Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Come Together

The composition and recording of "Come Together" touches on several interesting Beatles facts. Lennon, who wrote the song after being in an auto accident that shook him up severely, was taken to court by Big Seven Music because of the similarity of the opening and first two lines of the song to Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me." Not admitting guilt, Lennon resolved the matter by agreeing to record three Big Seven songs, which he did on Rock 'n Roll and Walls and Bridges. The phrase "Here come(s) old flat-top" was indeed lifted straight from the Berry song, although Lennon's song seems to bear little resemblance to Berry's. Lennon's troubles foreshadowed Harrison's, who would later be sued for allegedly copying the melody of "He's So Fine" for "My Sweet Lord."

The song, according to Lennon, was a piece of "gobbledygook" written in the studio. The song was supposed to be a campaign song (and hence the phrase "come together") for Timothy Leary, who wished to challenge Ronald Reagan for the gubernatorial seat in California.

Another great Beatles fact is that the opening "Shoot!" uttered by Lennon is really "Shoot me!" although the bass and hand-clap smother the word "me," a fact noted by recording engineer Geoff Emerick. The track was one of Lennon's favorites because he liked the weird lyrics and regarded the melody as "funky."

The track was recorded on July 21, 1969 at Abbey Road and was released as a single (the B side to "Something") in the UK and U.S. on October 31 and October 6, 1969 respectively.

Lennon sang lead and McCartney did backing vocal. Lennon played lead guitar (as he was doing more frequently), Harrison rhythm, McCartney bass, and Starr drums.

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