(no subject)
january 8th, 1969
08.04 i me mine
[optional sulpy]George [...] offers to play his new song for Paul. Relations are surprisingly congenial [...]. George runs through the entire song, once again accompanying himself on John’s unamplified electric guitar. It’s interesting to note that the lyrics to the verses, begun only twelve hours before, are completely finished. As George completes his performance, he wonders aloud if the lyrics to “I Me Mine” are grammatically correct.
GEORGE: Do you want to hear a song I wrote, last night?
PAUL: Yeah.
GEORGE: It’s just a very short one. [clears throat] Called ‘I Me Mine’. [starts playing]
PAUL: 6/8?
GEORGE: Yeah, the timing. One-two, three-four, not- 3/4, when you don’t do it bom di di bom di di...
PAUL: Yeah, okay. [George plays ‘I Me Mine’; Paul hums along]
GEORGE: [stops playing] What’s, uh-gr-uh, is that grammatic? [audio glitch] “Flowing more freely than wine.”
MICHAEL: Yeah.
GEORGE: “Flowing much ‘freer’”? [pause] “Freer”?
MICHAEL: “Flowing more ‘freely’.”
PAUL: “Freely.” “Freer.”
GEORGE: It’s funny-in writing-yeah-thinking of how you say it-
PAUL: “Freer.” For it’s sticky out here. [general laughter]
GEORGE: But I was thinking, “freer”-if there was a such a word as “freer”, is it f-r-e-e-e-r-
MICHAEL: No, it’s f-r-e-e-r, it’s f-r-e-e-r.
GEORGE: “Free-”
PAUL: Like “queer”, “freer”. [laughs] “Freer”, “queer”. [audio cuts off]
08.06 get your rocks off
[optional sulpy]John arrives and George, who is still fiddling around on John’s guitar, explains that he’s been warming it up for him. John dryly replies that he’d been dreaming about getting back to work.
GEORGE: Hi, John! [pause] I’m warming your guitar up, for you.
JOHN: Yeah. [flat] I’ve been dreaming about it. Getting back to man guitar.
08.71-72 i me mine
[optional sulpy][...] George introduces his new song, “I Me Mine,” to John, who jokes that they can use it as a commercial since it’s so short, adding that he thinks it will be hard for George to sing. In response to John's comments, George plays the song again, apparently to show him that it isn't that hard. [...] John jokes that a collection of freaks can dance along with George's waltz [...] then jokingly tells George to get lost. [...] Consequently, he offers no response.
GEORGE: [finishes playing] It’s that quick. It’s very quick.
JOHN: Is that the end of it?
GEORGE: Yeah. It’s only that long-
JOHN: We can use it for a commercial. [laughs; bored] So uh, yeah. It’s fine. And what do we do about that?
GEORGE: Um, well, it’s just a bit-
JOHN: It sounds so hard to do.
GEORGE: You see- No, it’s... no.
JOHN: I mean, for you.
GEORGE: No.
JOHN: [falsetto] I me mine... You know, all that singing.
GEORGE: [starts playing again] All through the day, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine... [Paul joins in with harmony vocals] All through the night, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine... I've been frightened of leaving it, everyone's weaving it, coming on strong all the time... [starts playing flamenco rhythm]
JOHN: [operatic] I me my me my me my me my oh...
GEORGE: All I can hear... [playing forcefully] I me mine, I me mine, I me mine...
JOHN: All the girls can come on and dance it. Haris and fisherwives, and dwarves, and hunchbacks.
GEORGE: Even your tears, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine... No one's slackened in playing it, everyone's saying it, flowing more freely than wine...
JOHN: [talking over George] Run along, son. [laughs] See you later. We’re a rock ‘n’ roll band, you know. Bom bo bom bo bom bo bom bo bom...
GEORGE: All through your life, I me mine...
JOHN: Mine.
GEORGE: I like mime. [stops playing]
JOHN: Well, I'll get on a... ballon 1.
1Referring to the organ, which John plays during the previous session run-throughs of George's (ultimately shelved) song, ‘All Things Must Pass’.
08.74 the ballad of bonnie and clyde
[optional sulpy]The dialogue which follows is an excellent example of The Beatles’ dysfunctional communication skills. [...] The previous day they had spent a good amount of time running through a series of John’s songs which he had uniformly rejected out of disinterest. Now, with Paul and George having fulfilled their quota, Paul needs to know if John has come up with anything. However, this question, and the subsequent discussion is spoken flippantly. Paul can’t inquire in a forthright manner, because John refuses to respond, and John won’t answer in a forthright manner if there’s any way he can avoid it.
PAUL: Haven’t you written anything?
JOHN: [defiant] No.
PAUL: [tense] Haven’t you. [pause] We’ll be faced with a crisis, you know.
JOHN: When I’m up against the wall, Paul, you’ll find I’m on my best-
PAUL: Yeah, I know, I know, but I just wish you’d come up with the goods.
JOHN: Now, look. I think I’ve got Sunday off.
PAUL: Yeah, well, I hope that you can deliver.
JOHN: I’m hoping for a little rock ‘n’ roller.
PAUL: [sarcastic] Yeah, I was hoping for the same thing, myself, you know.
JOHN: [mocking] “Sammy loved his mammy, she hammy dammy dammy...” [audio feedback]
PAUL: Okay.
JOHN: Something with a whiff-got-a-looble...
get back
08.04 i me mine
[optional sulpy]George [...] offers to play his new song for Paul. Relations are surprisingly congenial [...]. George runs through the entire song, once again accompanying himself on John’s unamplified electric guitar. It’s interesting to note that the lyrics to the verses, begun only twelve hours before, are completely finished. As George completes his performance, he wonders aloud if the lyrics to “I Me Mine” are grammatically correct.
GEORGE: Do you want to hear a song I wrote, last night?
PAUL: Yeah.
GEORGE: It’s just a very short one. [clears throat] Called ‘I Me Mine’. [starts playing]
PAUL: 6/8?
GEORGE: Yeah, the timing. One-two, three-four, not- 3/4, when you don’t do it bom di di bom di di...
PAUL: Yeah, okay. [George plays ‘I Me Mine’; Paul hums along]
GEORGE: [stops playing] What’s, uh-gr-uh, is that grammatic? [audio glitch] “Flowing more freely than wine.”
MICHAEL: Yeah.
GEORGE: “Flowing much ‘freer’”? [pause] “Freer”?
MICHAEL: “Flowing more ‘freely’.”
PAUL: “Freely.” “Freer.”
GEORGE: It’s funny-in writing-yeah-thinking of how you say it-
PAUL: “Freer.” For it’s sticky out here. [general laughter]
GEORGE: But I was thinking, “freer”-if there was a such a word as “freer”, is it f-r-e-e-e-r-
MICHAEL: No, it’s f-r-e-e-r, it’s f-r-e-e-r.
GEORGE: “Free-”
PAUL: Like “queer”, “freer”. [laughs] “Freer”, “queer”. [audio cuts off]
08.06 get your rocks off
[optional sulpy]John arrives and George, who is still fiddling around on John’s guitar, explains that he’s been warming it up for him. John dryly replies that he’d been dreaming about getting back to work.
GEORGE: Hi, John! [pause] I’m warming your guitar up, for you.
JOHN: Yeah. [flat] I’ve been dreaming about it. Getting back to man guitar.
08.71-72 i me mine
[optional sulpy][...] George introduces his new song, “I Me Mine,” to John, who jokes that they can use it as a commercial since it’s so short, adding that he thinks it will be hard for George to sing. In response to John's comments, George plays the song again, apparently to show him that it isn't that hard. [...] John jokes that a collection of freaks can dance along with George's waltz [...] then jokingly tells George to get lost. [...] Consequently, he offers no response.
GEORGE: [finishes playing] It’s that quick. It’s very quick.
JOHN: Is that the end of it?
GEORGE: Yeah. It’s only that long-
JOHN: We can use it for a commercial. [laughs; bored] So uh, yeah. It’s fine. And what do we do about that?
GEORGE: Um, well, it’s just a bit-
JOHN: It sounds so hard to do.
GEORGE: You see- No, it’s... no.
JOHN: I mean, for you.
GEORGE: No.
JOHN: [falsetto] I me mine... You know, all that singing.
GEORGE: [starts playing again] All through the day, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine... [Paul joins in with harmony vocals] All through the night, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine... I've been frightened of leaving it, everyone's weaving it, coming on strong all the time... [starts playing flamenco rhythm]
JOHN: [operatic] I me my me my me my me my oh...
GEORGE: All I can hear... [playing forcefully] I me mine, I me mine, I me mine...
JOHN: All the girls can come on and dance it. Haris and fisherwives, and dwarves, and hunchbacks.
GEORGE: Even your tears, I me mine, I me mine, I me mine... No one's slackened in playing it, everyone's saying it, flowing more freely than wine...
JOHN: [talking over George] Run along, son. [laughs] See you later. We’re a rock ‘n’ roll band, you know. Bom bo bom bo bom bo bom bo bom...
GEORGE: All through your life, I me mine...
JOHN: Mine.
GEORGE: I like mime. [stops playing]
JOHN: Well, I'll get on a... ballon 1.
1Referring to the organ, which John plays during the previous session run-throughs of George's (ultimately shelved) song, ‘All Things Must Pass’.
08.74 the ballad of bonnie and clyde
[optional sulpy]The dialogue which follows is an excellent example of The Beatles’ dysfunctional communication skills. [...] The previous day they had spent a good amount of time running through a series of John’s songs which he had uniformly rejected out of disinterest. Now, with Paul and George having fulfilled their quota, Paul needs to know if John has come up with anything. However, this question, and the subsequent discussion is spoken flippantly. Paul can’t inquire in a forthright manner, because John refuses to respond, and John won’t answer in a forthright manner if there’s any way he can avoid it.
PAUL: Haven’t you written anything?
JOHN: [defiant] No.
PAUL: [tense] Haven’t you. [pause] We’ll be faced with a crisis, you know.
JOHN: When I’m up against the wall, Paul, you’ll find I’m on my best-
PAUL: Yeah, I know, I know, but I just wish you’d come up with the goods.
JOHN: Now, look. I think I’ve got Sunday off.
PAUL: Yeah, well, I hope that you can deliver.
JOHN: I’m hoping for a little rock ‘n’ roller.
PAUL: [sarcastic] Yeah, I was hoping for the same thing, myself, you know.
JOHN: [mocking] “Sammy loved his mammy, she hammy dammy dammy...” [audio feedback]
PAUL: Okay.
JOHN: Something with a whiff-got-a-looble...
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