Beatles Countdown #94 – The Word
Mar 01
1960s john lennon, paul mccartney, the beatles No Comments
Introducing the partnership of John Lennon & Paul McCartney for the first time in this countdown is #94: “The Word!”
Appearing on their famed folk-rock album Rubber Soul, the song, like most on the album, was a noteworthy one in the evolution of The Beatles’ lyrics. Having always sung about love in terms of “boy/girl” such as “She Loves You,” this song marks the first time the band talks about love more abstractly such as a concept, not an emotion. In the song, the titular word is love and as the singer commands the listener to say it so they’ll be free, you get the idea that it’s a subtle hint of just being more open to love of all kinds. It wouldn’t be long before they would use love as an anthem for “All You Need Is Love,” but “The Word” marks The Beatles as much more aware of their lyrics and their ideals.
The song itself was built around an idea Paul & John had wanted to do for a long time: write a song around a single note. As stated before, the band admired the old guard of rock music such as “Long Tall Sally” by Little Richard that used very little chords. The band didn’t quite compose the song all in one note, but it is a very simple song with only a few chords and more characterized by it’s driving rhythm than the notes/chords. To add more color to the song though, producer & fifth Beatle George Martin recorded a harmonium part at the end and added maracas by Ringo to the final mix. What resulted was a song that fit in with the rest of the Rubber Soul album as showcasing a more mature & aware Fab Four.
Song: The Word
Album: Rubber Soul
Year: 1965
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