HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"I'm Only Sleeping" is a song by the English rock band
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
from their 1966 studio album ''
Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
''. In the United States and Canada, it was one of the three tracks that
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
cut from the album and instead included on '' Yesterday and Today'', released two months before ''Revolver''. Credited as a
Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...
song, it was written primarily by
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
. The track includes a backwards lead guitar part played by
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
, the first time such a technique was used on a pop recording. Since the standardisation of the Beatles' catalogue for its international CD release in 1987, the song has appeared on ''Revolver'' in North America. The 1996 '' Anthology 2'' compilation includes outtakes of the song from the ''Revolver'' sessions, including an instrumental version that features the Beatles' first use of a
vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...
. In 2018, the music staff of '' Time Out London'' ranked "I'm Only Sleeping" at number 12 on their list of the best Beatles songs.


Background and inspiration

The first draft of Lennon's lyrics for "I'm Only Sleeping", written on the back of a letter from 1966, suggests that he was writing about the joys of staying in bed rather than any drug euphoria sometimes read into the lyrics. While not on tour, Lennon would usually spend his time sleeping, reading, writing or watching television, often under the influence of drugs, and would have to be woken by McCartney for their songwriting sessions. In a London ''
Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'' article published on 4 March 1966, Maureen Cleave, a friend of Lennon, wrote: "He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England. 'Physically lazy,' he said. 'I don't mind writing or reading or watching or speaking, but sex is the only physical thing I can be bothered with any more.


Recording

The recording of the song began at EMI Studios on 27 April 1966 with eleven takes of the rhythm track, comprising two acoustic guitars, bass and drums. Five further takes of the song were recorded but they were not used. Take 11 was chosen as the master and two days later Lennon added his lead vocals. On 5 May,
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
wrote and recorded the double guitar part. The next day the recording was completed by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison's backing vocals. The song features the then-unique sound of a reversed guitar duet played by Harrison in a five-hour late-night recording session with producer George Martin. Harrison perfected the part with the tape running backwards so that, when reversed, it would fit the dreamlike mood. One guitar was recorded with fuzz effects, the other without. Engineer Geoff Emerick described the meticulous process as "interminable". "I can still picture George hunched over his guitar for hours on end", Emerick wrote in 2006, "headphones clamped on, brows furrowed in concentration." During the break before the second bridge, the sound of a yawn can be heard, preceded by Lennon saying to McCartney, "Yawn, Paul."


Release

"I'm Only Sleeping" was first released on 20 June 1966 as the second track on the US album ''Yesterday and Today'' and on 5 August 1966 as the third track on ''Revolver'', the album for which the song was originally intended. The US version of ''Revolver'' did not include the song as it had already been released: US Beatles releases frequently differed from the British versions. The mono and stereo versions of "I'm Only Sleeping" differ in the positioning and length of the backwards guitar parts: *US mono version (mixed on 12 May 1966): No backwards track during the second verse but a quick fragment is heard on the "time" in "taking my time" and "ceiling" in "lying there and staring at the ceiling". The track is fully intact during the instrumental break and continues into the words "please don't" in "please don't spoil my day". Near the end of the song the backwards track starts four beats after the last word "sleeping". *US rechannelled stereo version: This version was mixed from the US mono version of the song but has far more reverb. It was used only on the initial pressing of the ''Yesterday and Today'' album. *US stereo version (20 May): Backwards track on "running everywhere at such a speed" and "till they find there's no need". The track fades in two bars into the solo but continues into the word "please" in "please don't spoil my day". At the end of the song, the track starts immediately after the word "sleeping". *UK mono version (6 June): Backwards track on "where at such a speed", "there's no need" and "staring at the ceiling". The track stops at the end of the solo and at the end of the song, starts immediately after the word "sleeping". Of the five mixes of "I'm Only Sleeping", this version features the most extensive amount of backwards guitar. *UK stereo version: Backwards track on "everywhere at such a speed" and "find there's no need". The track stops at the end of the solo and at the end of the song, starts immediately after the word "sleeping". The Beatles' pioneering studio effects on ''Revolver'' proved highly influential on other contemporary artists. Musicologist Walter Everett cites the inclusion of backwards guitar parts on Crosby, Stills & Nash's 1969 song "Pre-Road Downs" as an apparent "homage" to "I'm Only Sleeping". Since the release of the Beatles' music on CD in 1987, the UK stereo version of the album has become the standard version in the US. Part of an instrumental rehearsal of the song featuring a
vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...
and the first take of the song from 29 April 1966 were released on the 1996 album '' Anthology 2''. The inclusion of the vibraphone part marked the Beatles' first use of this instrument and reflected the band's experimentation with new sounds during the ''Revolver'' sessions. The UK mono version of "I'm Only Sleeping" was released on CD as part of the 2009 '' The Beatles in Mono'' remastered box set.


Music video

An official music video, directed by Em Cooper, was released to
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
on 1 November 2022. It won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024.


Suggs version

Madness singer Suggs released a cover version of the song in July 1995, produced by Sly & Robbie, as the first single of his solo career and the lead single from his debut solo album '' The Lone Ranger''. The single reached Number 10 in the UK Singles Chart.


Charts


Weekly charts


Personnel

According to Ian MacDonald: *
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
– lead and
harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical ...
, acoustic guitar *
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
– bass, harmony vocals *
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
– acoustic guitar, backwards lead guitars, harmony vocals *
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
– drums


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Full lyrics for the song at the Beatles' official website
* {{authority control 1966 songs The Beatles songs Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Protest songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs published by Northern Songs The Vines (band) songs Songs about sleep Acid rock songs 1995 singles Suggs (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Sly & Robbie WEA Records singles