Comments on: Because

By: peter

peter — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 10:39:18 +0000

One of my lifelong ‘if only’s’ has been to be a ‘fly on the wall’ when Paul or John would walk into Abbey Road with a scrap of paper and say to George Martin..’What do you think of this I wrote it a couple of nights ago?’….and then John gets out his acoustic… and for the first time ever they hear the raw ‘Because’ or ‘Yesterday’ etc etc…..Did George Martin ( bless him) ever feel ..’What the hell” life’s not fair..”

By: Raffee

Raffee — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:41:40 +0000

Could you please provide links to these interviews? Specially the 1969 one?
Thanks 🙂

By: Julian

Julian — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 02:41:23 +0000

I don’t think that’s quite so.. He rated both George’s as ‘real funky tracks’…
And i think he liked his own come together… and I want you…

By: Ruben Garcia

Ruben Garcia — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 13:28:42 +0000

Well said its all about music! but I found interesting the way it came out to life and the inspiration and who makes what! at the end is another ground breaking master piece that other will follow…

By: Mikey C

Mikey C — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 21:24:56 +0000

I assume he only thought that as the (incorrect) cliche was that John was the one who wrote the rockers and weird stuff while Paul wrote the gentle songs with lovely melodies…

By: Eddie B.

Eddie B. — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 21:53:07 +0000

The three part harmony with John, Paul and George singing vocals was overdubbed twice which made it a nine part harmony and it sounds heavenly! The harpsichord that George Martin played has a haunting quality reminiscent of Beethoven himself.

By: goldenskyhook

goldenskyhook — Sat, 17 Feb 2018 15:04:34 +0000

When I was a young musician, I became obsessed with originality. I was consuming a lot of psychedelics and I was convinced that my improvisations on the saxophone were strictly my own creation. I became an unbearable snob about this, eschewing many great opportunities to make music with other great players, and the gigs were very rare. As I grew older, I began to see the cracks in my thinking, and now, in my 60s, I realize that ALL of my music was inspired by stuff that came before. This isn’t a sad realization at all. I absolutely LOVE that my songs (and yes, they are original, in any meaningful sense) are contributions along the pathway of Music. What I learned is that I do NOT play Music, Music plays ME. It is an awesome power in the Universe, and it comes through whom IT chooses, not the other way around. I still do my best to make all my creations my own, but I’m no longer embarrassed to acknowledge that many of my initial ideas come from other amazing musicians. It’s NOT stealing, if you do it right. It’s honoring the greatness of one’s inspirations.

By: Alec

Alec — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 05:37:44 +0000

I’ve always wanted to hear each individual voice isolated so I could really hear what’s going on . It’s very difficult for me to discern their voices as distinct from one another in this track . Amazing how it sounds like all three of them simultaneously .

By: MikeP

MikeP — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 18:11:01 +0000

There is a definite pause between this song and “You Never….” , setting it apart from the medley. just like the pause between “She Came In…” and “Golden Slumbers”, denoting a separate piece.

By: Jeffrey Fox

Jeffrey Fox — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 03:01:08 +0000

This is top 10 of all Beatles compositions … gorgeous in all respects!
The comments here are awfully silly at times. Can people please listen to opus 14 by Beethoven? Play the first movement’s bass line and tell me you are not able to play « Because » over that. The C sharp minor key is tough to play on any instrument! Quasi une fantasia requires very delicate playing. This is exquisitely difficult from start to finish. There is nothing backwards in « because » and that’s silly !!
It’s a variation on the first movement that is rather straightforward in fact. The three part harmony is straight out of classical music too. Don’t you think it’s hard enough to be a classical music fan as it is? Do pop music fans feel so superior that they have to trash us no matter what the obvious connection to it? I m tired of popular culture and of the peopleisation of everything. The genius of the Beatles was to take beauty in all styles and adapt it to their compositions and yes that includes classical music. Deal with it people. Be happy that there was a time when this was possible. I love this composition and feel it is neglected sadly for the simple fact that « Beethoven » is present. Well face it people …. Beethoven is popular still … more popular than the Beatles and not so far off Jesus . Just ask my friend Schroeder !!!!!

By: P. F. Nel

P. F. Nel — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 13:44:26 +0000

Lennon wrote them, so they don’t sustain whatever point you’re trying to make.

By: Fuera del Juego

Fuera del Juego — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 08:59:33 +0000

I agree with all that (except for Yellow Submarine)….but I woiuldn’t say give up….the thing to do is just resign yourself you will never be as good as the Beatles and get on with you writing your songs and playing in your band and having a good time. I think that we run the risk of thinking that only Beatles songs were great…there was a lot of a great music in the 60s…

By: JEM

JEM — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 13:34:59 +0000

Growing up, I always considered Because to be part of the Medley on side 2. I have read here and in other places that it was not intended as part of it, but I truly feel that is flows as part of it.
I definitely feel that Here Comes the Sun sits apart (and by the way, beyond being an incredibly beautiful song, it is such a great palate cleanser after I Want You).
But even listening to how You Never Give Me Your Money begins, it feels to me that it picks up from Because. And I realize that there is a pause between these two songs, but there is also a pause before Golder Sumbers begins…
Intended or not, to me, the medley begins with Because. 🙂

By: JEM

JEM — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 13:29:49 +0000

Well, there is classically trained and there is classically trained. Moonlight is one of the simpler pieces in the canon of Beethoven music. It is the first movement of a sonata (Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia) whose third movement is incredibly challenging. If she could play the third movement, that would be quite impressive. I don’t mean to be too negataive here. Any music training is wonderful. But the term “classically trained” could be misconstrued to imply virtuosity. Most every new piano student plays Moonlight within 2’ish years of taking lessons.

By: Travis

Travis — Wed, 10 May 2017 20:41:02 +0000

Anybody who disses the lyrics to this song, well, joke’s on them obviously. The wind blew over their mind. And I don’t think you’re entirely right about the opinion of critics in 1970 about the Beatles and who was considered the main writer – I believe John Lennon was asked directly by Rolling Stone in the 1970 interview – “Were you the Beatles?”

By: SaxonMothersSon

SaxonMothersSon — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 23:11:28 +0000

When all those that imagine dark plots, double entendres, innuendos & back ground feuds fueling art fights a la reality TV are gone, and only the music remains, those in the future will listen to this song and love it for the sound, and the almost child-like lyrics. Mmm, that’s nice. Who did you say was singing this?

By: Travis

Travis — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 14:58:29 +0000

Take it a step further –
“Why?”
“Because”
“…the World…”
“…the wind is High…”
“…the skY is blue…” (and “it makes me crY”)

By: Travis

Travis — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 14:46:06 +0000

Again, find the demo of just John doing “Because” on youtube and you’ll see the whole “Beethoven” thing has become so trumped up, and it’s Lennon’s own fault by his self-deprecating comments in the media. Another thing he once said (can’t find exact quote) is it’s no use trying to compete with Bach and Beethoven and the like so why even try?

I think he thought by giving Beethoven the credit he wouldn’t be perceived as pretentious and trying to reach the heights those composers did (and of course he gave Yoko credit as well, which he loved to do as one does when they have to defend their partner to the world).

He thought of himself as a pure rocker, remember (really a punk rocker before his time) despite his capacity for gorgeous softer songs/”ballads”. But these ideas he had about classical or (eck!) prog-rock are the reasons he never tried anything like “Because” in his solo year’s, or ‘I Want You”, “Walrus”, etc, the real ambitious grandiose stuff – he just wanted to rock or make sad songs.

He still had the songwriting chops, esp at the beginning and sadly, the end of his solo career. He could have easily written “Because” in 1979 and would probably just released it raw, no crazy 9-part harmonies and Moogs and Celestes, etc. That would’ve been neat. Like how he said he wanted to redo “Help” how it should have been, a slow and sad piano song as he originally wrote it in 65’ before the record label made him speed it up for proper “single-sound”.

Fact is, the truth of “Because” is quite the opposite of what people think, this becomes clear on the demo – it’s a little Beethoven and a lot John. To me, the demo reminds me a lot of the demo of “Strawberry Fields Forever” from Anthology 2 (the one where it’s just him after he says he “cannot do it”) – that song is obviously about as good as pop gets and has just as many chords as “Because”, even strummed similarly.

I know I’ve been all over the place but one last piece of evidence to prove my point – listen to “Moonlight Sonata” (perhaps my favorite all-time piece of music) backwards – just youtube those very words, its very easy to if you weren’t aware you could do this. I did and I heard virtually no similarities and I have some classical background. For instance, I know that Paul in a way stole “Blackbird” from a Bach composition that I can play, that he and George used to warm up with (well, he stole the beginning and then greatly expanded on it to make his own “Because”…hmm, sounds familiar. Another reason to love the Beatles, just the give and take and influence. It’s like if Michael Jordan played on the same team as Magic Johnson or something.)

By: Travis

Travis — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 13:59:36 +0000

Agreed. Have you heard the Lennon demo? I don’t hear any Beethoven there, just an impossibly masterful piece of songwriting in its purest form

By: Slave

Slave — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 08:40:28 +0000

I always thought the Yoko is a clasically train pianist comment was just hype and John was trying to sell her to the press. It seemed in the years after he was force feeding her to the press. But in all the shows she played with Lennon not once do I remember seeing her in front of a piano. I could be wrong but did she ever have a piano credit on an album?
I find it interesting that this backwards riff finds its way into several Abbey Road songs including Because, I Want You, You Never Give Me Your Money, Carry that Weight. and partially hints at it in the middle eight of Here Comes The Sun. Although some will argue the chords are different in some songs the hint is there.
So if Yoko did in fact play that classical piece than all those songs have her influence including two Macca songs. Because if she didn’t play it, Lennon wouldn’t have asked her to play it backwards.