‘Lady Madonna’, The Beatles’ first release of 1968, was a bluesy number written by Paul McCartney, and recorded just prior to the group’s trip to India to study meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
It was also their final release on Parlophone/Capitol. From ‘Hey Jude’ onwards, The Beatles released all their subsequent singles and albums on their own Apple Records label.
The original concept was the Virgin Mary but it quickly became symbolic of every woman; the Madonna image but as applied to ordinary working class woman. It’s really a tribute to the mother figure, it’s a tribute to women. ‘Your Mother Should Know’ is another. I think women are very strong, they put up with a lot of s**t, they put up with the pain of having a child, of raising it, cooking for it, they are basically skivvies a lot of their lives, so I always want to pay a tribute to them.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
Although the gritty subject matter was a departure from the LSD-based fantasies that dominated much of The Beatles’ 1967 output, the lyrics in the middle eight of ‘Lady Madonna’ contain the words “See how they run,” an echo of Lennon’s ‘I Am The Walrus’.
I was writing the words out to learn it for an American TV show and I realised I missed out Saturday; I did every other day of the week, but I missed out Saturday. So I figured it must have been a real night out.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In November 2017 McCartney revealed that ‘Lady Madonna’ was partly inspired by a photograph of a Malayo-Polynesian woman surrounded by three small children. It was taken by photographer Howard Sochurek, and appeared in an article titled American Special Forces in Action in Viet Nam, in National Geographic’s January 1965 issue.
One particular issue I saw in the Sixties had a woman, and she looked very proud and she had a baby. And I saw that as a kind of Madonna thing, mother and child, and I just… You know, sometimes you see pictures of mothers and you go, ‘She’s a good mother.’ You could just tell there’s a bond and it just affected me, that photo. And so I was inspired to write ‘Lady Madonna’, my song, from that photo.
National Geographic
Photo: Howard Sochurek
The music of ‘Lady Madonna’ was notably a throwback from the mind-expanding psychedelia of Sgt Pepper. The intro bears a resemblance to that of Humphrey Lyttelton’s 1956 hit ‘Bad Penny Blues’ (released on Parlophone, whose head of A&R was George Martin), and McCartney’s left handed, bass-led piano playing was inspired by blues pianist Fats Domino, who covered ‘Lady Madonna’ in 1968.
‘Lady Madonna’ was me sitting down at the piano trying to write a bluesy boogie-woogie thing. I got my left hand doing an arpeggio thing with the chord, an ascending boogie-woogie left hand, then a descending right hand. I always liked that, the juxtaposition of a line going down meeting a line going up. That was basically what it was. It reminded me of Fats Domino for some reason, so I started singing a Fats Domino impression. It took my voice to a very odd place.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
Chart success
‘Lady Madonna’ was released in the UK on 15 March 1968, with Harrison’s ‘The Inner Light’ as the b-side. It entered the charts at number five on 20 March, and a week later climbed to the top. It remained there for a second week, and spent eight weeks altogether in the chart.
In the US it was released on 18 March 1968. It fared less well, peaking at number four on 23 March.
Was it recorded with an Eight-Track recorder?
Lady Madonna was recorded on 4-track, they did not start recording on 8-track until later that year.
Does anone know when – and for that matter why! – Paul started singing “Did you know that money was heaven sent” instead of “Did you think…” in live performances?
Don’t forget John Lennon suggested the “See How They Run” Part. The line “see how they run” was included after Lennon’s suggestion (and was a theme that had been used in the previous year’s “I Am the Walrus”).
A Great Paul song with some great Lennon additions …
Great point. I daresay that with many a Lennon/McCartney song, a suggestion from the non-primary-writer elevated the song from “really cool” to “great.” See also “Come Together” and McCartney’s bass line and “Hey Jude” and the famous “Leave it in!” remark from John about “The movement you need is on your shoulder.”
Isn’t the intro from the Love version the intro from “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road”?
This song could’va had a beter guitar part. But still, a beastly wicked awesome song from Les Beatles!
I’m pretty sure it was Joe Meek who produced “Bad Penny Blues”
It was apparently produced by Denis Preston, and engineered by Meek. George Martin was the head of A&R at Parlophone at the time. I’ve amended the article – thanks for pointing this out.
I love the way they mixed this one (stereo). You can hear Ringo playing snare brush drums on the left and Paul’s Piano, and heavy drums on the right with the fuzzy guitars..
Does anyone know whose idea it was to use brushes?
The snare part, with brushes, comes directly from Humphrey Lyttleton’s 1956 “Bad Penny Blues” (as does the general feel of the piano part, as Joe mentions). You can hear it here.
If you mention the used parts of the “Love” version you could complete them by saying that the drum intro is from “Why don’t we do it in the road” and the guitar solo is Clapton from “While my guitar gently weeps”.
Anybody hear a click in the middle of the song somewhere?
No, never heard it. Now Im going to listen for it.
Yes, I have always heard it.
Boys, before pantihose, most women wore nylon stockings, which would often tear or ‘run’, and be repaired with needle & thread.
‘See how they run’ was a pun on ‘your stockings needed mending’ AND ‘Three Blind Mice’.
Precisely! Which disconnects the ‘Walrus’ reference.
Years later, Paul wrote about female stockings in his solo hit “Another Day”.
Doesn’t disconnect it at all. It just means there are several layers of punning/word play/self-referencing going on here.
Was a Kazoo used or was it a comb and tissue?
Do you know who played the part with Kazoo or comb with tissue?
Neither. The imitation brass vocals were by McCartney, Lennon and Harrison. See the In the studio section.
Is there a way to tell which guitar parts are played by Lennon or Harrison?
I have the original US release single, The Inner Light on side B. Both sides suffer from either bad transfer or disc pressing.
Again, does anyone know why McCartney in current live performances of LADY MADONNA uses the word ‘KNOW’ as opposed to the original ‘THINK’ in that one lyric line?
..It contradicts the original ‘THINK’ (vs ‘know’), in that money really is sent this way, which it isn’t…
I asked exactly the same question in December 2009 (see above), and no one replied! Maybe this time they will…
It’s nearly 50 years since the song was written…the perspective of the author has changed. To him, 50 years later, money IS heaven sent, so there’s no reason for Lady Madonna to “think” it is.
Sarcasm noted JT, but McCartney was certainly already pretty well off by 1968.
Perhaps McCartney wanted to soften the lyric as he is later quoted as saying that the song is a “tribute to women.” The phrase “Did you THINK that money was heaven sent?” sounds a little bit derogatory.
Most likely he is just forgotten how that wording goes in the original.
No reason to mythologize everything. 😉
He’s older and he wants to. Really, it’s not a big deal at all.
I thought Brian Jones of the Stones did the sax.
That was You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).
Nope. But Brian Jones did do some sax in “You Know My Name, Look Up My Number”. 🙂
I think it’s one of the beatles slighter efforts singles wise personally. Much like “i am the walrus” should have been a single before “hello goodbye” i think “across the universe” or “hey bulldog” should have been an a-side before this.
Castironshore,
This is only You Tube – The Beatles Channel
Paul McCartney –
“Hello,Goodbye” – 153 Million.
“Lady Madonna” – 20 Million.
Vs
John Lennon –
“I Am The Walrus” – 1.8 Million.
“Hey Bulldog” – 19 Million.
“Across The Universe” – 27 Million.
December 2, 2023
I keep seeing that the Beatles mid-’68 onwards releases were “released on Apple”. Well, in reality, ALL Beatles releases were (and are) owned by EMI (parent to Parlophone and Capital). Basically, the allowed the Apple label to be used to keep the Beatles happy.
I love this McCartney number. First obtained it when I got the “Hey Jude” album. Great piano.Loved hearing this on the radio as a kid. I do though agree with another contributor, “Across The Universe” and “Hey Bulldog” would have made great singles as well.Both epitomize contrasting examples of the John Lennon genius.
Brilliant Paul McCartney vocals. A touch of Elvis or Fats Domino.
There is nothing bluesy about this song. It is a pop song.
You bet, poached. You know better than the Beatles.
Didn’t Fats Domino record this?
I have never heard anyone mention this but was the line “Tuesday afternoon is never ending” a direct reference to the Moody Blues’ song “Tuesday Afternoon” aka “Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)” The timing of the release of the songs suggest it could be, as the Moody Blues piece came out in October, 1967 and this Beatles song was, as listed above Feburary/March 1968.
And “Wednesday morning…” was a direct reference to Simon and Garfunkel…. we could go on and on.
He’s singing about what she does each day and uses words that fit the metre of the song. I seriously doubt it means much more than that.
Well, no. There is nothing from “Wednesday Morning, 3AM” that relates back to the line used in “Lady Madonna,” which is why I didn’t ask about that. Your opinion wasn’t what was sought; I was hoping someone on this board would actually KNOW.
I’m on the board, I have a right to respond. Point being: You can make references between almost any 2 songs if you want. Unless the writer says something about it, it’s pointless and – IMO- silly.
I’ve wondered the same thing – the Moody Blues song is interminable! Tuesday Afternoon is…never ending. Great song, of course, but I’m wondering if Paul or John did a subtle dig at it.
Paul wrote “Lady Madonna”, not John.
For crying out loud!
What is wrong with people thinking that everything has to be written in relation to something else.
Not everything is a reference to something else.
What no one has stated thus far is that Lady Madonna has a tremendous hook, grabs the listener right off the start with its upfront upbeat tempo and doesn’t let up until the Lennon line “See how they run”… That is dynamic songwriting – period. The lyrics are damn good, clever even, no matter what John says.
Yes, I think the lyrics are excellent. It’s perhaps my most consistant favorite of the Beatles’ catalog.
I never understood Lennon’s remarks about so many songs: “doesn’t go anywhere”, “doesn’t resolve itself”. They aren’t novels, for chrissakes, and aren’t supposed to be.
JL hadn’t caught the dragon that day.
A really interesting video about Lady Madonna, in the context of the rock and roll revival of early 68.
The Beatles may have issued all their subsequent 45s and albums on their own Apple imprint, but they were still technically under contract to EMI, hence that their own UK Apple releases were distributed by EMI with Parlophone catalogue numbers and for the rest of the world, it was the same situation, with the exception of the USA and perhaps Canada, where their Apple releases were distributed by Capitol with the same running orders as the UK release.