TOP 100 SONGS OF THE BEATLES: 77

"Because" (Lennon – October 1, 1969)

Abbey Road – Side 2, Track 2 (2:45)

YouTube (Larkin Poe & the Shadowboxers, Pittsburgh, PA) 

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

"Because" is a song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and recorded by the Beatles in 1969. It features a prominent three-part vocal harmony by Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison, overdubbed twice to make nine voices in all. It first appeared on Abbey Road (1969), immediately preceding the extended medley on side two of the record.

History –

The last song to be begun in the studio by the Beatles, though not the last to be completed, "Because" was a Lennon song which had its genesis in Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No.14, Op. 27, No. 2," commonly known as the "Moonlight Sonata." Lennon's partner, Yoko Ono, was a classically trained pianist, and one day in early 1969 she performed the song while John relaxed on a couch. Hearing something that intrigued him, he asked her to play the piece backwards, and the resultant chord changes formed the basis of "Because" (though it was not, as is often thought, a direct backwards performance). Possibly inspired by the poetic works of Ono, Lennon began composing a series of simple, direct, almost haiku-like verses about the sky, the wind, and the world, coupling them with an equally direct chorus that presaged the direct lyrical themes of his early solo career "Love is all, love is you").

During the couple's notorious "bed-in" public honeymoon in an Amsterdam hotel room, a newly wed John could be heard transposing the arpeggios of his new creation on his longtime Gibson Jumbo acoustic, and also working out intricate vocal harmonies for it. On August 1, 1969, he brought the finished song to Abbey Road, where producer George Martin suggested a novel nine-part harmony for the band, consisting of John, Paul and George singing live, three separate times, creating three interlocking parts -- Paul taking the high harmonies, John the middle, and George the bottom.

The basic track was laid down with Ringo providing a primitive "click track" on his hi-hat, which was erased for the final version, over which Martin performed the arpeggios on a harpsichord, John doubled them on his electric guitar, and Paul added bass. The trio of vocalists then recorded their first set of harmonies. On the 4th, they recorded the other two tracks of harmonies, and then the next day, Harrison added the crowning touch in Studio 3 -- his new Moog synthesizer, extremely rare for a rock band, on which he tinkered with an appropriate solo. (The band then finished the harmonies for "The End.") Though Lennon, as was his wont, later disparaged Msrtin's arrangement, Paul and George cited "Because" as one of their very favorite Abbey Roadtracks. 

Composition –

The song begins with a distinctive electric harpsichord intro played by producer George Martin. The harpsichord is joined by Lennon's guitar (mimicking the harpsichord line) played through a Leslie speaker. Then vocals and bass guitar enter.

"Because" was one of few Beatles recordings to feature a Moog synthesiser, played by George Harrison. It appears in what Alan Pollack refers to as the "mini-bridge”, and then again at the end of the song. The group were among the first in contemporary rock and roll to experiment with a Moog, though the instrument had been used before (notably by bands such as the Doors, Simon & Garfunkel and the Monkees, whose "Daily Nightly" was the first rock recording to feature the Moog).

According to Lennon, the song's close musical resemblance to Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" was no coincidence: "Yoko was playing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' on the piano ... I said, 'Can you play those chords backwards?', and wrote 'Because' around them. The lyrics speak for themselves ... No imagery, no obscure references."

Musical structure –

With regard to the controversy, Lennon initiated by citing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" as an inspiration, musicologist Walter Everett notes that "both arpeggiate triads and seventh chords in C# minor in the baritone range of a keyboard instrument at a slow tempo, move through the sub-mediant to ♭II and approach vii dim 7/IV via a common tone." One similarity is that "Because", which also is in C#, opens with a ♭VI (A chord on ..."cause"), moves to a i chord (C#m on "wind") then the ♭VI7 (A7 on "high") before shifting to a ♭ii dim (D dim) on "love is old love is new" (IV-F#). The third measure of the "Moonlight Sonata" does have this ♭VI (A chord) to ♭II (D/F# chord) move, but Dominic Pedler notes that this is not an inspiration happening through reversal as Lennon suggested.

"Because" concludes with a vocal fade-out on D dim, which keeps listeners in suspense as they wait for the return to the home key of C#. Mellers states that: "causality is released and there is no before and no after: because that flat supertonic is a moment of revelation, it needs no resolution." The D dim chord (and its accompanying melodic F natural) lingers until they resolve into the opening Am chord of "You Never Give Me Your Money" so that the D dim in retrospect was operating as a vii dim 7 of Am.

Recording –

The main recording session for "Because" was on 1 August 1969, with vocal overdubs on 4 August, and a double-tracked Moog synthesizer overdub by Harrison on 5 August. As a result, this was the last song on the album to be committed to tape, although there were still overdubs for other incomplete songs. This approach took extensive rehearsal, and more than five hours of extremely focused recording, to capture correctly. McCartney and Harrison both said it was their favorite track on Abbey Road. "They knew they were doing something special," said engineer Geoff Emerick, "and they were determined to get it right." Versions of the song, without instrumentation, can be found on 1997's Anthology 3 and 2006's Love. Both versions highlight the three part harmony by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, though the Love version is slowed down and includes overdubbed birdsong.

Takes: 16

Personnel –

John Lennon – Lead harmony vocals, guitar (1965 Epiphone E230TD(V) Casino)

Paul McCartney – lead harmony vocals, bass guitar (1964 Rickenbacker 4001S)
George Harrison – Lead harmony vocals, synthesizer (1968 Moog IIIP)
George Martin – Harpsichord (Baldwin Electric Combo CW-8-S)

Trivia –

Though it was the first Beatle recording to feature a Moog, "Because" was not the first rock song to utilize it. That honor, believe it or not, goes to the Monkees' "Daily Nightly." Nonetheless, the Beatles fell in love with the instrument: the day after "Because" was recorded, Paul added it to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." Two days later, John used the "white noise" setting to add drama to "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." Finally, on the 19th, George used it to add a little extra color to "Here Comes the Sun."

The band Queen would base their distinctive vocal harmonies off of Martin's idea, singing parts in live three-part harmony and then overdubbing them with more of the same.

Alice Cooper performed a bizarre version of "Because" for the ill-fated 1978 musical film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, produced again by Martin. His first attempt at a vocal was fairly normal, but then Martin urged him to sing it again, not as John Lennon would, but as John would think Alice would. He got the desired performance.

This Day in Beatles History (From The Internet Beatles Album) January 23 –

1965 – "Beatles For Sale" number 1, 6th week (UK Record Retailer chart).

1969 – Apple Studios. Time unknown. Recording: "Get Back"; "Blues". Producer: George Martin; Engineer: Glyn Johns; 2nd Engineer: Alan Parsons. 

– Alan Parsons debut as Beatles second engineer.



1978 – End of "London Town" LP sessions at Abbey Road Studios (2nd period).