TOP 100 SONGS OF THE BEATLES: 75

"Think for Yourself" (Harrison – December 6, 1965)

Rubber Soul – Side 1, Track 5 (2:15)  

YouTube (Sweet Loretta Fat (formerly Fooling April), Rubber Soul/Revolver tribute concert, 4/2/11)

From Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, About.com and, Google –

"Think for Yourself" is a song by English rock band The Beatles which first appeared on their 1965 album Rubber Soul. Written and sung by George Harrison, it is a warning against listening to lies, and the first of Harrison's songs not to be a love song. In his book I, Me, Mine he writes, "But all this time later, I don't quite recall who inspired that tune; probably the government." In a departure from all precedent at the time, the song has two bass lines, a normal one and one created by Paul McCartney's then-unique application of a fuzzbox to his bass.

History –

Another milestone in George Harrison's songwriting development, "Think For Yourself" can also be considered the one of the first "socially conscious" or even political Beatles songs; although the lyrics are vague enough to be about a romantic partner, Harrison himself has revealed that the lyrics rail against narrow-mindedness in general, and suspects that he was specifically thinking of the British government when writing them.

The recording of the song was quite simple, even by mid-period Beatle standards. The band rehearsed the song and recorded it in one take, with very few overdubs, on November 8, 1965, during one of the later sessions for the Rubber Soul album. The basic tracks were laid down with organ, guitar, bass and drums, then the vocals were re-recorded, the harmonies perfected, and extra percussion added courtesy of Ringo.

The main musical feature of "Think For Yourself" was Paul's adaptation of a heavily distorted bass line, what would soon become known in the business as a "fuzz bass." According to George, the band had heard the effect on Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans' 1963 recording of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" (actually an accidental distortion that producer Phil Spector decided to leave in) and decided to replicate the effect. Paul ran his Hofner violin bass through a Vox Tone Bender, the first such guitar effects box manufactured in England, and used the result as a lead line -- there's actually a second, normal bass line under it anchoring the rhythm.

Musical Structure –

The song is in the key of G-major, but its musical premise appears to be permanent tonic key ambiguity and restless root movement (musically echoing the title) through extensive borrowing from the parallel G minor. Thus, the G7 introduction appears to ground us in G major (G Mixolydian); yet the verse soon opens ("I've got a word or two") with a ii chord (Am) that suggests we are in A Dorian mode or even A Aeolian mode with the following move to a Dm chord on "word or two" being a iv rather than a v in G major. The immediate shift to B♭ chord (♭III in G major) on "to say" and the C chord (IV in G major) on "about the things" again confuses as the Bb and C chords seem to hint at a ♭Vi- ♭VII rock run in D Aeolian. When we arrive at the chorus ("Think for yourself...") the anticipated tonic-identifying V-I (D7 chord-G7 chord) shift, is preceded (pointedly on "Think") with a strange ♭VI (E♭/B♭)chord in second inversion that undermines its tonal direction. This overlapping of major and minor harmony and restless root movement is an intriguing characteristic of Harrison's songwriting as far back as Don't Bother Me.  

Recording –

Takes: 1

Personnel 

John Lennon – Harmony vocals, organ (1965 Vox Continental Mk 1)
Paul McCartney – Harmony vocals, bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster)
Ringo Starr – Drums (Ludwig), maracas, tambourine

Trivia –

After work was finished on "Think for Yourself," the band used the rest of the session to record the band's third Christmas fan club record. Producer George Martin recorded the day's session in order to get some material for the disc, and while it wasn't used, 20 minutes or so of the studio chatter has turned up on bootlegs.

Tape of John, Paul, and George rehearsing the harmonies was also recorded during the session. Three years later, it was used in the movie Yellow Submarine, as the lads "warm up" in order to revive the Lord Mayor and save Pepperland through song.

A commonly misheard line in the song is "Although your mind's opaque / Try thinking more if just for your own sake." Some hear the word "opaque" as "okay." "Opaque" is defined by Webster's as "blocking the passage of radiant energy and especially light," which would be a concern for someone as spiritual as George!

Today In Beatles History (From The Beatles Internet Album) January 25 –

1963 – Vee Jay gets US contract to release Beatles records.
– 5.00-5.29pm. BBC's 'Here We Go' broadcast (all 16 January 1963 session but 'Three Cool Cats').

1964 – "With The Beatles" number 1, 8th week (UK Record Retailer chart).

– "I Want To Hold Your Hand" number 3, 2nd week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– "She Loves You", 1st week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– Brian writes in the 'Fabulous' magazine, proud of the achievements of Liverpool pop groups.
– Performance at the Hambleton Hall, Liverpool, with Derry and the Seniors, and Faron and The Tempest Tornadoes.

1967 – Studio 1 (control room only). 6.30-8.30pm. Mono mixing: "Penny Lane" (remixes 12-14, from take 9). Studio 1 (control room only). 9.00-10.00pm. Tape copying: "Penny Lane" (of remix mono 14). Producer: George Martin; Engineer: Geoff Emerick; 2nd Engineer: Phil McDonald. 

– Remix, omitting some bits of piccolo trumpet at the end of "Penny Lane".

1969 – "Yellow Submarine" LP, 2nd week in the Top 30 (Billboard).Apple Studios. Time unknown. Recording: "Untitled Jamming"; "On Our Way Home" (working title of "Two Of Us"); "Bye Bye Love"; "George's Blues (Because You're Sweet And Lovely" (working title of "For You Blue"); "Let It Be". Producer: George Martin; Engineer: Glyn Johns; 2nd Engineer: Alan Parsons.

1980 – Paul flies from Tokyo to Amsterdam.

1991 – Paul's performance for MTV. Recording: "Unplugged".