(no subject)
january 6th, 1969
06.81 don't let me down
[optional sulpy]George is obviously dissatisfied with the lyrics on the middle-eight, and Paul explains that he made up the new words because George thought the others were too corny. George tells him, though, that it wasn’t the words he was referring to, but the music. Paul is beginning to sound frustrated by the lack of progress on the song, and suggests that they’ll figure out what’s wrong as they play it. George correctly points out that they’ve been trying to play it for quite a while.
GEORGE: If what you’re saying is what he said, then it’s easy, ‘cause if you don’t know the words, then he tells you what you’re saying.
PAUL: Yeah I know, but you see, like you said, it was corny before, and so to change the corniness, I was changing the words-
GEORGE: Yeah, but the corny beginsel I thought was the notes that he was doing, you know, and the way he was doing it, not really what he was saying.
PAUL: Yeah. So-okay.
GEORGE: If it seems good, it doesn’t matter what-
PAUL: What I’m trying to say is, you can get- I think you can get around the beginsel by singing corny notes and having new words, and, you know, so I’m-so it’s like-so we still have to try and do it. So you still keep saying it’s wrong, well, let’s try it. And then when we’ve tried it, then we can see if it’s wrong, you know.
GEORGE: You already seem to have tried it a lot.
PAUL: Yeah, I know, but we haven’t-still haven’t done this. I’m in love for the first time in my life. “Don’t you know it’s gonna last.” [pause] “I’ll never let it get away.” [laughs] It’s a love that lasts forever-
JOHN: “Forever and a day.”
PAUL: Yeah. There’s some-there’s some new words there. And-and the guitar-
JOHN: I just haven’t tied to a way of singing yet.
PAUL: No, that’s what I mean, you know, that’s all I want-to just have them-
JOHN: Can you both do it, ‘cause-okay.
PAUL: Yeah. I’m in love for the first time...
PAUL & GEORGE: For the first time in my life...
JOHN: Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
PAUL & GEORGE: Don’t ever let it get away...
JOHN: It’s a love that lasts forever...
GEORGE: That’s like-
PAUL: [laughs] I know.
GEORGE: I just wanna say- [playing halts]
PAUL: [impatient] I just want to get a bit-we’ll try, you know. We’ll go right through. You keep talking about it.
GEORGE: You see, if he was, say, if it was like- [plays different rhythm] Like that, you know. For “you know it’s gonna last.”
PAUL: [irritated] Yeah, sure, let’s just repeat whatever you say. I’m in love for the first time...
PAUL & GEORGE: For the first time in my life...
JOHN: Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
PAUL & GEORGE: [Paul's voice drowning out George's voice] Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
JOHN: It’s a love that lasts forever...
JOHN: It’s a love that has no past...
PAUL & GEORGE: [Paul's voice drowning out George's voice] It’s a love that has no past...
JOHN: Don’t let me down... [playing stops]
PAUL: Yeah. That’s alright. That’s-
JOHN: Yes. [to George] I can’t hear you.
GEORGE: [irritated] Right.
PAUL: No, uh-
GEORGE: I think it’s awful. I’m trying to get it started-
PAUL: Uh- [irritated] Okay.
JOHN: [to George] Well, have you got anything?
PAUL: [to George] Okay, yeah, come on.
JOHN: [to George] To supplant it?
PAUL: [to George] Do something better, then.
GEORGE: Well, I just think that, you know- I think, for a start, it’d be better to sing [plays descending chords] instead of [plays repeating chords] Ah... For the first time...
PAUL: Yeah, but see, in a way, that’s even cornier, I think. That-that little harmony bit, it’s just too-it’s too pretty.
GEORGE: Well it’s just-there’s one holding-it’s like that. [plays staggered chords] I mean at the moment, it’s just- [plays straight chords] And maybe it’s cornier if you do [plays staggered chords], a groove like that-
PAUL: Yeah.
GEORGE: But if it’s something like that- [plays longer chords]
PAUL: Okay. [tries harmony] Now for the first time in my life... One, two, three- [to George] You take the lower one, then.
JOHN: I’m in love for the first time...
PAUL & GEORGE: I’m in love for the first time...
JOHN: [screams] Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
PAUL & GEORGE: Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
JOHN: It’s a love that lasts forever...
PAUL & GEORGE: It’s a love that lasts forever...
JOHN: It’s a love that has no past.
PAUL & GEORGE: It’s a love that has no past... [playing halts]
[optional sulpy]At this point, they’re all frustrated that the rehearsals have gone nowhere. John sides with Paul, and expresses his desire that they get the words down first and work the music around them. Paul complains that they’ve wasted an hour on nothing, and George points out that the rehearsal isn’t getting anywhere because they’ve concentrated on the middle eight to the exclusion of everything else. John wants to hear any of the middle-eight configurations played correctly all the way through.
GEORGE: I thought we should do something like this- [plays different rhythm]
PAUL: [coughs] No. You see-
GEORGE: [continues playing] It’s a love that lasts forever, love that lasts forever, love that lasts forever...
JOHN: [unconvinced] Yeah, that’s it. [pause] I think you should just get a corny one first, and then start doing that bit. You know, you’ll start to get the rhythm to it, and then sort of change it.
GEORGE: [plays differently] Love that’s gonna last... da da da da da da...
PAUL: Yeah, that’s it. [George's playing changes] Uh. [George's playing stops] Let’s just sing, you know, the corny one.
JOHN: Yeah, do the corny one.
PAUL: Just to get this bit, you know. And then you can like- [plays different rhythm] You see, that’s it. We make it better as it goes on.
JOHN: Yeah. I mean-I-
PAUL: But if we don’t, then it just doesn’t go on. You know, we’ve just gone round for like an hour, with nothing in our heads. Just- [George continues playing] And we’re back, you know. So let’s-
GEORGE: I can keep doing the permutations, then.
PAUL: Yeah, I know, but let’s just sort of move on, now. Let’s just get-this.
JOHN: I’d like to hear any of ‘em right ones.
PAUL: Yeah. Right, okay. So repeat exactly what he says, but then we can’t, on one of the lines. So, “I’m in love for the first time...”
GEORGE: See, that’s why you don’t get any further, because you just kept using the same lines against the one that doesn’t work-
PAUL: [ignores] For the first time in my life...
JOHN: Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
GEORGE: [grudging] It’s a love that’s gonna last...
JOHN: It’s a love that lasts forever...
PAUL & GEORGE: It’s a love that lasts forever...
JOHN: It’s a love that has no past... [playing halts]
PAUL: Okay, so how about, how about... changing ‘round these two, and when you sing, “don’t you know it’s gonna last,” we sing, “it’s a love that has no past.” And then we repeat, “it’s a love that lasts forever” exactly. And then when you sing, “it’s a love that has no past,” we sing “it’s a love that’s gonna last.”
JOHN. Yes. I agree.
PAUL: Okay? So, I’m in love for the- “Love for the first time in my life.” “It’s a love that has no past.” Swap that one for the other. So that when he’s singing that, we’re singing the other. Then, “it’s a love that lasts forever,” repeat that-even though it sounds funny, it’ll be alright. And then, “don’t you know it’s gonna last,” just try it through, roughly. [false starts; after run-through, playing halts]
PAUL: Okay, uh, The only time that works, really, is on the last line. So we sing, “love for the first time-” Just, just try it all exactly as it is. Repeating that. We’ll just on the last time-sing, repeat, “it’s a love that’s gonna last,” and then you say “it’s a love that has no past.”
JOHN: Okay.
PAUL: You see, it’s verging between ridiculous and alright, that, you know. Singing different words. ‘Cause it is like-
JOHN: That’s the bones of it, though. [inaudible; plays guitar] She’s in, she’s in pain. [laughs]
PAUL: [laughs] Okay.
JOHN: I’m in love for the first time...
PAUL & GEORGE: For the first time in my life...
JOHN: Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
PAUL & GEORGE: Don’t you know it’s gonna last...
JOHN: It’s a love that lasts forever...
PAUL & GEORGE: It’s a love that lasts forever...
JOHN: It’s a love that has no past...
PAUL & GEORGE: It’s a love that’s gonna last... [playing halts]
GEORGE: Can I make a suggestion there?
PAUL: What?
GEORGE: Forget the last line.
06.82 don't let me down
[optional sulpy]George seems to feel that less vocal harmony would benefit the song, and comments that if they could listen to a playback they’d quickly see his point. John sums up the unsuccessful rehearsal by pointing out that they’ve spent all their time working on the vocal parts, when the real problem with the song lies in the rhythm. [...] Paul points out that they’d known that all along [...].
GEORGE: Really, it’s like-none of those sound all that-you know. I’m iffy on that.
PAUL: Well, we’re gonna improve on that.
GEORGE: If we had a tape recorder now-just tape down, play it back, you’d throw that out straightaway.
PAUL: Yeah, right, but-
GEORGE: Really, you’d throw it out right damn in-
PAUL: Yes. Okay. Uh-well okay, that’s the-
GEORGE: I mean really. I know.
PAUL: Yeah, I know, but you- [makes frustrated sound]
JOHN: See, I think, there... [starts playing]
PAUL: [imperious] Give in!
GEORGE: I’m in love for the first time...
JOHN: You’re right, but you’re wrong there, though, on that bit. [George continues playing]
PAUL: I give in.
GEORGE: You see, the first one’s not bad. [stops playing]
JOHN: You see the thing is that we’ve done is that, we found out that’s the weak bit, right.
GEORGE: Yeah.
JOHN: So we tried to put voices on it. But that’s still down to the rhythm, somehow. The beat- Love for the first time...
PAUL: But it was always weak on your guitar-
JOHN: [agreeing] Yeah, sure.
PAUL: That’s the weak bit of the song.
06.97 two of us
[optional sulpy]The two men, seated a few feet apart, lean towards one another. Both are obviously uncomfortable. They don’t meet each others' gaze, and their fingers constantly pick out notes on their guitars. Paul remarks that he’s aware of George’s irritation whenever he brings up the subject of how complicated a rehearsal should be, but again, George disagrees. The discussion might have become more personal at this point, but Paul backs off, well aware that they’re being filmed. John attempts to resume the rehearsal, but Paul, obviously a bit upset, reminds them that they’ve only got twelve days to get their act together (the amount of time remaining before the TV show) and makes another plea for an organized rehearsal.
PAUL: You see, we’re really-we’re gonna have to sorta come-bring it together, because we’re all at odds, we’re doing that thing we did on The Beatles. We’re all playing-you know, like- [incoherent] Like in this verse. It’s two harmonies singing, trying to say some words, right. So like, you know, you can just, duh duh dun... ch cha. And in the bits, when we need bits-we’re not-
JOHN: Yeah I know the bits. I’m just trying to sing it, and do it through.
PAUL: [plays chords] You know what I mean? We’ve got to get riffs, when the riff bits come up.
GEORGE: The riffs. Uh... there’s no riffs. I mean, it’s-it’s the “you and I,” I just don’t get what you’re playing-
PAUL: No, but it’s just, look-you see, “you and I”-uh-in-
GEORGE & PAUL: You and I, our memories...
PAUL: Uh, but it’s not-it’s not together, you see, so it’s not sounding together. Even on-
GEORGE: So we can only play until we-until we can find the bit-
PAUL: Or we can stop and say it’s not together.
GEORGE: Yes, then you’ve got to carry on with it together, you know. You know what I mean? That’s all. That’s all I can do-
PAUL: Okay. Well, I, you know-
GEORGE: Until the sound starts-blending, you know, with the rest-
PAUL: I never know what to say to that. ‘Cause what I want to say is, you know, “Now, come on, and play-” You know.
GEORGE: Yes, I know.
PAUL: But I can’t, because we get into that line.
GEORGE: It does.
PAUL: Okay. [laughs; nervous] So, here we go. [plays chords] You know, I mean- [plays chords] Tell us something about that. I can’t make it beyond that. It’s like, it’s-it’s complicated now. So- See, if we can get it simpler, and then complicate it where it needs complications, but it’s complicated in the bit-
GEORGE: It’s not complicated. I, I’m just gonna-
PAUL: I know, but I mean-you know.
GEORGE: I mean, I’ll play just the chords, if you’d like, and-
PAUL: No, come on, George, you always get like that-
GEORGE: That’s all I’m trying to do-
PAUL: [anxious] George, you always get annoyed when I say that. I’m-I’m trying to help you, now, but I always hear myself annoying you, and I’m trying to-
GEORGE: No, you’re not annoying me-
PAUL: I get so I can’t say-
GEORGE: You don’t annoy me, Paul.
PAUL: But you know what I mean.
GEORGE: Well-
PAUL: You know, like, [plays chords] do this, then. And then... I don’t know. [long pause] Yeah. I can’t do it on film, either. You know. [laughs; bleak] I don’t know if I can do it on camera. [long silence; guitar playing]
[optional sulpy]They then briefly return to working on a galloping guitar riff which kicks off the up-tempo arrangement of “Two Of Us.” The riff is too difficult for John, however [...]. Paul, still attempting to express himself, returns to the subject of communication, and, as a gesture towards George, points out that he doesn’t any of them to embellish the song until they get the basics work out. George indicates that he understands this, but once again their working methods come up [...]. Paul attempts a compromise [...] but handing out musical responsibilities once again makes him feel uncomfortable because he sees himself as the only one who’s willing to take charge.
JOHN: Do you want me to keep this up- [plays riff]? You know, I wouldn’t mind, it'd be something nice to sing to-
PAUL: Yeah, no, I mean, I don’t mind-
JOHN: Yeah.
PAUL: [desperate] But doesn’t everyone agree, that it’s-that it’s confused at the moment?
JOHN: Yeah.
PAUL: So all I’m trying to say is-is like, let’s get the confusion unconfusing, and then confuse it. You know, like, we’re just-this is what we’ve been doing all afternoon. This is why we’re not getting anything done. You know, we’re just ge-rolling on with it. We’ve only got twelve more days. So you know, we’ve really got to do this methodically, this one, like-unconfused, then a bit more confused, then a bit more-now try this drumming here, try this drumming there, now, okay, let’s stop, and look into this bit-
JOHN: Well, I’ve got an idea. I should vamp, ‘cause I’ve got to sing, and it’s hard going- [plays riff] It’s annoying, you know. Let me do it-
PAUL: Okay, then you can-
JOHN: I’ll do just that kind of-vamping, you know, like- [plays differently]
PAUL: [laughs] Yeah-drag it through real quick on candid camera. [John continues playing] Yeah.
JOHN: Forget about candid camera.
PAUL: Can’t, though. [quiet; to George] But you see you’ve been saying that there’s a lot of, uh- [inaudible] that I can do about. You know, it’s like I’ve always found that-but I always feel it, though, like you think I’m trying to put you down, or stop you from playing, but I’m not. I’m trying to stop us all playing, until we know what we’re playing.
GEORGE: Yeah, but you’ve got to play in order to find which fits and which doesn’t.
PAUL: Mm.
GEORGE: You see, that’s all you can do in this-
PAUL: [trying] I know, but I’m thinking of another thing which is where, like... when we’re playing the solos. We’ll improvise the solos, but we’ll play straight chords and straight rhythms.
GEORGE: Yeah.
PAUL: Without vocals.
GEORGE: [inaudible; drowned out by guitar playing]
PAUL: [hesitating] I-don’t want to say it, because I really just hear myself as being the only one saying it. Always. And I’m really just sort of saying that, like- [inaudible; drowned out by guitar playing] And I hardly get any support or anything. You know, just like, “Oh well. Okay.” You know. It’s right. [to John] And you know it’s right.
JOHN: Yes, alright. I just don’t know what to do about it. [pause]
PAUL: Well, you know.
JOHN: You know, I mean, up ‘til then-
[optional sulpy]George, aware that Paul is upset, offers to give in and wait for Paul to get his part down before working on his own, but admits that he would rather work simultaneously. Paul [...] stresses again that there’s nothing personal against George [...] but that he senses (and dislikes) George’s hostility towards his suggestions. He indicates once again that his comments are directed towards all of them and assures George he’s not singling him out. When George begins to discuss this, Paul brings up a similar dispute which took place during the July 30, 1968 session which produced “Hey Jude,” where George wanted to play a guitar part which Paul felt was inappropriate for the song. George, obviously trying to bring this conversation to a quick end, capitulates completely [...]. Paul doesn’t want capitulation, however, but cooperation, and he’s referring to their working methods when he stresses that they have to work things out.
GEORGE: You know, I’ll wait until you figure out your bits and then... work my part out, if you like.
PAUL: No, no-
GEORGE: It’s like that, it’s like I’m up to working it out with you while you’re here working your bit out. You know. If you’ve got your thing split. [pause] You know, I mean, so. It would just make-
PAUL: I know, I know, but I’m-
GEORGE: Because it’ll take even longer in a way, if there-
PAUL: Look, I’m not trying to say that, and I’m not trying to say that about you. You know-you’re doing this again as though I’m trying to say that, and what we said the other day, you know-I’m not trying to get you. But what I really am trying to just say is, “Look, lads.” The band, you know. “Should we try it like this?” You know. [plays chords]
GEORGE: It’s funny that how I don’t encourage when you put the- [plays same chords] on-
PAUL: I know, if this one is like, “Should we play guitar all through ‘Hey Jude’? Or I don’t think I should-” 1
GEORGE: But I’m okay, I don’t mind, I’ll play, you know, whatever you want me to play. Or I won’t play at all, if you don’t want me to play. Now, whatever it is that will please you, I’ll do it. [long pause] But I don’t think you really know what that one is. [silence; guitar playing]
JOHN: But do you want to take the gut?
GEORGE: [quiet] Going nowhere...
PAUL: Look, okay but, you know- [exasperated] Come on.
JOHN: [trying] The galloping bit. And I’ll just vamp.
PAUL: No, look, you know, the- [sighs] No, it’s not like that. You see, that’s it, like, it’s when- We can’t do this. We’ve really got to sort out this, because we’re-this is-we’re like- This is like the one. Now we’re rehearsing, and we’re trying to like get it together for a TV show, so we really-like you said, we’ve only been through four numbers. So we’ve probably got to get some system to get through like, twenty, or thirty, and no more, and have learnt them. And it’s probably going to be like sculpture. So that we get all the chords. So we can all vamp. Then we can play, like, every solo we need. You know. But, like- [anxious] I mean, it’s got to sound as though it’s improving.
[optional sulpy]George, evidently rubbed the wrong way by Paul’s implied criticism of his working method, and the reopening of old wounds (the “Hey Jude” anecdote), responds with some bluntness of his own, complaining that he’s wasted his entire day. George wants to feel what he’s doing will actually mean something.
GEORGE: [careful] You know, well, actually, it sounded to me... that for me, it was a waste of me time playing, when we started it today. I mean, I just started remembering then, what it’d get into the other day, after playing for around an hour, an hour and a half. And suddenly, you know, I just don’t find it... that my, that what I’m doing is starting to have something, you know. Have some structure to it. [pause] You know, that’s the thing.
PAUL: Yeah, I know, I know what you mean, you know. ‘Cause it’s like-it’s just that that way of doing it, you know, puts me off the way I’m trying to-
GEORGE: Well, that’s all I have, you know. That’s all there. I can only do... me, in that one way, what-however I do, you know. [long pause]
PAUL: [resigned] Let’s do another song.
GEORGE: [trying] No, come on, we just have to learn-
PAUL: No, no, it’s-let’s just do something else. [long pause; guitar playing]
GEORGE: Do you want to do... [long pause] ‘Maxwell Silver Hammer’? [plays riff]
JOHN: [trying] Well, let’s... do this, ‘cause then we-we’re gonna come to this, or whatever it is, and the thing is just that-just try and think what-what stage we’ve got to be in.
PAUL: You just have to know that. I think we’ve wasted a lot of time, I think. I think we do, like waste-physically waste a heck of a lot of time, you know. When the four of us are together.
1Referring to a similar disagreement between Paul and George during the recording of 'Hey Jude' on July 30th, 1968. There is available footage of this session, albeit after the fact.
06.98 two of us
[optional sulpy]Paul continues to discuss his unwanted leadership role with John (mentioning it’s been that way for a couple of years) and again complains how long it’s taking to rehearse the songs.
PAUL: [inaudible; drowned out by George’s voice] I’m not trying to-
GEORGE: But that’s like-I’ve learnt that bit, and I’m trying to-I’m trying to take that-those chords along with it...
PAUL: [to John] I only want to ask you. You know.
JOHN: I think, it’s your song. You just wanna-you don’t really have to do it exactly how he wants to do it, you know. You say, “Don’t play that.” “Play that.” It’s up to you, you know. You just sort of take it. It’s your scene. If somebody’s gonna ask for it first, then it isn’t his song.
PAUL: But now I-now I’m scared of that. To be the boss. And I-and I have been, for like, uh, a couple of years. And we all have, you know. There’s no pretending, about that.
JOHN: Yeah, I know, but for this-
PAUL: And no one is-that is what we decided, you know. And no one’s-
JOHN: But it’s all in-
PAUL: You know how rushed- [audio cuts off] And this is why, you know, it scales-
JOHN: You don’t boss out on us. It’s fine.
PAUL: Until it sort of- That’s why we take so long! Because, really, you know, we get sort of- So that’s the thing, we can play it shit and all. I-I think we can play it shitty like ten times, so it’s sort of in there, and then I think we can kind of play it quite good, then. But it’s only-I don’t know, it’s just like-different approaches, you know. You know, I think we’d be better just learn-just doing it all, like, uh-you know, the Red Norvo Five. Just really, like, uh-
JOHN: Vamping away.
PAUL: Vamping, sort of efficient vamping, really-you know, [play chords] and then get the imaginative thing. You know. [pause] But anyway, I know it’s impossible for us to go like [plays riff] because, we can’t get into the moment, ‘cause you don’t do it like that, and- [plays riff]
GEORGE: I know, and I’m trying, but- [plays differently]
PAUL: No no no I mean, just, generally- [inaudible; drowned out by John's guitar] It’s like when you’ve been trying to get me to do it and I do it.
GEORGE: But that’s [inaudible; drowned out by John’s guitar] -and how you do it. [silence; everyone playing]
JOHN: [laughs; playing halts] See, I suppose that’s how they do it.
06.99 two of us
[optional sulpy][...] Paul offers a potential solution to the problem of conflicting working methods [...]. This goes over fine with George, but John fears it will mean more work for him, and suggests they play it by ear. Paul and George then get philosophic for a moment as Paul muses that these matters go beyond the simple playing of music.
PAUL: [inaudible; drowned out by guitar playing] -seeing yourself nearly go round a past you’ve been down too many times, you know I go down it, like-us, going on and on about this. I really don’t want to go back-like that. And it’s just silly. Alright? And I just can’t think of any solution out of here. The trouble is- We should all arrange our own tunes, and if you want, like some improvisation, then we should just say. You know.
GEORGE: That’s the best way.
PAUL: If we improvise here. But that’s just sort of-that brings on much more work on all of us, then, because then I’ve got to work out my own bass line.
JOHN: I’d say improvise it, like. [silence; Ringo drumming]
PAUL: [laughs; bleak] It’s like a bunch of theories, isn’t it? This is-this is not just to do with playing music, it’s-far further reaching than this sort of, this thing, you know.
GEORGE: It’s always the farther reaching end of it. It stems from the mad thing they call- [audio cuts off]
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