Paperback Writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Paperback Writer" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Single by The Beatles | ||
| B-side(s) | "Rain" | |
| Released | 1966-05-30 (U.S.) 1966-06-10 (UK) | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road: 13-1966-04-14 | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 2:18 | |
| Label | Parlophone R5452 (UK) Capitol 5651 (U.S.) | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Chart positions | ||
| ||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||
| "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" (1965) | "Paperback Writer" (1966) | "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" (1966) |
"Paperback Writer" is a song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon and released by The Beatles on the A side of their eleventh single. It went to the number one spot in Britain, the United States, West Germany and Australia. This was the first Beatles single that wasn't a love song (however "Nowhere Man" was their first album song released with that distinction). On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, "Paperback Writer"'s two-week stay at number one was interrupted by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".
The track was recorded between April 13 and 14 1966, and is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout. With some studio tweaking, the bass is the most prominent instrument in the mix. American musicians like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett had used heavy bass sound before and now The Beatles were catching on, with tracks like this and "Drive My Car". The song is one of The Beatles' most distinctive forays into "mod" rock and owes much to the contemporary work of The Who, with its distorted, circular guitar hook, high-pitched harmonies, and pounding drums, complete with tambourine touches à la "I Can't Explain".
One of McCartney's aunts reportedly requested that he write a song with some other theme than boy-girl relationships. British disc jockey Jimmy Savile claimed that McCartney's inspiration came from seeing drummer Ringo Starr reading a book. "He took one look and announced that he would write a song about a book," he said. The song's lyric is in the form of a letter from an aspiring author addressed to a publisher. Said author badly needs a job and has written a paperback version of a book by a "man named Lear." This is a reference to the Victorian painter Edward Lear, who wrote nonsense poems and songs of which John Lennon was very fond (though Lear never wrote novels). The Daily Mail was Lennon's regular newspaper and was often in the studio when The Beatles were writing songs.
Aside from deviating from the subject of love, McCartney had it in mind to write a song with a melody backed by a single, static chord. "John and I would like to do songs with just one note like 'Long Tall Sally.' We got near it in 'The Word.'" He also claimed to have barely failed to achieve this goal with "Paperback Writer," as the verse remains on G until the end, at which point it pauses on C. The backing vocals during this section are from the French children's song "Frère Jacques".
Other noteworthy aspects of the song include its distinctive a capella intro, which reappears after each verse, and the distorted guitar riff that explodes from it leading into the next verse. A similar melody can be heard in another McCartney number, "Got To Get You Into My Life".
In Britain, the single was released with the infamous "butcher" cover art, depicting The Beatles with raw meat and decapitated baby dolls tossed about. The imagery was deemed too explicit for an American audience and was released there with photos of The Beatles playing live, but with John Lennon and George Harrison's images reflected so that it appears they are playing left handed.
"Paperback Writer" was one of the last new Beatles songs to be featured in (announced) concert, as it was included on their 1966 tour.
"Paperback Writer" was not included on an original Beatles album. However, it can be found on several compilations:
- A Collection of Beatles' Oldies... but Goldies
- Hey Jude/The Beatles Again
- The Beatles 1962-1966 (Red Album)
- Past Masters, Volume Two
- The Beatles 1
The song's title was used by rock writer Mark Shipper as the title of a humorous, semi-biographical novel (Ace Books, 1978) that retold the Beatles' story, distorting the events for comic effect.
In the liner notes for The Monkees box set Listen to the Band, it is revealed that the song Last Train to Clarksville was inspired by this song, when the composer heard the end of Paperback Writer on the radio and misheard the lyrics as "Last train to... something..."
[edit] References
- Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X
| Preceded by: "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones | Billboard Hot 100 number one single June 25, 1966 | Succeeded by: "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra |
