"Her Majesty" is a song by the English rock 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 1969 album '' Abbey Road''. Written by

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 ...

and credited to

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

, it is a brief

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

song. Although credited to the band, McCartney is the only Beatle to appear on the track. "Her Majesty" is the final cut on the album and appears 14 seconds after the previous song " The End", but was not listed on the original sleeve. Some observers consider it the first example of a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as to ...

Recording

The song was recorded in three takes on 2 July 1969, prior to the Beatles beginning work on " Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight". McCartney sang and simultaneously played a fingerstyle

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

accompaniment. The decision to exclude it from the ''Abbey Road'' medley was made on 30 July. It runs only 23 seconds, but the Beatles also recorded a longer version during the ''Get Back'' sessions. In the song, the singer muses about the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and his plan to someday "make her mine".

Structure and placement

The song was originally placed between "

Mean Mr. Mustard "Mean Mr. Mustard" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the third track of the album's B-side medley. It was recorded with "Sun Kin ...

" and "

Polythene Pam "Polythene Pam" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album '' Abbey Road''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the fourth song of the album's climactic side-two medley. The Beatles recorded ...

"; McCartney decided that the sequence did not work and it was edited out of the album's closing medley by

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music ...

tape operator John Kurlander. He was instructed by McCartney to destroy the tape, but EMI policy stated that no Beatles recording was ever to be destroyed. The fourteen seconds of silence between " The End" and "Her Majesty" are the result of Kurlander's lead-out tape added to separate the song from the rest of the recording. The loud chord that occurs at the beginning of the song is the ending, as recorded, of "Mean Mr. Mustard". "Her Majesty" ends abruptly because its own final note was left at the beginning of "Polythene Pam". McCartney applauded Kurlander's "surprise effect" and the track became the unintended closer to the LP. The crudely edited beginning and end of "Her Majesty" shows that it was not meant to be included in the final mix of the album; as McCartney says in ''

The Beatles Anthology ''The Beatles Anthology'' is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison ...

'', "Typical Beatles – an accident." The song was not listed on the original

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's sleeve, as they had already been printed; on reprinted sleeves, however, it is listed. The CD edition corrects this. The CD version also mimics the original LP version in that the CD contains a 14-second long silence immediately after "The End" before "Her Majesty" starts playing. Digital versions also include a 14-second long silence after "The End". At 23 seconds long, "Her Majesty" is the shortest song in the Beatles' repertoire (contrasting the same album's "

I Want You (She's So Heavy) "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney). The song closes side one of their 1969 album '' Abbey Road'' and features Billy Preston playing the organ. It ...

", their longest song apart from " Revolution 9", an 8:22

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

piece from ''The Beatles''). Both of the original sides of vinyl close with a song that ends abruptly (the other being "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"). The song starts panned hard right and slowly pans to hard left. In October 2009,

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

released a downloadable version of the song (as well as the entire album) for the video game '' The Beatles: Rock Band'' that gave players the ability to play the missing last chord. Apple Corps granted rights to this and to other changes to

Harmonix Music Systems Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as ...

, which developed the game. The alteration garnered controversy among some fans who preferred the recorded version's unresolved close. The fiftieth anniversary "Super Deluxe Edition" of ''Abbey Road'' includes a bonus track, "The Long One", that consists of a trial edit and mix of the medley, with "Her Majesty" placed between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam".

Personnel

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar

Live performance

McCartney performed the song in front of the Queen at the

Party at the Palace The Party at the Palace was a British pop/rock music concert held at Buckingham Palace Garden in London on 3 June 2002. The event was in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II held over the Golden Jubilee Weekend. It was the ...

on 3 June 2002, part of the

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু� ...

celebrations.

Cover versions

The song has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

by such bands as

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, g ...

Art Brut Art Brut are a Berlin-based English and German indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, '' It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter J ...

, and

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enoug ...

, who developed it in an extended version with new lyrics, turning it into an attack on the Royal Family.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Her Majesty (Song) The Beatles songs 1969 songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Songs published by Northern Songs 2002 singles Cultural depictions of Elizabeth II Chumbawamba songs Songs about queens