(no subject)
january 7th, 1969
07.20 my back pages
PAUL: But we had a lot more incentive, then.
GEORGE: Ah, but I was so much older then… I’m younger than that now…
PAUL: But we really don’t need- You know, those films of us - that was us doing it, you know.
GEORGE: [chagrined] Well, if that’s what doing it is, that’s why I don’t want to do it.
PAUL: Yeah. Yeah, I think-
GEORGE: Because I never liked that. It was always a drag.
PAUL: [upset] Yeah, but - right. You know. You know, uh- [faltering] You see, that - that takes the thing, and - and twists it a bit.
GEORGE: Well, it does, because I never liked that. That’s why I-
PAUL: Well, you see, nowadays, you’ve grown up. And you don’t have to do that anymore.
GEORGE: Yeah.
PAUL: You see, that’s it. You don’t have to do - put the pancake up, and go out in front and sweat, and shake our heads, because we’re not that anymore. We’ve grown up a bit.
GEORGE: Because we’ve done that anyway.
PAUL: Yeah, right. So what I mean is, we did it then, but it doesn’t mean, like, to do it again, we have to do all that.
MICHAEL: Right.
PAUL: Because now, like - for him to do it, is do it in a black bag with Yoko, you know. [to John] And - and you’re doing it. [pause] I suppose.
GEORGE: White bag.
MICHAEL: A white bag.
PAUL: White bag. [pause; to John] But that’s it, you’re doing it, then, on this level, you know. But - you know. I mean, I-
MICHAEL: But do you see it as - do you still want to perform for an audience, or do you just see yourselves sort of as recording people?
PAUL: I think-
MICHAEL: You see, but I think John’s right. It’s communication. And I think part of communication is seeing you doing it.
PAUL: I think there’s something to do with an audience, there, yeah. I think - [pause] I think we’ve got a bit shy, you know. I think I’ve got a bit shy of - certain things, you know. And it’s like, uh - it is like that. It’s like, um-
MICHAEL: I guess maybe the difficulty is also getting up in front of an audience, if - all you’ve done in front of an audience is trying to get something as good, but maybe not the same thing. You know, and it’s a very hard thing to get back. In other words, you musn’t think of getting back what you had. Because you don’t want-
PAUL: No, that’s what Yoko was saying the other day, you know. We don’t - we musn’t try and get in the audience, and get them wild, and get-
MICHAEL: Although they may be. [inaudible] Because they’ve grown up as well. I mean, everyone in this room has grown up.
PAUL: Yeah.
MICHAEL: You know what I mean?
PAUL: Sure, yeah. That’s - that’s what’s great about it, you know. That’s why I don’t think we need to sort of play down, or do anything - we’ve really got to do what we do, but like, with the same kind of… No, it’s not even - it’s not even discipline, it’s the same kind of-
MICHAEL: Drive.
PAUL: Dr- desire to do it.
MICHAEL: Desire. To do it.
PAUL: You know, it’s like - it’s like all these songs, you know. There are some really great songs, and I just hope we don’t blow any of them. [to John] Because you know how often like on albums we sometimes blow one of your songs, because we come in in the wrong mood, and uh, you say, “This is how it goes, I’ll be back.” And we’re all just, [flustered voice] “Oh, uh, you-” Chuga chuga chuga chuga…
MICHAEL: That’s why we’re wrong to throw away the show. Because there’s no desire - I mean, like, sure, I think I, M. L. H., can do a show for you, better than anybody who works, even if I’m not the best director in the world [inaudible]. But equally, at the moment, we haven’t got a show, and so none of us are gonna want to do it.
PAUL: Yeah, I know what you-
MICHAEL: And the trouble is, that is why George was saying - he’s saying, “None of us want to do a show, because it ain’t a show.” And it’s like-
PAUL: Yeah.
MICHAEL: -we’ve got to find something else to go out and do it.
GEORGE: And it’s that thing about - of the songs, too, you know. ‘Cause really, I don’t want to do any of my songs on the show, because I know they’ll always just turn out shitty, like-
PAUL: No, but you see - no, see, this is where I think, though-
GEORGE: Because, uh, they come out like a compromise, whereas in a studio they can-
PAUL: [anxious] But you see - look, George-
GEORGE: -work on ‘em, ‘til you want ‘em… and get it out of your mind.
PAUL: Last year, you were telling me, that, “You can do anything you want, Paul.”
GEORGE: Yeah.
PAUL: “Anything you desire, you can do,” you know.
GEORGE: Yeah.
PAUL: Now, but these days-
GEORGE: But you have to desire it.
PAUL: [trying] But you’re saying - before this show is finished, before we’ve done it- Now, like the arrow, letting forth, is letting forth on this word of, “We’re not going to be able to do it, we’re going to come out a compromise.” Now, I don’t think that! I really don’t. I think you - we’ve - got it, you know. I think we’ve - I really think we’re very good. And we can get it together, if we think that we want to do these songs great, we can just do it great, you know. But I think thinking it’s not going to come out great, won’t help.
GEORGE: Yeah.
PAUL: You know, that’s like - that is like meditation, where you just - you get into a bummer, and you come out of it. You don’t go through it, you know.
RINGO: Yeah.
PAUL: I think we can, like, help, if we - you know, on anything like that. [to Ringo] If - so, if you’re sick of playing the drums, we’ve all got a say. “Look, we’re sick too, you know, pat pat, look, you know, it’s all the same,” and… we go through it with you. It’s no use just saying, well, “Fuck off.” “Oh, fuck that.” You know. What’s good, that?
[wip]
07.28 for you blue
[optional sulpy]George sings half a line of “For You Blue” and stops. He then succinctly categorizes the others’ attitudes toward the show by quoting the old aphorism ‘hear no evil’ (Paul, the persistent optimist), ‘speak no evil’ (John, who contributes nothing to the conversation) and ‘see no evil’ (Ringo, who really doesn’t care what they do). Paul [...] asks the others directly why they’re even bothering to show up if they don’t want to do the show. Typically, the other Beatles don’t respond.
GEORGE: ‘Cause you’re sweet- [stops playing] Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
RINGO: [to Paul] I have no ideas for you, you know. I'm- [inaudible; drowned out by George's guitar] -really just not interested in it. And-
PAUL: In what?
RINGO: I'm not interested in the boat. [long pause; guitar noodling]
PAUL: I don’t see whyu - any of you - who I'm talking to, or whoever it is who’s not interested - get yourselves into this, then. What’s it for, you know? It can’t be for the money. [pause] I mean, why are you here? I’m here, because I, you know, I wanna do a show, but I really don’t feel an awful lot of support. [ignored; playing continues] You know, I mean, is anyone here ‘cause they want to do a show? [someone laughs] Or am I just-?
07.29 improvisation
[optional sulpy][...] Paul confronts John (who has sat silently strumming his guitar for most of the past half hour) and describes how terrible he feels to be the only one interested in performing. John testily replies that he’s said all he’s going to say on the matter. Paul asks for additional input, but all he receives is another truculent put-off from John.
GEORGE: It would be nice - you see, uh, if we’re just singing these songs - for me to watch it, I’d be bored if it was, “Oh, haha, thank you, now we’d like to do...” and all that. Or if it was like, just edited from - clap clap, bam, and - you know, like that, like they do those films, that would be better.
PAUL: See, there is that possibility too, which is the one I originally thought this was going to be, which was not to have a documentary, but to have the show - have documentary and show, just intercut. But it’s not as good as - it’s half arsed. It’s two ideas in one, because neither of ‘em is good enough.
MICHAEL: If it comes off - if this comes off, we’ll have great chaps, we’ve got a great entertainment- [inaudible; drowned out by guitar playing] -an album, a documentary never seen before, and a performance. It’s a great package.
GEORGE: Yeah, you know, I mean, a lot could come out of it if we could get the enthusiasm and the strength to do it.
MICHAEL: See, I think that the the truest thing - is if we, if we get it together.
PAUL: [anxious; to John] I mean - I’ll - I’ll sing with Mal, on the tour, or I’ll sit here, and I’ll - I’ll anything. I’ll - I enjoy it all. That’s the only thing I enjoy. I mean- [inaudible; drowned out by George’s and Michael’s voices] It’s terrible, just to, I mean imagine if you - if you were the only one interested, and I’m not [inaudible] right now. I want to know if you’re interested in that. But you won’t say anything to me about it. [silence; John’s guitar playing]
JOHN: I said what I’d been thinking. [pause] I would. And that is what I have- [inaudible; drowned out by John’s guitar]
PAUL: [tired; quiet] Are you still thinking that now? [pause] What are you thinking now?
JOHN: [evasive] I’m still thinking about it. [continues playing]
07.30 bo diddley
[optional sulpy]We learn that this morning’s discussion is an informal extension of a business meeting which had taken place the previous evening where Mal (of all people) fearfully broached the same subject.
MICHAEL: ‘Cause otherwise, there isn’t any point in doing it. I don’t mean, I don’t mean us copping out anyway, P., I just mean, we oughta make - if we’re gonna do it, we oughta make it... very good. Stop me, stop me when- [inaudible]
PAUL: It’s like Mal said last night. “If you’re gonna do the show here, you’ve gotta decide today.” And he - he sort of said it, almost frightened to say it, you know, to the lads. Didn’t really want to sort of - shout at us. But he had to say it, because - if you do the show, you’re gonna have to decide today, you know, and it’s like that. And it’s like, if you’re gonna do these songs, you’ve got to learn the chords. And we all know them. And we’ve got to learn the words. It’s just basic things that we’ve got to do, if we’re gonna do it. See - and as far as I can see, there’s only two ways. That’s what I was shouting at you about the last meeting we had. There’s only two things, you know. We’re gonna do it, or we’re not gonna do it. And I want a decision. [pause] Because I’m not interested enough to come to - spend so many days farting around here, while everyone makes up their minds about whether they want to do it or not, you know. I’ll do it. If everyone else will, and everyone wants to do it, then alright. [laughs; bleak] It’s just a bit - a bit soft, you know? It’s-
MICHAEL: The point is-
PAUL: It’s like a school, you know, you’ve got to be here. And I haven’t. I haven’t, you know, I’ve - I’ve left school. We’ve all left school. And we don’t have to go. [pause] You know, but it gets to a scene where you do have to go.
MICHAEL: Yeah, the first thing to get together is yourselves, totally. And then we all follow with our kit bags and our campers.
[optional sulpy]Paul implies that he accepts an occasional period of apathy from the others, but worries out loud that this will cause him to lose interest, and brings up the sessions for the previous year’s double album, which he states were even worse in terms of The Beatles’ inability to communicate with one another. Paul wants them to clear the air. [...] It’s worthwhile to note that, with their decade-old relationship on the verge of disintegration, John still has nothing to say.
PAUL: So it’s like, if we’re doing the show, we’re gonna have to work hard, we’re gonna have to even think about how many songs that we’ll someday have to have rehearsed, in order to - by five days before it, to know ‘em all. Now, five days before it is a week from now. And that means by the time a week from now comes, all these songs we’ve got, we’ve gotta know perfectly, and then five days, we’ll really, really get us to know it. [pause] You know, but I mean, there’s no - there’s no use to sort of waiting for the players themselves until we’ve got to put off the date to make it for the cameras and say, “Well, we’re done, we can’t have the cameras now.” It’s not like that, is it? [long pause] See, apathy’s alright, when- [inaudible; drowned out by George’s and George Martin’s voices]
MICHAEL: So does everybody pull your socks up?
PAUL: Sure it is, you know. Yeah, yeah, I-
MICHAEL: The first day was the best musical day, the best musical day yet. Because you routined about four numbers. [long pause]
PAUL: But I must say, I’ll get, uh, put down, ‘cause, you know, like if certain people aren’t interested, then I do, too. I lose interest. You know. And we can’t play ‘em on our tours, or anything, or so on and so on and so on. [long pause; George singing to himself] You see this one, that we’ve been having this year makes me really want to-
GEORGE: Last year. Last year.
PAUL: Snap out of it. Or, snap into it. De-plastic it, you know. But the past couple of months it’s been this, but the album was like this, you see. The album was worse than this. This just seems sort of-
MICHAEL: What, agony?
PAUL: Well, just the whole idea of, “Do you want to do it?” “Do we want to do it?” And that’s the joke, you see. After it all came about, Neil was saying to me, that we’d all phoned him individually, saying things like, “Can you get ‘em together?” “Can you get it - oh, can you get it together?” “Are we getting together?” “You know, I want to, I want to know. What’re we doing, you know?” But you know, instead of asking each other, we’ve all gone to Neil, you know, and asked him, “What’re the lads doing?” But you know, we could just have it out.
GEORGE: But we keep coming up again, that one. And like you were saying, “Yeah, well I’d like to do this, this, and that,” “Yeah, and I’d like to do this,” “And I like to do that,” “And I like to do that,” and we end up doing something again that nobody really wants to do.
PAUL: Well, then, you know, I think, you know, if this one-
GEORGE: Make it public, at that.
PAUL: [upset] Maybe it should definitely be the last for all of us. Because there just isn’t any point-
GEORGE: Yeah, that’s it. [long pause]
[optional sulpy]George [...] says that the time could be better spent individually, where one could actually create. This is a direct slap in the face to Paul, who’s been more than ready to create, but has been faced with the insurmountable task of motivating the other Beatles. Paul pleads that all he’s looking for in the others is some kind of positive attitude, but no one responds except Mal, who offers a rather maudlin statement about The Beatles’ importance to their audience. Paul then returns to the problems he has been facing as defacto leader of the group, admitting that most of the ideas are his. He challenges the others to work to improve or replace his ideas, but once again no one responds as Ringo sits silently by and John plays aimless guitar riffs.
MICHAEL: I think I’d be sad. I mean, as an audience member, I’d be sad.
PAUL: Of course it is! It’s stupid, you know! It is just stupid. But, it’s even more stupid the other way. To go through it. You know.
MICHAEL: I agree, but it’s-
GEORGE: ‘Cause this time we could be using for what you want to be doing...
PAUL: You see, the thing is, the people were being stupid for the four of us, and there’s no one else. There’s only the four of us. You can’t actually, you know, just sort of blame it on these four people, but there’s no other band, you know!
GEORGE: And we could be creative, instead of being, you know, like, in the doldrums, which it always is...
MICHAEL: I wrote for my book, because I kind of keep a diary about what’s going on, and “doldrums” was the word I used. Because the “doldrums” have been coming, like - like to a ship to - on the land of the-
GEORGE: Oh, The Beatles have been in doldrums for at least - a year.
MICHAEL: You see, that is - that is terrible to say.
PAUL: We - we haven’t played together, you see! That’s the fucking thing. But when we do come together to play together, we all just sort of talk about the fleeting past! We’re like old-age pensioners! [British geriatric voice] “Remember the days when we used to rock?” You know, but we’re here now! We can do it, you know. But I mean, I’m - all I hoping for is enthusiasm from you-
MAL: [earnest] I’m just saying you are needed, you know. The Beatles are needed. To so many people.
MICHAEL: Yeah, you’re right. [pause]
PAUL: You see the thing is also, I - I get to a bit where I just sort of put - push all my ideas, you know, and I know that my ideas aren’t the best, you know. They are [mechanical voice] good, good, good, but they’re not the best, you know. We can improve on it. Because we write songs good, and we improve on it. [to Ringo] And you can improve on your drumming like it is, if you get into it. If you don’t, you know, then okay, I have better ideas, but if you get into it, you’re better! You know. It’s like that.
[optional sulpy]George ponders how philosophical this is all getting, and Michael proudly offers a pun based on the name of existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
GEORGE: And after all that, it’s like, you know, what do they say? It comes from a-the-and the eaves springs out of an E-
MICHAEL: An ear.
GEORGE: And that’s, you know... all that existentialist crap. [laughs]
MICHAEL: Just like Jean-Paul, yeah, exactly.
GEORGE: You know, it’s like...
MICHAEL: But you’d call him Jean-Paul George, it was Jean-Paul Sartre. [laughs; to Paul] We have a joke over here. You heard that, did you hear? Call him Jean-Paul George, as opposed to Jean-Paul Sartre, who did existentialism. [pause] Um, yeah. Like, it’s communication. And I think, I mean, see corny’s great, and like Mal said, it’s so corny it’s such a - I mean, he didn’t call it corny, but [emphatic] you are terribly corny. [pause; someone laughs]
PAUL: [laughs; tense] That’s, uh...
07.31 what the world needs now is love
MICHAEL: And-that is what the world needs. [George starts singing ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love’] I mean, really, no one needs - everyone in the world can say what they think, except for you. We all need you. And you know, it’s the tears coming from the eyes of the little boy sitting in London as it is for the little girl in America. And it’s communication. [pause] And if you all can’t get it together, that’s really very sad. So, I think what we should do now is let you play a little, and then we will have lunch together, and I can give you some more film, maybe. [pause]
PAUL: Yes.
MICHAEL: So, should we leave you for a while? I mean-
PAUL: Yes. Yeah.
07.32 instrumental
[optional sulpy][...] George bitterly complains about the lack of attention given his compositions throughout the years. Paul optimistically says that the most important thing isn’t what’s wrong between the members of the group, but the fact that the four of them notice it (and presumably do something to correct it). This doesn’t satisfy George, however, who matter-of-factly suggests that The Beatles break up. Paul agrees that the end is getting nearer and John, unable to contribute constructively to the discussion, picks this moment to throw in one of his famed witticisms, asking which one of them gets possession of the children. Paul, obviously thinking of their songs, nominates Dick James, The Beatles’ publisher.
GEORGE: What I was saying about the songs was like, the reason, you know, like, I’ve got about twenty songs from 1948 was because I knew very well the moment I’d bring them in the studio, that - [blows raspberry] there it’s gone, you know.
PAUL: Yeah.
GEORGE: And, uh, so I never did. And, like, slowly now, I can bring a couple out so I can get it more like how it should have been then. And you know, it’s like, it’s just... [sighs]
PAUL: You see, but it doesn’t matter what’s gone wrong. It really doesn’t matter what’s going wrong, as long as the four of us notice it.
GEORGE: [scoffing] Well, if that’s it, then all that-
PAUL: And - and - instead of just noticing it, determine to put it right. You know. [pauses] ‘Cause that’s what I’m-that’s what I’m onto.
GEORGE: Maybe we should have a divorce.
PAUL: Well, I said that last week, you know. But it’s getting nearer, you know.
JOHN: Who’d have the children? [pause]
PAUL: Dick James 1.
JOHN: Oh, yeah.
1Dick James was The Beatles' music publisher and administrator of the group's music publishing outfit, Northern Songs, which he established with the group's manager, Brian Epstein, in 1963. Northern Songs chiefly published songs under the Lennon-McCartney credit, as well as the original song writing and composing efforts by all members of the group.
Paul's comment is an ironic foreshadowing of the legal and fiduciary ordeals about to befall The Beatles. By March 1969, Dick James had sold almost half of his shares in Northern Songs to Sir Lew Grade of ATV; by October 1969, and amidst The Beatles' impending disbandment, all members of the group had sold their shares, the ATV consortium had an >80% share in Northern Songs, and John's and Paul's publishing control over their own songs was effectively negated. This informative page details The Beatles' tenuous dealings with creative copyright and profit margins, from the establishment of Northern Songs, through Brian Epstein's death, the dissolution of the band proper and the involvement of Allen Klein, and to the changing hands of Northern Songs over the recent decades (from ATV to Michael Jackson to Sony).
07.33 first call
[optional sulpy][...] Paul has one last thought to express before playing. Amazed and baffled at the thought of breaking up The Beatles, and cognizant of the artistic and financial havoc such an act would cause, he incredulously reminds the others how stupid it would be for them to end the group, and points out the lack of creative energy within the group. In recognizing that John has deflected some measure of his creativity towards projects with Yoko, Paul allows a bit of resentment to surface as he first complains that John talks condescendingly to them and then observes that he doesn’t talk at all. Having raised a sensitive subject but still gotten no reaction from John (in fact, John tries to block him out by playing an annoyingly repetitive guitar riff), Paul reminds him that he, too, can be condescending [...].
PAUL: ‘Cause, you know, that’s what I was telling you, on the phone, that we can’t - do it, you know, just because it is so silly of us now, at this point in our lives, to crack up. It’s just so silly. Because there’s no point. We’re not going to get anywhere that we wanna get, by doing that. The only possible direction is the other way from that, you know. [pause] You know, that is the only possible direction. But the thing is that here we’re all just theoretically agreeing with it, and not doing it. You’re doing your bit through you and Yoko, you know, but it’s silly, you know, to sort of - uh, come in and talk down to us, when actually your way out is not to talk, rather than talk down to us, which you’d have to do, to be safe - but you wouldn’t be. And remember, I talk - think I’m talking down to you, too. [pause] But, you know, we’re not! [laughs; bleak] You know me. We’re all - we’re all alike, here, us three. We just don’t sort of get to talk it out with each other.
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