"What's the New Mary Jane" is a song written 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 ...

(credited to

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 ...

) and performed 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 ...

. Composed during the Beatles' retreat to Rishikesh, India in early 1968, it was recorded in August of that year, during sessions for the double album ''

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 ...

'' (also known as "the White Album"), but was omitted from the album's running order during its final banding session. The song features Beatles band members Lennon and

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 ...

, as well as Lennon's future wife

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

and Beatles assistant

Mal Evans Malcolm Frederick Evans (27 May 1935 – 4 January 1976) was an English road manager and personal assistant employed by the Beatles from 1963 until their break-up in 1970. In the early 1960s, Evans was employed as a telephone engineer, and ...

. Lennon resurrected the song in November 1969, when he and Ono added further overdubs with the intent to issue it as a single credited to

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band and Fluxus-based artist collective''John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band'' book by Yoko Ono and John Lennon, published by Thames & Hudson Ltd, October 2020, pp. 17-19 formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968-9 fo ...

, although the release was ultimately put on hold. The song remained unreleased until the archival Beatles compilation ''

Anthology 3 ''Anthology 3'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 28 October 1996 by Apple Records as part of '' The Beatles Anthology'' series. The album includes rarities and alternative tracks from the final two years of the band's c ...

'' in 1996.

Background and composition

"What's the New Mary Jane" was part of a large quantity of songs written by

during their stay in Rishikesh, India in early 1968 and features a discordant melody and surreal lyrics containing multiple references to India. Although credited to

, it was composed solely by

. In a 1969 interview with ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', Lennon also credited friend and head of

Apple Electronics Apple Corps Limited is a British multimedia company that was established in London by the members of the Beatles in the 1960s to form a Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company's name, pronounced "apple core", is a pun. Its chief div ...

Magic Alex Yannis (later John) Alexis Mardas (; 2 May 1942 – 13 January 2017), also known as Magic Alex, was a Greek self-professed inventor who was closely associated with the Beatles. His nickname was given to him by John Lennon when he was involved w ...

, with writing half of the song, though this credit was later revoked without explanation. "What's the New Mary Jane" also demonstrated the new influence of

on Lennon's music. After Lennon had returned from his India trip, he began an extramarital affair with Ono and created a number of experimental home recordings with her. The first of these would eventually be issued in November 1968 as the LP '' Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins'', but the two continued this experimentation throughout sessions for the Beatles' next album, ''

'' (1968), with "What's the New Mary Jane" and "

Revolution 9 "Revolution 9" is a sound collage from the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). The composition, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Yoko Ono and George ...

". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' writer Jordan Runtagh later described the song as "one part nursery rhyme, one part

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic ...

", concluding that it was "at times frightening" but that it also demonstrated "the band's fundamental humor".

Recording

Demo

An early acoustic demo of the song was recorded in late May 1968 at Kinfauns,

's bungalow in

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

, along with 26 other songs intended for ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). The demo featured Lennon singing an

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

higher than the later studio version and switching the words "cooking" and "groovy" in the second verse. Another member of the Beatles can also be heard shouting, "What's the new Mary Jane? Oh, my goodness," near the end of the demo.

Studio

The studio version of the song was recorded on 14 August 1968, during the recording sessions for ''The Beatles''. This version was significantly longer than the original demo, with the addition of tape loops, sound effects and vocalizations expanding it from two and a half minutes to over six minutes. Lennon and

are the only band members who appear on the track, with Lennon on piano and vocals and Harrison on guitar. Ono and

also contributed vocals and percussion. Four takes were recorded, with the final take, totaling over six and a half minutes, being marked as best, after which Lennon added a second vocal and piano and Harrison added another acoustic guitar. The track ends with Lennon commenting, "Let's hear it, before we get taken away!" A short mono mix lasting 3:15 was taken home by Lennon. The song was later remixed in mono on 26 September, along with "

Glass Onion Glass onions or onion bottles, were a shape of bottle developed and used during the 17th and 18th centuries. With new techniques of glass-making, the bottles marked a move away from ceramic pottery. Background Onion bottles most commonly were u ...

", "

Happiness Is a Warm Gun "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. He derived the ...

" and " I Will", and in stereo on 14 October. The final running order for ''The Beatles'' was sequenced and assembled by Lennon,

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 ...

, 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 Beatle ...

and engineers

Ken Scott Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is an English record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Davi ...

and John Smith on 16 October, and while Lennon had wanted both of his experimental tracks to appear on the album, only "Revolution 9" made the final cut. According to author

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, the song was omitted from the album "very much at the last minute owing to lack of space, and, very probably, peer pressure." Lennon later sought to issue it as a

single in December 1969, backed with another then-unreleased Beatles song, " You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)". On 11 September of that year, he enlisted engineer Malcolm Davies to produce three new stereo remixes of "What's the New Mary Jane" for his review. On 26 November, Lennon and Ono recorded additional vocals and sound effects for the track and oversaw multiple different mixes and edits thereof, with Lennon co-producing the session with

Geoff Emerick Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums ''Revolver'' (1966), '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) and ''Abbey Road' ...

. Lennon also edited "You Know My Name" down from 6:08 to 4:19, which he felt was a more suitable length for the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

of the single. While the single was scheduled for release on 5 December and was even issued the catalog number APPLES 1002, its release was put on hold on 1 December and was never removed. However, "You Know My Name" was eventually issued as the B-side of the Beatles' "

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

" single in 1970.

Release

On 27 September 1974, Lennon was a guest DJ on 93

KHJ (AM) KHJ (930 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station that is licensed to Los Angeles, California. Owned and operated by Relevant Radio, Inc., the station broadcasts Roman Catholic religious programming as the network's West Coast flagship station ...

in Los Angeles and received a call from a fan requesting that the song be played on air. Lennon expressed surprise that the fan had heard it and explained that he didn't have it and could not play it. The caller asked who appeared on the track, to which Lennon replied, "It's me, George and Yoko, actually ..out of our minds on the floor of EMI one day. And it's a wonderful song, you'll hear it one day. We'll put it out on one of those repackages." The song was remixed by Emerick in 1984 for inclusion on the aborted album '' Sessions''. Lennon's original mono mix acetate was later featured in episode 140 of the radio show ''

The Lost Lennon Tapes ''The Lost Lennon Tapes'' was an American music documentary series presented by Elliot Mintz, comprising a three-hour premiere episode and 218 one-hour episodes, broadcast on the Westwood One Radio Network between 24 January 1988 and 29 March 19 ...

''. The song was not made available until 1996, when it was issued on ''

''. The much shorter first take of the song, without the sound effects added by Lennon and Ono, was later included on the 50th anniversary reissue of ''The Beatles'' in 2018, along with the May 1968 demo.

Personnel

Personnel per ''The Beatles Bible'', except where indicated. *

– lead vocals, piano, tambourine, effects *

– vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, effects *

– vocals, percussion, effects ( Swanee whistle, football rattle, ripping paper percussion) *

–

handbell A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle – traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic – and moves the arm to make the hinged cla ...

, effects

Notes

;Bibliography {{Authority control The Beatles songs Songs written by Lennon–McCartney 1996 songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Experimental music songs