plays the lead guitar fills during the outro.
George plays lead. The solo is Harrison’s slide guitar. Notice how the tone of it sounds somewhat like his slide intro on My Sweet Lord.
George didnt start playing slide till after this was recorded .
Definitely George playing slide. The isolated tracks are available on line. At least they used to be. Just like the slide work on Dear Prudence in 68. George clearly was working out his slide technique which he further developed playing with Delaney and Bonnie on a short tour in December of 69. George mentions in several interviews that while studying the sitar so intensely he kind of ignored the guitar for awhile. When he turned his focus back to guitar he felt he had been somewhat left behind. Commenting on the likes of his buddy Eric Clapton and hot new players like Hendrix and Page he told crawdaddy “all the young kids coming up were all playing so good… that was one of the reasons I started playing slide, you know, because I felt so far behind in playing hot licks.” Just my 2 cents!
For me this is a border song of Lennon, it’s obvious he sings “come together over me” over the crashed group. He was outside that time, he believed after Toronto concert he could make it, but as an artist, a group leader he was gone forever.
I’m going to bullet point my theories on this tune. Come Together is the real ‘Glass Onion’:
– McCartney IS doing the lower register harmony vocal. NO question about it. But…he kind of sounds like John.
– George is playing the rhythm guitar throughout (in Lennon’s kind of way/style). Solos and outro licks are all Lennon. Listen to rehearsal/jamming clips. Kind of sounding like John.
– During the verses, Ringo plays it ‘dry’…no cymbals. AND, ALL ‘beat’ on towel muffled snare and toms…as in BEATles…the very essence of the band itself…no wonder this tune opens Abbey Road..it’s a doorway…
– The verses are NOT about the four Beatles. Here’s what I think:
Verse 1 – Maharishi
Verse 2 – Timothy Leary
Verse 3 – Lennon/Ono
Verse 4 – McCartney
= John Lennon
(make no mistake, this song is about an amalgam of all these people, sum total, John. Ono’s name is the ONLY name mentioned because he saw her as already part of him/bonded/soul mates).
– Here’s John’s glass onion kind of clue: He say, ‘One and One and One is three…etc.’
See it as, the ONE (John/Yoko) is made of THREE…
– the line: He say, ‘I know you, you know me’…one thing I can tell you is you’ve got to be free……many people see this as the singer decreeing – one thing I can tell you…etc…this is incorrect. The WHOLE line is being said by the person the verse is describing and John is describing what he says, Should be seen as:
HE SAY, ‘I know you, you know me, one thing I can tell you is you’ve got to be free (now) Come Together..’ (etc)
– Verse 1, Laced with bitterness. Lennon had many instances of disliking himself too. He himself could be a ‘holy roller’ espousing his beliefs etc.
Verse 2, liked Leary but was ‘leery’ that he MIGHT get disappointed again by another one claiming he had ‘the answer’. Often sat around in bare feet in ‘rap sessions’, seminars etc. Lennon often times didn’t trust himself to make the right decisions
Verse 3, Lennon with a side of Ono…yes, ‘spinal cracker’ means: he’s funny, he cracks me up. Feet solidly on the ground but, diseased…John/Ono understand the challenges and the sickness of humanity…feel his disease…
Verse 4, McCartney…Up/down, in/out, hello/goodbye…he’s got soul/muddy water but, he’s a ‘buzz kill’ sometimes, one and one and one are the three Beatles without John as well…the audience thinks he’s good looking so you don’t get to know the REAL guy..a deceiver…Lennon could be that way too…indecisive, not always fully truthful etc…
John saw HIMSELF in all these people….
Okay, blast away…lol…
Happy New Year to all!
Paul played,the elctric piano. Why distort this?
What you say may have some validity because no one knows. We do agree about the 4th stanza refers to Paul. I will only bore you with my reasoning that the first stanza refers to George. “Here come old flat top” eludes to a policeman. You can see during the filming of “Get Back”, George is not only perturbed by Yoko’s presence, I think he is the only Beatle to complain to John about it. John is pissed that George is acting like a traffic cop opining that Yoko doesn’t belong. “He got ju ju eyeballs, he one holly roller,” could be an anti-Semitic slur equating George’s religious fervor as a “holy roller”. “He got hair down to his knee,” appears to be a generic reference to someone with long hair and obviously could apply to many people. “Got to be a Joker, he just do what he please.” I really think this is in reference to George’s, “see you around the clubs,” statement as he walked out of the sessions. John exclaims, “let him go, we’ll get Clapton,” clearly expresses his opinion that George has an exaggerated opinion of himself and that he is not an essential member of the group.
Paul did not sing on this song
on some lines he does; for example, “one and one and one is three” and “I know you, you know me” I think McCartney does harmonies.
Yes, those lines are where Macca’s voice is most clear.
Yet another example where Geoff Emerick is incorrect. I think that makes it 200. John didn’t sing the backing vocals. Clearly anyone can tell it’s paul. It’s frustrating that Emerick has a beef against Lennon and has never recovered from some of the things Lennon said to him but the constant attack on most things Lennon and on the remixes and alternate versions is embarrassing
Emerick clearly says that Paul did not sing on the chorus, which is correct. He perhaps could have worded it better because one might get the impression that he meant that John did all the backing vocals. I don’t think Emerick has been shown to be wrong on too many things… I realize that his accounts on average slightly favor McCartney over Lennon, but that doesn’t necessitate some unyielding bias against John. I think Lennonites can be narrow-minded when it comes to the positive things Paul contributed to the band.
“Clearly anyone can tell…”? Sorry. It, in fact, sounds like John (as anyone can tell).
It’s Paul!
Ha! I’m not sure what I was writing about – or did I put a reply to something else in the wrong place? . That link points it out clearly, but I knew Paul sang backing in the verses. Oh, well…..
The song he wrote for Leary was completely different in tempo and melody. He briefly sang it in an interview.
“Come together
and join the party.
Cooo oo ome to gether”
The song he wrote for Leary was completely different in tempo and melody. He briefly sang it in an interview.
“Come together
and join the party.
Cooo oo ome to gether”
Emerick’s recollections are nonsense. The el. piano part is quite complicated. The middle solo has tricky left hand playing, beyond Lennon’s capabilities. Plus, John said in 1972 that the el. piano was played by Paul and Paul said the same in 1984.
Because, of course, you know better. You were there, after all……
Emerick didn’t remember in 1979 who played piano on “A day in the life” – he thought it was John!
That book of his is mostly made up stuff written by his ghostwriter. Sad and annoying, but true.
Of all the opinions in the world, yours is certainly one of them…
Was listening to the Beatles Channel on Sirius XM when Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me” came on (for those of you who don’t have the channel, they frequently play artists who influenced the Fabs). Even before the “flat top” line, my son, who didn’t know about the whole lawsuit, just blurts out that it sounds like Come Together. I found it quite amusing.
Everybody talks about the lyrics and who sung a second voice.
The song is clearly a Lennon-song, but the contribution from Paul’s bass makes it unique. Everybody who covers the song takes care on it, ( as also on the famous drum-line.) Hear Bobby Mc Ferrin.
Today all additions and small changes on the lyrics and/or the music are credited. So it isn’t wrong to say that this is a Lennon/McCartney song.
What amuses me is the constant bickering, firstly among the Beatles themselves, then their associates and finally their fans, over who did what. While it’s nice to know if Paul sang harmony vocals or Ringo played euphonium, at the end of the day it’s the sound of the record that matters, and the record sounds fab. I don’t care who played what. If The Beatles were worried about the general public knowing these facts, they would have made more of an effort to record them; but they didn’t, so we shouldn’t. If it takes knowing who did what to enjoy the record, you shouldn’t be listening to it.
This song is an example of collaboration, as always the Fab Four did. The demo or the naked composition is nothing great, or just one more of the Lennon’s didn’t care about song to be improved and performed as a final masterpiece. As always or almost always, George, Paul and Ringo were more inclined to did it and in this case, they reached a high altitude, with each one of them working on the song that Lennon just casted to the studio with his rhythm guitar, and then said “goodbye”. Lennon high performance in The Beatles was just because of his companions, specially Paul. He was just a teddy boy, a good rock and roller with a fantastic voice and feeling, pushed in competition by Macca, who really was a formal musician interested in brilliant and more complex harmonies. And here, he showed his selfishness and ego proclaiming the great song as “a Lennon song”.
The drum beat in this song is interesting–“shoot boom boom boom boom…”. But I am a little puzzled how the sound “shoot”(I don’t know how to describe it precisely) was made? Is it maraca, or anything in the drum kit, or just human voice?
Lennon is singing “shoot me” and the “me” part is hidden by the drums. You can still hear it though
You can hear the “Shoot Me” part more clearly in the Anthology 3 version of the song. He also says it in the song “Watching Rainbows”.
One of the best and nicer guitar solos by Harrison. Not only the bending notes, but the whole timbre and the counterpart between the 2 lead guitars. It kind of announces George’s slide style, but only in a transitory way, since it was not slide guitar, but it feels so.
Does any one know the lyrics in the beginning of the song? Is it shoot me or shoop shoop? If it is shoot me does anyone know why he would sing that?
It was a common expression if someone disagreed with you on everything, you said “So shoot me!”
one of the coolest and best songs that john wrote
The vibe of this song doesn’t feel like anything is coming together. The direct opposite. It has an ominous feeling. A darkness. And by the time the song fades out it’s a little creepy.
Found out recently that the legal issues concerning “Come Together” and Morris Levy continued long after John’s “Rock and Roll” LP (and Levy’s infamously unauthorized “Roots” LP) came out. It wasn’t fully resolved until the late ‘70s. I had no idea it dragged on for that long.
I wonder what the two lines in Come Together were which George claimed to have written, along with the three lines in Eleanor Rigby…
Kalle,
I do not know about the two lines that George claim to have in written in “Come Together”. But Geoge claims to written “Ah, Look at All the Lonely People”, hook.
George never claimed to have written the hook and no one else has ever claimed George wrote it either. Somewhere along the line somebody thought it important that George receive credit for Paul’s songs (but not John’s). So what were the two lines of Come Together that George wrote along with the other two of Eleanor Rigby?
Nope, it’s well established and accepted by all involved that George wrote that part.
This is one of my favourite Beatles songs.
Much of this thread is about who played what but as I am neither a musician nor any sort of expert on recording techniques I can only say how it makes me feel, and what stands out for me.
I can easily hear Ringo throughout this track whereas I am not always aware of him all the time, and his contribution is massive.
The guitars blend together in a way I can only describe as “warm” – I feel like I’m luxuriating in a bath of warm water up to my neck when I hear this song! I’m guessing it has something to do with Paul’s bass guitar which is also easy to follow throughout.
Maybe it has something to do with placement of microphones, or something to do with my particular stereo equipment (not top of range, but OK).
I could never, ever tire of this! But I guess if I understood what goes into its makeup, it would add to my appreciation.
It is neither well-established nor accepted by anybody involved, Wilhelm, that George wrote the hook to Eleanor Rigby. Wishful thinking at best as you and others are unable to provide a source. In fact, the lyrics to both songs are not even remotely George’s style.
A quick search on the web will give you the well established answers. And maybe you should go to the Eleanor Rigby page to ask your question. Here’s a quote I found in 6 seconds. “John was annoyed because I didn’t say that he had written one line of this song, Taxman… I also didn’t say how I wrote two lines to Come Together or three lines to Eleanor Rigby” George Harrison Let it Be sessions.
And here’s another quote from John –
“I do know that George Harrison was there when we came up with ‘Ah, look at all the lonely people.’ [Paul] and George were settling on that as I left the studio to go to the toilet, and I heard the lyric and turned around and said, ‘That’s it!’”