Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 26, 27 June; 1, 23 July 1968
Producer: George Martin
Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Ken Scott
Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)
John Lennon: vocals, guitar, percussion, handclaps
Paul McCartney: backing vocals, bass, percussion, handclaps
George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar, percussion, handclaps
Ringo Starr: drums, percussion, handclaps
Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)
A bridge between the willful nonsense of I Am The Walrus and the confessional songs of his early solo career, Everybody's Got Something To Hide was written by John Lennon about his relationship with Yoko Ono.
That was just a sort of nice line that I made into a song. It was about me and Yoko. Everybody seemed to be paranoid except for us two, who were in the glow of love. Everything is clear and open when you're in love. Everybody was sort of tense around us: you know, 'What is she doing here at the session? Why is she with him?' All this sort of madness is going on around us because we just happened to want to be together all the time.
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
Although Lennon denied it, the monkey of the title was widely taken to be a reference to heroin, as were the words "The deeper you go the higher you fly". 'A monkey on the back' was a jazz term for heroin addiction thought to have originated in the 1940s.
Lennon and Yoko Ono had begun taking heroin in 1968; they claimed they used it to escape the press interest in their relationship.
He was getting into harder drugs than we'd been into and so his songs were taking on more references to heroin. Until that point we had made rather mild, oblique references to pot or LSD. Now John started talking about fixes and monkeys and it was a harder terminology which the rest of us weren't into. We were disappointed that he was getting into heroin because we didn't really see how we could help him. We just hoped it wouldn't go too far. In actual fact, he did end up clean but this was the period when he was on it. It was a tough period for John, but often that adversity and that craziness can lead to good art, as I think it did in this case.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In the studio
The Beatles rehearsed the song a number of times before committing it to tape. A demo version recorded at George Harrison's Esher bungalow in May 1968 shows how it started as a gentle blues-based song, with little hint of the rocker it would become.
Initially known as Untitled, Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey was first recorded at Abbey Road on 26 June 1968. There were no numbered takes; it was a day of rehearsal only, although it was recorded in case The Beatles came up with anything usable.
The next day they recorded six takes of the still-untitled song. Onto the last of these they overdubbed a number of instruments, including two lead guitars, handbell and shaker. A reduction mix to free up spare tracks also resulted in the song being sped up from 3'07" to 2'29"; it would end up faster still following a later mix.
On 1 July Paul McCartney added a first bass guitar part and John Lennon added new lead vocals, but the latter were replaced on 23 July. Backing vocals – including the frantic 'come on, come on' ending – handclaps and another bass guitar part were recorded on the same day, and the song was mixed for mono. The stereo mix followed on 12 October.
I’ve read on wikipedia that this song was co-written by Lennon & Harrison.
The Wikipedia article doesn’t say that now. I’ve not read any other source that suggests that Harrison co-wrote the song, though I’d be interested if there was evidence.
Isn’t that a ‘triangle’ being played in one of the early verses? That always amazed me.
It’s not a triangle. It’s a cowbell.
I think it’s actually a handbell. It doesn’t sound like a cowbell to me.
A huge fireman bell according to Geoff Emetic in his book Here, There and Everywhere. Paul couldn´t make himself heard with his bass cause John and George were playing so loud on the guitars, so took..I guess the loudest bell he could find there; he even banged so hard that he had to have a rest between the takes, his shoulders were aching from all the beating on it!
Needs more cowbell …
I read somewhere it’s actually a fireman’s bell, the same one used in Penny Lane.
pete townsend had “dissed” the Beatles at some point saying something to the effect that “they never did anything-that rocked as hard as “the who” had. The Second Disc of The White album-seemed to be a swift answer…
Wasnt Helter Skelter Macca’s direct reply to that Townsend statement?
Actually i belive it was a reply to “I can see for Miles and MIles”.
Townsend is an ass. I love his music but he’s still a jerk.
If you slow the speed of EGStHefMaMM (to something close to the original speed of the recording) the supposed cowbell does sound very much like a cowbell.
According to Geoff Emmerick, it was a firemen handbell.
Played by Paul.
During the Anthology series, George mentions this particular song but does not mention any contribution.
I forgot where I read this, but I remember hearing something that there was a comic in the newspaper depicting the two as a zoo keeper and a monkey(John and Yoko, respectively), because “Yoko clung to Lennon like a monkey does to its keeper.”
I remember reading this too, seems to have disappeared from view?
There was a cartoon which depicted Lennon with a crazed looking monkey on his back (with the face of Yoko Ono) and the monkey’s talons were digging deep into Lennon, draining him of his (talent) blood.
I have always thought that this song was a sly reference to heroin. Heroin is bad for you, just like Yoko Ono. 😛
So true! I always like this song. It has a great, clear sound and typically outstanding vocals by John. Perhaps a better title would have been “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Banshee” (?)
John loved Yoko really that’s all that mattered…
No Yoko was Johns Lover who became his wife. You wouldn’t want people talking bad about your wife or girlfriend. Leave this alone. It happened but now its over….for now.
I read it was Paul & John on guitars and George on a fireman’s bell
It is without a doubt Paul on a fireman’s bell. He actually did not have much to do with this recording and rang the bell crazily with a kind of f$%! it attitude.
“Paul… did not have much to do with this recording…”???
The best part of the song is the bass lick at the end. What chu be talkin’ bout?!
I also read it was a fireman’s bell, but Mal was on it. I was not familiar with a handbell, but I looked it up. I can see how it could be a handbell. Actually a firemen’s bell might have a deeper tone. Excellent song either way!
Geoff Emerick mentioned it was Paul on a firebell in his book.
According to Geoff Emerick, in his book ” Here, There and Everywhere ” it was Paul playing a huge fireman bell; John and George were playing so loud on the guitars so he couldn´t hear his bass playing. Geoff are giving praises to Harrison´s good guitar playing in this song, this was a bit unusual guitar playing for being Harrison he said.
I tried slowing down to its original speed with audio editing software but it doesn’t sound right.
one of the group’s hard rock and roll songs along with back in the ussr, birthday, helter skelter. i think this is quite similar with back in the ussr which i call “hard rock” while helter skelter is “heavy”, yer blues also stands out; a heavy blues song.
Is this the longest title in Beatles catalog?
Yes
Longest title for such a short song…
Another sh$%ty song by Lennon during the Yoko period. And still he complained about not been given the A sides.
Another rocking song that balances out Paul’s fruity granny sh$%t. Don’t get me wrong I love the fruity stuff too. It is the balance that makes the Beatles so interesting. My teenage son can dig the Beatles and so can Grandma.
Exactly! Paul and John were a perfect balance, and when they split they lost that synergy. it’s one of my favorite songs, actually. Tobias, you need to put that crack pipe down, LOL!
Oh dear, that “balanced” word again. Lennon was pretty capable of doing fruity and McCartney wrote just as many rockers as Lennon, perhaps more. Ever thought that Grandma might prefer the rockers?
How can you not love this song? It’s all groove, and those funky handclaps are brilliant.
Unless, that is, you have something to hide…Come on and take it easy.
Easy. It’s noisy, un-melodic, and just some more of Lennon’s often-lazy songwriting in this period.
I see some jealousy here. John was the best composer of all for me, such avant garde. Get over it!
Every time I see you, making much negative comments about John. And that makes me really angry. Show some respect, as I do to Paul, even my favourite Beatle is John Lennon!
You are having a laugh, this is one of the best tracks on the White Album.
Ex Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and his awesome Beatles tribute band “Yellow Matter Custard” played this song in their DVD. In the commentary Mike says something like “We all play crazy technical progressive rock stuff in our own bands but when we tried to play this song for the first time; we were just stoned. How complicated this song was completely shocking to us”.
In the DVD you can see how concentrated the band was trying not to screw up. Even Paul Gilbert was havng a hard time!
All in all, great song…
It’s a fireman’s bell. I read it in the book “Here there and everywhere” by Geoff Emerick. This was before he quit during the White Album sessions.
But he said that each take that John and George kept turning the volume on their guitars higher and higher to an ear blistering height, and that Paul could barely even hear his own bass. So he picked up a fireman’s bell and sat/stood next to Ringo to encourage him to play as loud as possible and effectively rock with him. He explained that during each take he’d swing the bell as hard as he could and had to take a break once in a while, when his shoulders started hurting.
Then he ended up sitting alone after the band left and over dubbed the bass part on his own …with the studio engineers present of course.
I always thought that the “monkey” in question was Yoko. John inadvertently overheard someone refer to her as John’s monkey.
Yoko was a Kardashian before there were Kardashians…
The story I know is that John took part of the title from one of the Maharishi’s lectures which mentioned how “everybody’s got something to hide”, but he said he had no idea where the “monkey” part came from.
Sorry, Wikipedia says I’m slightly wrong:
The song’s title is the longest of any in The Beatles’ catalogue, and it originates from a quote by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, however, as for the “… except me and my monkey” part, George Harrison attested that he did not “know where that came from” though McCartney believes it was a reference to Lennon’s heroin habit.
While I don’t think we can know for sure what John meant by monkey – he may not even have known – a monkey is also an addiction “I’ve got a monkey on my back” means I am addicted to something – usually heroin.
So it is quite possible someone referred to Yoko as John’s monkey for two reasons – the way she sort of looked at the time (this would be a mean statement) and the fact that John was addicted to her.
While it is completely conjecture – I would attribute that type of remark to George – it’s his type of humor and John did say that George made the meanest remarks of all about Yoko.
It would also tie in to John’s sense of humor to take a mean comment and make it a song.
This was also the time period where George was pursuing Maureen Starr for an affair – thus adding even more depth to “everybody’s got something to hide except for me and my monkey” as a dig at what George was up to.
All conjecture but interesting (to me) nonetheless.
@robert According to May Pang, John was informed about George and Maureen’s affair, a year or so after the breakup of the Beatles
It elbows in with an popping intro that tugs the ear – John loved his percussion tricks – and a guitar idea that is a cousin to ‘Revolution’. Then there’s that insane clammering bell sounding like a triangle calling the McCoys in for dinner. Crazy! Great energy on this one. Very committed vocals on what is ultimately nonsense, but by the end of the song I believe him. A good rocker for John. And if you play guitar like I do, a great song to shake out the ya-yas to. The song is complete as-is but there seems to be a lot of room to have additional improv.
Much like the spoof on The Beach Boys in Back in the USSR, I always took this song as a play on The Monkeys music. I’m not discounting the other interpretations of “monkey,” as heroin or Yoko.
At about 1:56, toward the end of the song, when they sing “Hey! C’mon c’mon c’mon…” it totally reminds me of The Monkees! I don’t doubt that The Beatles would do that, and could pull it off even within the context of all the othjer imagery.
Exactly! Glad someone else has seconded what I’ve always thought. I was a big Monkees fan back in the day, too. Still am, truth be told.
The Beatles at the top of their game… Sweet, sweet track. My favorite part: 2:05 when the bass comes back in. Nice!
There is something very interesting in the introduction of the song, which mistakes the listener where the measure´s 1 actually is . It´s a kind of ‘ rhythmic dislocation which surprises when we finally get where the measure´s 1 beat is . Great song, great performance, great record . I wish there was a video of The Beatles playing this …
It took me a longtime to figure out the rhythm of the intro–the second bass drum beat is on 1 and the first guitar chord is on the upbeat of 2.
Upbeat of 1, you mean. 🙂
That rhythmic dislocation got my attention and made the song into one of my favourites. Every time i listen it jangles some obscure brain function into an excited state.
At last some people talking about that amazing intro !
Came here just to see if someone had some more infos, who (a Beatle or producer ?) had this idea of editing this in (you can hear that after the intro it cuts into the band already well into the groove) ? When was it recorded ?
As Von Bonte pointed out a similar trick happened on “She’s a Woman”, where the guitar alone was on beat 2, making you think it was on the 1. This one’s more complex to adjust, the drum pattern used on the intro is not heard afterwards. It’s in fact a typical Ringo beat, (or Mersey Beat ?) you can hear all over “With The Beatles”, as in “It Won’t Be Long” (but played without the hihats and the 4th beat snare) or even closer : the verses of “All I’ve got To Do” (playing the hh instead of the snare). Also on Little Child, Mr Postman, Not A Second time.
Fantastic track on a fantastic album.
Yeah, I know what you mean about the rhythmic thing…you can’t tell where the “1” is at first. “She’s A Woman” has that, too.
Great song, yeah, and hard to find ‘the one’ due to multiple tape edits.
Regarding the “monkey” reference, remember that Lennon was in India where monkeys are as ubiquitous as sparrows. McCartney’s “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” also reflects the abundant presence of monkeys.
I thought Everybody’s Got (June & July, 1968) was the beatles spoof of the Monkee hit Valleri (released 2/17/68), listen to the drums on both songs. “Something to hide” was the fact that the Monkees in the beginning did not play on their own songs, and even after Kirchner was fired the Monkees were link solo artists singing with a studio band, with the occasional instrument played by a Monkee. I could see how witty John would take the Mickey Out of the Monkees.
hell’s bells….why doesn’t someone go and ask Yoko what John meant…!!
The opening guitar riff has a rolling Stones feel to it for me.
More like the other way round,stones copied this riff a year later for brown sugar
The “Monkees” – were absolutely a huge influence on the “Beatles”, just ask Lloyd Christmas! (if you don”t believe me)
He got monkey finger he shoot coca cola. Just saying
I have the mono box sets; CD and vinyl. The sound of Paul banging on that bell is incredible, but most especially on the mono vinyl. It really makes you sit up and take notice.
Even though John makes it very hard, I really do feel sorry for him. Everybody is uneasy around him because he is in such a beautiful and real relationship, yet they both escape into heroin at the same time. Yes, that Yoko was really good for him. Of course this song is a reference to his habit. I never thought of it until just now, but I think the White Album itself is a reference to heroin. Probably Yoko’s avant-garde idea that John sold to the rest of the group without them even knowing their inside joke.
Actually, I have never thought of the White Album cover as being an artistic reference to heroin but you know what ? I think there may be something in that. Represents a move from Peppers colourful psychedelic cover to the stark (china) white of ‘The Beatles’ album cover. Interesting.
Maharishi sometimes quoted a traditional Vedic metaphor about the mind naturally wandering like a monkey. You get i the monkey to calm down by putting some food out, something the monkey enjoys, which keeps it from wandering without having to use force. In the same way the wandering mind will be calmed by giving it a taste of silence and bliss in mediation, which then calms the mind without having to force it.
He also described the process of transcending as, “the deeper you get, the higher you fly.”
And in reference to the flying technique, “the higher you fly (hop), the deeper (in pure consciousness) you go.”
Yes
That how the song really works for me…
About the joy transparency transcendence
That comes from taming channelizing
The monkey mind
John’s third song using “Come on, come on, come on…” as a lyrical hook (after Please Please Me and Little Child).
kristin hersh does a phenomenal hardcore version of this one
This are Maharishi`s quotes, no doubt
even Harrison says it.
Talks all about meditation