We Can Work It Out
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| "We Can Work It Out" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Beatles | ||
| B-side(s) | "Day Tripper" | |
| Released | 1965-12-03 (UK) 1965-12-06 (U.S.) | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road: 1965-10-20 | |
| Genre | Rock/Pop | |
| Length | 2:15 | |
| Label | Parlophone (UK) Capitol (U.S.) | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Beatles singles chronology | ||
| "Help!" (1965) | "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" (1965) | "Paperback Writer" (1966) |
"We Can Work It Out" is a song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon and released by The Beatles as a "double A-sided" single with "Day Tripper".
The song is a classic instance of true Lennon-McCartney collaboration, of the kind that happened only rarely after their penning of the Beatles' 1963 hit singles. Its authors would work as closely for a single song in few subsequent instances, and of arguably equal artistic result again only in their masterpiece, "A Day In The Life." John wrote the words and music to the "middle eight," while Paul wrote the words and music to the eight-bar verse/chorus, inspired by his often fractious relationship with Jane Asher. In the lyric, Paul says that "only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong," while conceding that "when I see it your way, there's a chance that we may fall apart before too long" but holds out hope that "we can work it out". Ultimately, McCartney doesn't try argue the merits of his case so much as he pleads with his woman to "work it out" because he believes the relationship to be worth saving.
With its intimations of mortality, Lennon's sixteen-bar bridge contrasts typically with Paul's cajoling optimism. As he remarked to Playboy in 1980, "You've got Paul writing, 'We can work it out.' Real optimistic, and me, impatient, [with] 'Life is very short, and there's no time, For fussing and fighting, my friend.'" Lennon's middle shifts focus from McCartney's concrete reality to a philosophical perspective in B minor, illustrating this with a waltz (reported to have been suggested by George Harrison), probably meant to suggest tiresome struggle. These passages are so suited to his Salvation Army harmonium that it's hard to imagine them not being composed on it. The swell-pedal crescendos he adds to the verses are, on the other hand, textural washes added in the studio--the first of their kind on a Beatles record and signposts to the enriched sound-palette of Revolver.
Recorded four days after its accompanying single track in an unusually long twelve-hour session (the largest amount of studio time devoted to a Beatles track thus far), "We Can Work It Out" became the favorite of the two, despite Lennon's preference for "Day Tripper." Due to arguments over which was to be given the A-side, the single was marketed as the first "double A-side," but airplay and point-of-sale requests soon proved "We Can Work It Out" to be more popular. An inevitable No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, it became The Beatles' fastest-selling single since "Can't Buy Me Love," their previous McCartney-led A-side in the UK.
The song is mentioned in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, starring Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier and Spencer Tracy.
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[edit] Other versions
| "We Can Work It Out" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image:Nocover.png | ||
| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||
| from the album Signed, Sealed, and Delivered | ||
| B-side(s) | "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" | |
| Released | 1971 | |
| Genre | R&B | |
| Length | 3:19 | |
| Label | Tamla | |
| Writer(s) | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||
| "Heaven Help Us All" (1970) | "We Can Work It Out" / "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" (1971) | "If You Really Love Me" (1971) |
"We Can Work It Out" has been covered by several notable artists, including Petula Clark and Valerie Simpson. Arguably the best known remake was performed by Stevie Wonder on his album Signed, Sealed, and Delivered. Released as a single in 1971, this version reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1976, The Four Seasons did a cover version of the song for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II. The song was also covered by the band Tesla on their album Five Man Acoustical Jam. It was also remade by Heather Nova for the soundtrack of the film I Am Sam, which contained many Beatles covers, only some of which were in the film.
| Preceded by: "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel | Billboard Hot 100 number one single (The Beatles version) January 8, 1966 | Succeeded by: "My Love" by Petula Clark |
[edit] Trivia
- "We Can Work It Out" preceded "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds",making it the first song that changes beat.
[edit] References
- Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X
- MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Great Britain: 1994, ISBN 0-8050-2780-7
