TOP 100 SONGS OF THE BEATLES: 76

"Yer Blues" (Lennon – November 25, 1968) 

The BEATLES (a.k.a., The White Album) – Side 3, Track 2 (4:01)

YouTube (Lennon, Clapton, Richards (on bass))


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

"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.

History –

Although the Beatles wrote a few dozen tunes while on their famous trip to Rishikesh, India in the spring of 1968, surprisingly few were about the spiritual lessons they'd learned from their teacher, the Maharashi Mahesh Yogi; most of the songs, like "Dear Prudence" and "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill," were about the experiences of the ashram itself. (Perhaps this foreshadowed their eventual disillusionment with the guru.) John's "Yer Blues," however, was absolutely an existential cry from the heart, a series of cosmic riddles about the nature of his existence not unlike the raw, screaming, soul-searching he'd engage in on his historic "real debut" solo album, Plastic Ono Band.

However, at this point John was still tentative, couching his vulnerability in sneering jokes and parody, and so "Yer Blues," which exists in its demo form is a gentle yet emotionally raw lament, becomes on the "White Album" a half-serious parody of the "authentic" blues mania sweeping heavy English rock groups at the time. Though he lets the air out of his revelation with a few mocking blues solos, a winking title, and a gimmicky mid-tune switch to a straight rock shuffle, the soul of this song is as disturbing as it feels on the surface.

Surprisingly, it was George, not John, who came up with the perfect recording technique for "Yer Blues." While recording well over 100 takes of an unused song of his own called "Not Guilty," Harrison asked engineer Ken Scott to clear out a large closet just off Abbey Road's Studio 2 and use omni-directional mikes so that the entire band could perform it as if it were a live jam. That didn't happen with "Not Guilty," but Lennon realized the method fit "Yer Blues" perfectly. It was accomplished, although not without some artifice: Ringo's "One... two... three..." count-off is tacked on, much as Paul's was on "I Saw Her Standing There,"and the resolution back to the original beat, which occurs at 3:16, is actually just a splice of Take 17's first verse, with the vocals wiped. (This is why a faint ghost of John's words can be heard in the background.) The Beatles, performing as a band for the first time in a long, long time, knocked this one out in 16 takes on August 13 after work was completed on "Sexy Sadie," achieving the powerful, live, raw, and gloriously sloppy sound Lennon was looking for. Lennon added a second vocal the next day, and Ringo came up with the count-off, all by  his lonesome, on the 20th.

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 defence 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).

Takes: 17

Personnel –

John Lennon – Lead vocals, lead guitar (1965 Epiphone E230TD(V) Casino)
Paul McCartney – Harmony vocals, bass guitar (1964 Fender Bass VI)
George Harrison – Rhythm guitar (1968 Fender Rosewood Telecaster)
Ringo Starr – Drums (Ludwig)

Trivia –

The mono version has a louder count-off and a much longer fade.

The reference to feeling "so suicidal, just like Dylan's Mr. Jones" is a nod to the Bob Dylan song "Ballad of a Thin Man," which uses the name "Mr. Jones" to refer to conservative, "establishment" types who are confused and frightened by the turbulent social change swirling around them. In the demo, however, John pointedly declares himself "insecure" just like the character. (Note also the reference to the yet-to-be-recorded "Julia" in the line "My mother is of the sky.")

"Yer Blues" was one of the very few Beatles songs John performed live without the group: for the aborted 1968 Rolling Stones TV project Rock and Roll Circus, Lennon performed a nine-minute version with a hastily assembled backup band called The Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar, the Stones' Keith Richards on bass, and Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell. (It was eventually released in 1996.) Lennon would later perform it again at the Toronto Rock and Roll Festival in 1969 with Clapton, session drummer Alan White, band associate Klaus Voorman on bass, and Yoko Ono yowling along, sounding remarkably like Lennon's own solos in places.

This Day in Beatles History (From The Internet Beatles Album) January 24 –

1962 – Signing of a management contract of Brian and the Beatles, at Brian's office at the NEMS record store in Whitechapel.

1964 – Studio 1 (control room only). 10.00-10.45am. Tape copying: 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' (of take 17). Producer: not assigned; Engineer: Norman Smith; 2nd Engineer: A. B. Lincoln/Geoff Emerick. Copy of rythm track of "I Want To Hold Your Hand", for sessions in Paris.

– Brian signs Sounds Incorporated to a management and agency contract with NEMS Enterprises. First "Southern" signing. He clinches for them a deal with EMI, and adds them to the Gerry and the Pacemakers tour.
– NEMS Enterprises announces plans to move from Liverpool to offices in Sutherland House, Argyll Street, London.

1965 – "Ferry Cross the Mersey" Liverpool premiere, at the Odeon Cinema, on aid of the Variety Club of Great Britain.

1967 – Brian writes to Nat Weiss about his next trip to Mexico.

1969 – Apple Studios. Time unknown. Recording: "On Our Way Home" (working title of "Two Of Us"); "Teddy Boy"; "Maggie Mae"; "On Our Way Home" (working title of "Two Of Us"); "Dig It" (version 1); "Dig A Pony"; "I've Got A Feeling". Producer: George Martin; Engineer: Glyn Johns; 2nd Engineer: Neil Richmond. "Dig It" (version 1) includes John's child-like spoken message.

1970 – "Live Peace In Toronto", 3rd week in the ranking (Billboard).