"Watching Rainbows" is an unreleased song by

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 ...

recorded on 14 January 1969 during the ''Get Back'' sessions at

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

. It features

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 ...

on lead vocal and electric piano,

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 ...

on lead guitar, and

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 ...

on drums. No bass guitar was present as McCartney was filling in for the absent

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 ...

, who had temporarily left the group at that stage of the sessions. The song is played in two chords and has since been compared to "

I Am the Walrus "I Am the Walrus" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film ''Magical Mystery Tour''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single "Hello, Goodbye" a ...

" and "

I've Got a Feeling "I've Got a Feeling" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album ''Let It Be''. It was recorded on 30 January 1969 during the Beatles' rooftop concert. It is a combination of two unfinished songs: Paul McCartney's "I've ...

" for the similarities in the song's lyrics and structure.

Composition and background

"Watching Rainbows" is an improvised song written by John Lennon 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 was never released and can only be heard on bootlegs. The track was recorded at

on 14 January 1969 by producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

during the ''Get Back'' sessions. " Mean Mr. Mustard" and the unreleased song "

Madman Pierfrancesco Botrugno (born 25 July 1988), better known by the stage name Madman sometimes stylized as MadMan is an Italian rapper. Biography Early years, ''Escape from Heart'' Madman entered the world of hip hop by participating in the 2 ...

", which the Beatles ultimately abandoned after a few run-throughs were also recorded during the January session. The song features

on lead guitar because

had temporarily left the group at this stage of the sessions. The song has a two chord riff. "Watching Rainbows" is very often associated with two other songs by the Beatles. One is the structurally similar McCartney tune "

", which the Beatles released on their final album ''

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album It may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...

'' on 8 May 1970. The other one is the single, "

", which had been released on 24 November 1967, as the B-side of the hit single "

Hello Goodbye "Hello, Goodbye" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Backed by John Lennon's "I Am the Walrus", it was issued as a non-album single in November 1967, the group's first re ...

". "I Am the Walrus" was later released on their EP ''

Magical Mystery Tour ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP ...

'' on 8 December 1967. One of the most intelligible pieces of lyric in the song is the oft-repeated line "Standing in the garden, waiting for the sun to shine", reminiscent of a line from the earlier Beatles tune, which contains the line "Sitting in an English garden, waiting for the sun." Because of that slight similarity, the song is often interpreted as being derived from, or loosely inspired by, "I Am the Walrus". The lyrics also feature the words "shoot me", which Lennon later reused on his hit single "

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with "Somethin ...

". It begins with McCartney playing the lead guitar part from "

", while Lennon joins in and improvises three verses from "

". It leads into a chorus, but then evolves to a jam. Lyrically, the song is about man suffering from poverty who doesn't just want to watch rainbows, but make his own. There is also a line concerning a relationship with a mother, which is echoed in Lennon's song "

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

", released by him in 1970.

Reception

In a negative review, author Richie Unterbeger commented that "Watching Rainbows" is "uninteresting" and "chunky" and furthermore calling the track a "throw-away". In a positive review, David Marchese of '' New York (magazine), Vulture'' called the song "another playful, jammy track from the ''Let It Be'' sessions".

Personnel

According to

Kenneth Womack Kenneth Womack (born January 24, 1966) is an American writer, literary critic, public speaker, and music historian, particularly focusing on the cultural influence of the Beatles. He is the author of the bestselling ''Solid State: The Story of A ...

–

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Let It Be The Beatles songs Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Unreleased songs