"Wait" is a song by the English

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band

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

from their 1965 album '' Rubber Soul''. The song is credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. In the 1997 book ''

Many Years from Now ''Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now'' is a 1997 biography of Paul McCartney by Barry Miles. It is the "official" biography of McCartney and was written "based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews undertaken over a period of five years", ...

'',

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

recalls it as entirely his work. In a 1970 interview with

Ray Connolly Ray Connolly (born 4 December 1940) is a British writer. He is best known for his journalism and for writing the screenplays for the films ''That'll Be the Day'' and its sequel '' Stardust'', for which he won a Writers' Guild of Great Britain ...

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

could not remember writing it, saying, "That must be one of Paul's."

Origin and recording

The song was originally recorded for '' Help!'' in June 1965, but was rejected for inclusion on the album. When ''Rubber Soul'' fell one song short for a Christmas release, the Beatles revisited "Wait". Overdubs were added to the initial recording so it would blend in better with the more recent songs on ''Rubber Soul''. In the view of authors Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin, the lyrics "probably reflected his cCartney'scomplex relationship with Jane Asher: 'I am often away, but if you really love me, wait for me'". The vocals on the verse are shared between Lennon and McCartney, and McCartney sings the two

middle eight The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

sections. For his guitar part,

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

uses a volume pedal, which he earlier employed on "

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" and "

Yes It Is "Yes It Is" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), it was first released in 1965 as the B-side to " Ticket to Ride". It features some of the Beatles' most complex and dissonant t ...

Reception

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

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writes that the song, while not one of the best on ''Rubber Soul'', still fits in with the album comfortably enough. He compliments the song's "sorrowful melodies", calling them one of the most sorrowful of the Lennon–McCartney library, and notes that it's one of the few Beatles songs to be in a minor key. In his review for the 50th anniversary of ''Rubber Soul'', Jacob Albano of ''Classic Rock Review'' writes: "'Wait' features great choruses and a decent bridge by McCartney along with a creative percussive ensemble and pedal-effected guitars", but concludes by calling it an otherwise weak song for its parent album.

Personnel

According to Ian MacDonald: *

– double tracked vocal, rhythm guitar *

– double tracked vocal, bass guitar *

– lead guitar *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

– drums, maracas, tambourine

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Authority control The Beatles songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Songs published by Northern Songs 1965 songs