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NUMBER 76: "Yer Blues" (Lennon – November 25, 1968)
The BEATLES (a.k.a., The White Album) – CD 2, Track 2 (4:01)
YouTube Video
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) –
"Yer Blues" is a song by The Beatles, the second song on the third side (or second disc) of The Beatles, also known as The White Album. It is credited to Lennon–McCartney, but was written by John Lennon while in Rishikesh, India.
Lyrics
Containing multiple references to suicide, the lyrics to the song are remarkably dark for lyrics of the time period. They are also ripe with references to pop culture (containing a reference to Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man") and cosmology, and were possibly symbolic of Lennon's well-documented battles with his psychological demons. Lennon said in a Rolling Stone interview that he used the humorous title as something of a defense mechanism, so that if anyone criticized the song, he could write it off as a parody; otherwise he claimed to be sincere about the song's content. In the original demo of the song, Lennon sings "I feel so insecure [as opposed to "suicidal"], just like Dylan's Mr. Jones".
Recording
"Yer Blues" was recorded in EMI Studio Two's "annexe", which was actually a large closet in the control room In interviews for the Beatles Anthology series, Ringo Starr affectionately recalls recording this song in the stripped-down conditions, saying it was like the old days of live performances by The Beatles. The stripped-down, bluesy nature of the song bears similarity to much of Lennon's early solo output, including "Cold Turkey" and his 1970 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album and marks a retreat from Lennon's concern with studio experimentation that marked such songs as "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".
Contributing to the live sound of the song, loud yelling between band members can be heard in the instrumental tracks.
Performance
Just after the album The Beatles came out in late 1968, Lennon performed "Yer Blues" at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus with a supergroup dubbed the "The Dirty Mac", consisting of himself, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, Keith Richards on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums. The performance was followed with a boogie instrumental jam called "Whole Lotta Yoko", featuring dissonant avant-garde violinist Ivry Gitlis and vocals by Yoko Ono. The recording was never broadcast, and for decades the performance was only available on bootleg, but it finally came out officially on both CD and video in 1996. Lennon's performance with The Dirty Mac was his first live performance since the Beatles' last concert in 1966 and may have contributed to his renewed enthusiasm for live performance in 1969 (see "Give Peace a Chance" and Live Peace in Toronto).
Personnel
John Lennon – vocals, lead guitar Paul McCartney – bass
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
NUMBER 76: "Yer Blues" (Lennon – November 25, 1968)
The BEATLES (a.k.a., The White Album) – CD 2, Track 2 (4:01)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) –
"Yer Blues" is a song by The Beatles, the second song on the third side (or second disc) of The Beatles, also known as The White Album. It is credited to Lennon–McCartney, but was written by John Lennon while in Rishikesh, India.
Lyrics
Containing multiple references to suicide, the lyrics to the song are remarkably dark for lyrics of the time period. They are also ripe with references to pop culture (containing a reference to Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man") and cosmology, and were possibly symbolic of Lennon's well-documented battles with his psychological demons. Lennon said in a Rolling Stone interview that he used the humorous title as something of a defense mechanism, so that if anyone criticized the song, he could write it off as a parody; otherwise he claimed to be sincere about the song's content. In the original demo of the song, Lennon sings "I feel so insecure [as opposed to "suicidal"], just like Dylan's Mr. Jones".
Recording
"Yer Blues" was recorded in EMI Studio Two's "annexe", which was actually a large closet in the control room In interviews for the Beatles Anthology series, Ringo Starr affectionately recalls recording this song in the stripped-down conditions, saying it was like the old days of live performances by The Beatles. The stripped-down, bluesy nature of the song bears similarity to much of Lennon's early solo output, including "Cold Turkey" and his 1970 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album and marks a retreat from Lennon's concern with studio experimentation that marked such songs as "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".
Contributing to the live sound of the song, loud yelling between band members can be heard in the instrumental tracks.
Performance
Just after the album The Beatles came out in late 1968, Lennon performed "Yer Blues" at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus with a supergroup dubbed the "The Dirty Mac", consisting of himself, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, Keith Richards on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums. The performance was followed with a boogie instrumental jam called "Whole Lotta Yoko", featuring dissonant avant-garde violinist Ivry Gitlis and vocals by Yoko Ono. The recording was never broadcast, and for decades the performance was only available on bootleg, but it finally came out officially on both CD and video in 1996. Lennon's performance with The Dirty Mac was his first live performance since the Beatles' last concert in 1966 and may have contributed to his renewed enthusiasm for live performance in 1969 (see "Give Peace a Chance" and Live Peace in Toronto).
Personnel
John Lennon – vocals, lead guitar Paul McCartney – bass
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums
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