Tuesday, January 22, 2013

100 DAYS OF THE BEATLES – TOP 100 SONGS – 78




NUMBER 78: "And Your Bird Can Sing" (Lennon – June 20, 1966) 
Revolver CD Version  Track 9 (2:02)

YouTube Video


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) 

"And Your Bird Can Sing" is a song by the Beatles, released on their 1966 album Revolver in the United Kingdom and on Yesterday...and Today in the United States. The songwriting credit is Lennon–McCartney, though the song was written primarily by John Lennon. However, Paul McCartney claims to have helped on the lyric, estimating the song as "80-20" to Lennon. The working title was "You Don't Get Me". Lennon was later dismissive of the song, as he was of many of his compositions at the time, referring to it as "another of my throwaways...fancy paper around an empty box".

History

The song is memorable for its extended dual-guitar melody, played by George Harrison and Paul McCartney. A version of the song featuring Harrison on his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar was recorded on 20 April 1966 but was scrapped; the group recorded the album version on 26 April. The rejected version, heard on the Anthology 2 album, features a vocal track on which Lennon and McCartney are giggling hysterically. The Anthology liner notes state that the tapes do not indicate the source of the laughter.

A few incidents have been suggested as inspirations for the song's cryptic lyrics, which recall in tone those of "She Said, She Said":


Jonathan Gould, in a 2007 book, Can't Buy Me Love, claims Lennon wrote the song in response to an official press release promoting a Sinatra TV special as a show for those who were "tired of kid singers wearing mops of hair thick enough to hide a crate of melons." No Lennon biography or Lennon quotation is cited to substantiate Gould's theory. 
According to journalist Richard Simpson, Lennon wrote the song in response to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones boasting about his pop-star girlfriend ("bird" in British Isles slang) Marianne Faithfull. 
The line "You say you've seen seven wonders" may refer to the night the Beatles smoked pot with Bob Dylan in New York in 1964. The experience caused a stoned McCartney to excitedly pronounce what he had just learned was the key to life: "There are seven levels." 

"And Your Bird Can Sing" was used as the theme song of the Beatles' cartoon series during its third season. The song is playable in the music video game The Beatles: Rock Band.

Personnel 

John Lennon 
 lead vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps
Paul McCartney 
 harmony vocal, bass, lead guitar, handclaps
George Harrison 
 harmony vocal, lead guitar, handclaps
Ringo Starr 
 drums, tambourine, hand claps


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