| Because | |
|---|---|
| The Beatles | |
| Genre | Art Rock |
| Written by | Lennon/McCartney |
| Released | 26 September 1969 |
| Album | Abbey Road |
| Recorded | 1–5 August 1969 |
| Length | 2:45 |
| Label | Apple Records |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Abbey Road guide | |
| Previous Here Comes the Sun |
Next You Never Give Me Your Money |
| ' guide | |
Because is a ballad written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and performed by The Beatles. It features a 3-part harmony vocal performance between Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison, overdubbed three times to make nine voices in all. The results of this have been compared in sound to The Beach Boys. It appeared on the 1969 album Abbey Road, and is the song that precedes the extended medley that formed side two of the original LP record.
The story has been told that this song is actually "Moonlight Sonata" by Ludwig van Beethoven played backwards. While this is not precisely true, "Moonlight Sonata" certainly served as an inspiration for the song. "Yoko was playing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' on the piano ... I said, 'Can you play those chords backwards?', and wrote 'Because' around them. The lyrics speak for themselves ... No imagery, no obscure references." Lennon explain.
The song begins with electric harpsichord played by George Martin and then joined by Lennon's guitar doubling the harpsichord and played through a Leslie speaker. Vocals and bass guitar enter in what Alan Pollack calls the "mini-bridge".
The song was one of the few Beatles songs to include an analogue synthesizer arrangement (although analogue keyboards such as the Mellotron had been used often by The Beatles, few songs featured the use of a traditional analogue synthesizer with voltage-controlled oscillators). The Beatles at the time of Abbey Road were among the first contemporary rock bands to experiment with the Moog synthesizer.
The main recording session for "Because" was on 1 August 1969, with vocal overdubs on 4 August, and a Moog synthesizer overdub by George Harrison on 5 August. As a result, this was the last song on the album to be committed to tape, although there were still overdubs for other incomplete songs.
A vocals-only version of the song can be found on Anthology 3 and Love is an example of three part harmony from Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, although the latter is slowed down, includes quiet nature sound effects and includes the 'Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh' at the beginning while the former starts just with 'Because' and includes the instrumentation in the background.
Cover Versions[]
The song as covered by Elliot Smith plays over the end credits in American Beauty.
Alice Cooper as "The Sun King" sings the song in the 1978 film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)
Recording and Release Dates[]
It was recorded on 1–5 August 1969 in EMI Studios. and released on 26 September 1969.
Credits[]
- John Lennon – triple-tracked lead harmony vocals (middle register), lead guitar (1965 Epiphone 230TD Casino)
- Paul McCartney – triple-tracked lead harmony vocals (high register), bass (1964 Rickenbacker 4001S)
- George Harrison – triple-tracked lead harmony vocals (low register), Moog Synthezier
- Ringo Starr – handclaps *unused in the final mix*
- George Martin – electric spinet Baldwin harpsichord
Personnel per Ian MacDonald.
External links[]
- Chords of this Song at tabfan.com