Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 28-30 August 1968
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Barry Sheffield
Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)
John Lennon: vocals, backing vocals, electric guitar, tambourine
Paul McCartney: backing vocals, bass, piano, drums, flugelhorn, handclaps
George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar, handclaps
Mal Evans: tambourine, backing vocals, handclaps
Jackie Lomax, John McCartney: backing vocals, handclaps
Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)
Love
Written by John Lennon in India, Dear Prudence was about Mia Farrow's younger sister, who refused to leave her chalet at the meditation retreat in Rishikesh, and had to be coaxed out by Lennon and George Harrison.
Prudence Farrow had become infatuated with meditation, locking herself away from the rest of the group and falling into deep states against the advice of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Dear Prudence is me. Written in India. A song about Mia Farrow's sister, who seemed to go slightly barmy, meditating too long, and couldn't come out of the little hut that we were livin' in. They selected me and George to try and bring her out because she would trust us. If she'd been in the West, they would have put her away.We got her out of the house. She'd been locked in for three weeks and wouldn't come out, trying to reach God quicker than anybody else. That was the competition in Maharishi's camp: who was going to get cosmic first. What I didn't know was I was already cosmic. [Laughs.]
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
Farrow later confirmed she was more fanatical in her pursuit of enlightenment than those around her.
Being on that course was more important to me than anything in the world. I was very focused on getting in as much meditation as possible, so that I could gain enough experience to teach it myself. I knew that i must have stuck out because I would always rush straight back to my room after lectures and meals so that I could meditate. John, George and Paul would all want to sit around jamming and having a good time and I'd be flying into my room. They were all serious about what they were doing but they just weren't as fanatical as me...At the end of the course, just as they were leaving, George mentioned that they had written a song about me but I didn't hear it until it came out on the album. I was flattered. It was a beautiful thing to have done.
A Hard Day's Write, Steve Turner
The song's distinctive fingerpicked guitar style was taught to Lennon by Donovan, another guest in Rishikesh. The style was used on a number of other songs on the White Album, including Julia and Happiness Is A Warm Gun.
In the studio
Like Back In The USSR, Dear Prudence was recorded without Ringo Starr, who had temporarily left the group.
The Beatles taped the song over three days in Trident Studios, an independent facility in London's Wardour Street. Unlike Abbey Road, Trident had eight-track facilities available, which The Beatles had previously used for the recording of Hey Jude.
Work on Dear Prudence began on 28 August 1968. Although the studio records note that The Beatles only recorded one take, the luxury of eight tracks meant they were able to piece together the song instrument by instrument, wiping previous attempts as they went along.
The basic track, recorded on this first day between 5pm and 7am, featured Lennon on fingerpicked guitar, Harrison on lead guitar and McCartney on drums.
The next day McCartney recorded a bass part, Lennon manually double-tracked his lead vocals, and backing vocals and handclaps were performed by McCartney and Harrison. They were assisted with contributions from Mal Evans, recent Apple discovery Jackie Lomax, and McCartney's cousin John.
In the Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn notes that the end of the song originally featured applause from those who contributed backing vocals and handclaps, though it was left out of the final mix.
The recording of Dear Prudence was concluded on 30 August, with a piano track and a very brief flugelhorn section. Both of these were performed by Paul McCartney.
What an amazing track this is. I love the circling guitar line from lennon working with georges drone guitar, add in the backing vocals, pauls amazing gulping bass line and the way the track resolves (genius) and i think it might be one of their best late period tracks.
Paul’s drums are pretty decent too i think, his hi-hat work is a little stiff but his fills are as good as anything ringo would have done.
That’s the thing- for all that Lewissohn wrote, working directly from EMI’s and Trident’s logs- we have to remember that ‘protocol’ got pretty shambolic during the WA sessions – I think that there must have been a non-logged session after Ringo’s ‘vacation’ where he overdubbed a drum track, at least for the final verse-chorus-outro. It ain’t Paul. Paul could manage a decent bang-bang-thump-bang, but he could never play like that.
No, the entire track featured McCartney on drums. The members of some other bands considered Paul to be the best drummer in the Beatles. The drum fill at the climax of the song sounds nothing at all like Ringo’s drumming.
The people who were actually there credit all of the drums to Paul.
Further, Ringo did not like flashy drumming. Again, this is just not his style.
It’s Ringo filling on the last verse. Those fills are signature Ringo. They’re too finesssed to be Paul, who always sounds caveman-ish on drums. Sorry, it’s true. As others have mentioned its entirely plausible, even probable that a quick session occurred and didn’t get logged. However, I think the drums previous to the last verse are a John-Paul two man effort, there are photos of them doing this with John on hi hat and Paul on bass and snare.
Nonsense , it’s Paul.
Listen to McCartney’s drumming on McCartney solo album. It’s really sloppy and has nowhere near the feel of Dear Prudence. There’s no way that is Paul on the end of this song. Sorry Macca freaks. Sometimes you just have to admit Paul wasn’t the greatest lead guitarist or drummer in the Beatles. He is, however, one of the greatest Bass players in rock history.
I get speculating on the ‘possibility’ of an unlogged Ringo drum session, but if always baffles me when people state their suspicions as fact (“It’s Ringo filling on the last verse.”). Rather pompous, don’t you think?
I’ve heard that the three of them actually played drums on the track. If you listen closely to fills at the end of the song it clearly sounds thicker than two hands could manage. Paul is not a great drummer (or keyboard player for that matter).
Listen to this isolation on the drum track – at least two drummers, maybe three…
Just not his style? I take it you are familiar with the drum fills in A Day in the Life and at the end of Strawberry Fields?
Whatever else Ringo played, this is Paul.
If you don’t believe the research and recording history, listen to the session track (50th anniversary edition) which features the three of them when they didn’t even had recorded the bass. All the drum fills are already there. Give it a rest, it’s Paul, doing really well on the drums.
one of my favorite Lennon written songs of all time. Dear Prudence rocks.
Doesn’t the busy drumming have a typical Ringo style?
Could Ringo have done some overdubs?
Or is there proof that he didn’t?
Agree completely.
If handclaps and tambourine were recorded on the same take, Paul wouldn´t posible play both.
Beautiful song. Wonderful lyrics, singing and finger-picked guitar by John Lennon.Instantly loved this from the first time I heard it after getting my copy got my of The White Album for Christmas 1980. “The sun is up the sky is blue, it’s beautiful and so are you “. No wonder Prudence Farrow was flattered!!
To anyone who still wants to know the answer to who drummed the outro, I have a link that without a doubt proves outro was a re-recorded piece. In the video you can hear the original drum beat Paul lays down for the outro which is simple and straight foward, as Paul’s drumming usually is. As a drummer myself I’m confident that a reinvigorated Ringo came back rested and recharged from vacation, excited from the great warm welcome home, had a few listens and laid down that outro with all of that new energy. Paul’s drumming couldn’t touch Ringo’s I’m sorry all you Paul fans. I’ve listened to his first solo album, Ram, and Band on the Run; he’s just not the great drummer Ringo is. Anyway sorry for my rambling here’s the link.
Spot on mate, I’m a semi-pro drummer of 41 years standing and those fills are 100% signature Ringo, very reminiscent of the outro of Strawberry Fields and the middle 8 of Hello Goodbye.
Am I the only one who hear that loud percussion, like a block or something (not drums, nor hadclap or tambourine), coming in just after “Won’t you let me see you smile” at the end of the third verse?? It plays continously but always changing its rythm, until the the end of the last verse, only on the left channel. What is it? Who plays it? It is not listed.
It sounds like a woodblock or muted cowbell. And no, it isn’t credited.
you should listen to Paul play drums on MY DARK HOUR by Steve Miller. FANTASTIC drumming. give it a rest.
Outstanding lead guitar from George on this track.You can hear the Indian influence on it.
Was there ever a video or film made for the Song? or was it too early for such things?
Can anyone hear the flugelhorn? I can’t spot it anywhere in this song.
You can hear it in the isolated drum/bass track. It’s a single note sounded at 2:00 and 2:06.
Any fan of McCartney would recognize the drums have the same feel as his drumming on kreen akore from his first solo album. The playback on the video is the initial basic track with the basic drumming and then an overdub track with piano percussion and another McCartney drum track just like back in the USSR.
My thoughts exactly
The drumming at the end is surely classic Ringo, what Abe Laboriel Jr called “that sloppy, swampy, falling down the stairs kind of sound.” It’s comparable to, say Blue Jay Way or Hello Goodbye. Nobody else sounds like that. Macca’s style is more careful and measured as heard on Back In The USSR and the other tracks by him mentioned above.
What was the effect pedal used by George on his guitar??
1) Vox Tone Bender Fuzz
2) Fuzz Face
Anybody knows??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0jX8y53ceY
McCartney on DRUMS….
Hard for me to accept the drumming outro as Mac since I can’t find anything close anywhere else. It also doesn’t sound like a “rejuvenated” Ringo as suggested here. How about an uncredited Alan White, later a Lennon regular.
Or, how about Buddy Rich….
No evidence, documentation, or even suggestion (except by you) that White was involved.
I’m surprised that there’s even a debate on who played drums here. Ringo wasn’t there at the time this was recorded! And, also, just listen to the song. Paul is competent, but he’s not on Ringo’s level. Compare this to Sexy Sadie, for example. And have you noticed the drums are more prominent in the mix than usual on this track? I love Dear Prudence, but I do wish Ringo had played on it.
The White Album 50th anniversary edition books puts this discussion to a definite end:
It clearly says that Ringo was not involved and mixing was done before he returned (as was already pointed out here).
That is one insdisputable fact.
On the other hand there’s the fact that the drum track sounds trippy but nowhere near as prescise as Ringo usually is. It also sounds multitracked, so Paul might even have done overdubs to make it sound more complex than it is (as was already pointed out here).
This is Paul on drums, like it or not. I’m sure Ringo likes it!
There is no way this is Paul playing drum. Ringo even does some of the backing vocal (“round round round”) to signify he is BACK with the group. Probably Ringo’s best performance!
You can keep believing what you want, but that doesn’t change the FACT, that the 50th anniversary edition contains a take that was still without the bass – but the drums were already there. Paul played the drums first, and later the bass.
Ringo came back long after they finished mixing it.
But I give you that: The (obviously completely bogus) suggestion that Ringo is even doing some of the vocals is kind of refreshing!
Well, I guess it’s just pointless to point out the facts again and again and again…
Actually, there IS very much a way Paul played the drums. He sat behind the kit and did it.
And so he did.