Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 18 July; 9, 10 September 1968
Producer: Chris Thomas
Engineer: Ken Scott
Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)
Paul McCartney: vocals, electric guitar
John Lennon: backing vocals, bass guitar, tenor saxophone
George Harrison: backing vocals, electric guitar
Ringo Starr: drums
Mal Evans: trumpet
Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)
Anthology 3
Love
Paul McCartney's Helter Skelter was an attempt to create a rock 'n' roll song as loud and dirty as possible. It later became one of The Beatles' most notorious songs, after Charles Manson interpreted it as a symbol for Armageddon.
The sound, which has been described as a prototype for 1970s heavy metal sounds, was an attempt to outdo The Who; in an interview, Pete Townshend had described their single I Can See For Miles as the group's most extreme sound to date.
I was in Scotland and I read in Melody Maker that Pete Townshend had said: 'We've just made the raunchiest, loudest, most ridiculous rock 'n' roll record you've ever heard.' I never actually found out what track it was that The Who had made, but that got me going; just hearing him talk about it. So I said to the guys, 'I think we should do a song like that; something really wild.' And I wrote Helter Skelter.You can hear the voices cracking, and we played it so long and so often that by the end of it you can hear Ringo saying,'I've got blisters on my fingers'. We just tried to get it louder: 'Can't we make the drums sound louder?' That was really all I wanted to do – to make a very loud, raunchy rock 'n' roll record with The Beatles. And I think it's a pretty good one.
Anthology
Helter Skelter referred to a fairground ride mainly popular in Britain, in which people could climb the inside of a wooden tower and slide down a spiral ride on the outside.
I was using the symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom – the rise and fall of the Roman Empire – and this was the fall, the demise, the going down. You could have thought of it as a rather cute title but it's since taken on all sorts of ominous overtones because Manson picked it up as an anthem, and since then quite a few punk bands have done it because it is a raunchy rocker.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In the US the term 'helter skelter' was far less well known. Charles Manson, the psychopath who in 1969 led his 'Family' to carry out a series of murders. To him, Helter Skelter was a coded prophecy for an apocalyptic race war.
Charles Manson interpreted that Helter Skelter was something to to with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. I still don't know what all that stuff is; it's from the Bible, Revelation – I haven't read it so I wouldn't know. But he interpreted the whole thing – that we were the four horsemen, Helter Skelter was the song – and arrived at having to go out and kill everyone.
Anthology
During his murder trial in November 1970, Manson explained his interpretation of Helter Skelter to the court.
Helter Skelter means confusion. Literally. It doesn't mean any war with anyone. It doesn't mean that those people are going to kill other people. It only means what it means. Helter Skelter is confusion. Confusion is coming down fast. If you don't see the confusion coming down fast, you can call it what you wish. It's not my conspiracy. It is not my music. I hear what it relates. It says, 'Rise!' It says 'Kill!' Why blame it on me? I didn't write the music. I am not the person who projected it into your social consciousness.
By 1968 The Beatles had become amused by the often-fanciful interpretations applied to their songs. John Lennon affectionately encouraged such thinking on Glass Onion, also on the White Album, and several other songs referenced previous works by the group. However, they were appalled by the effect that Helter Skelter had upon Manson and his followers.
We used to have a laugh about this, that or the other, in a light-hearted way, and some intellectual would read us, some symbolic youth generation wants to see something in it. We also took seriously some parts of the role, but I don't know what Helter Skelter has to do with knifing someone. I've never listened to it properly, it was just a noise.
Rolling Stone, 1970
2006's Love album combines Helter Skelter with elements from Being From The Benefit Of Mr Kite! and I Want You (She's So Heavy).
Does anyone know what guitars/amps/fx pedals were used to get the guitar sound in Helter Skelter?
Here’s the guitar Paul used: http://www.thecanteen.com/mccartney7.html
“FX pedals” he says. lol
Thanks for that link. That is a really cool site. Pictures I’ve never seen before too.
Frankly living through ‘The Beatles’ era, no other group I know of changed their ‘Sound’ as much as they did. I personally thought ‘Happiness is a warm gun’ or ‘Yer blues’ had a more dangerous edge, than did ‘Helter Skelter’; who’s meaning only Manson tried to invent. Yes, the guitars are gritty + yet I feel the fast version of ‘Revolution’s grittier! To be a menacing song, alot has to be implied, our imagination stirred like Director Alfred Hitchcock, was so good at! (rc.)
Helter Skelter is a better rocker than all of the songs you just mentioned. Paul actually does have many songs that are better than John’s.
He’s clearly giving his opinion. You’re stating your opinions as if they’re facts. People are allowed to like John better than Paul and vise versa.
Really? Paul was the third best songwriter in the band but thanks for playing
The third? George? Wasn’t even a good songwriter. His solo career shows how he couldn’t even try to be in Paul’s level. Even John is highly overrated since he died.
But keep learning and keep trying.
IMHO, John and Paul fed off each other. Both of their solo stuff is pretty lame, for the most part. I think Beatle Paul wrote lyrics knowing if he presented something silly, John would rip him a new one. And Beatle John wrote his songs so he could stay on his high horse. Solo J & P just wrote whatever they wanted without fear of being taken to the woodshed.
Kurt, John and Paul were equals, with George writing a good one now and then.
But thanks for playing….
Manson didn’t invent helter skelter…that was the DAs trip, not his
Late period Beatles heavy guitar sound is usually an Epiphone Casino (w/ Gibson P90 pickups), Vox AC-30 amp with the drive cranked up, plus a bit of compression.
This setup can pretty much nail everything Lennon did from Revolver on. Think Dr. Robert, Rain, Paperback Writer, Revolution, Hey Bulldog, I want You (She’s So Heavy). Right on up thru Let it Be, and you can watch him playing his (by then stripped and refinished natural) Casino in the Rooftop Concert (Get Back, Dig a Pony, I’ve Got a Feeling).
Paul acquired a Casino same time as Lennon, calling it his favorite guitar, and still plays one today (when he is not playing his bass). He used it for his lead work on Taxman, Helter Skelter, and others.
By this time George was using Fender guitars (Strat and Tele), often with Leslie (rotating speaker) effects.
They stopped using vox’s at this time they started using fender amps from revolver and up
Wrong. the white album was the start of the Fender amps… Everything before that was still Vox… Pepper is all Vox amps.
Paul got his Casino (and his Texan) in late 1964. John and George got their Casinos in early 1966.
You seem to know a lot, so please nail this – is it Paul playing the guitar riff on Helter Skelter?
Its kinda weird how I got into the Beatles, I read the book Helter Skelter.My sister had the White Album. I checked it out out of curiosity…I was hooked. The Beatles have so many different sounds..just an amazing amount of talent in one band
The guitars in Revolution, however, were not amped and then mic’ed; they were fed directly into the mixing desk.
John plays bass on this song. From listening to the stereo remaster, John’s bass really stands out, giving the impression that he is actually enjoying himself playing it! Listen for yourself, you will be impressed!
Since everyone else has said something dark about this song, here’s an alternative on the ‘meaning’ behind ‘Helter Skelter’. Its real meaning, in my view, is an altogether kinder, healthier one than the one insane people made it into decades ago. How about this version? A famous pop star is talking about rising to the top and going up and down famewise, but every time he comes down or has a problem, he always sees the same fan coming round, over and over again, and wonders what that fan wants of him. He notices the fan might be able to love him (‘you may be a lover’) but can’t ‘dance’ in life like he can – at one point even warning the fan that his fame, or his fall from the pedestal which that fan has put him on, might ‘break’ (or harm) the fan. Could that be the song’s true meaning?
I’m pretty certain it’s simply about a fairground ride and chasing after girls. I wouldn’t read too much into it, as I don’t think McCartney has ever suggested there might be a hidden meaning.
That is almost exactly how I have always heard this song! Like he is singing about somebody who is tedious, annoying like a tick he can’t get rid of….and it’s making go in circles. And worse, they don’t see themselves that way and this is a huge burden. On this note, I often wondered if Figure Of Eight was a revisit to Helter Skelter but in a much more pop styled, loving delevery of the same ‘buyer beware’ message!
I always took it to be about sex, straight up. And down. And up…
I love your thoughts on the song! I’ve been around for 62 and 3/4 years, I’ve listened to the Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Start. I liked them. I didn’t even mind Yoko Ono’s squeaky little voice singing background. John loved her. That was good enough for me. I loved his last album(forgive me, I had a stroke, & can’t think of it’s name), especially the song ‘Starting Over’. I didn’t dislike any of the Beatles music, but only owned, Magical Mystery Tour’, and Sgt Pepper’s’. My brother had the White Album, and I had already formed my opinion about it, before Manson. I didn’t listen to it after Manson. Except, the Birthday Song. So refreshing after the old one. I had several of Paul’s albums. I had several of John’s albums. I wore out 4 cassette tapes of John’s last one. I didn’t buy George’s albums. Krishna sort of went against my Christianity. I did buy The Traveling Willburys. I loved everyone who sang on those songs. And, everyone except Jeff Lynne is gone. So sad. Anyway, I guess I’ve bored you all to pieces! So thank you for letting me have my opinion and Goodbye…
I’m surprised that actually the one who shouted “I’ve got blisters on my fingers” was was Ringo. I always thought it was John.
I always thought it was George! Now that I hear it was Ringo, though, it makes perfect sense; it was definitely a lower-pitched voice.
John says “How was that?” faintly, right before Ringo flings his sticks and shouts.
I just found out today reading this blog that it was Ringo and not Lennon….especially after the song continues another minute or two..it just sounds like something John would scream out in pain!
Like most of the White Album, this was parody, from an era when smashing guitars during a concert, or lighting them on fire (like Hendrix) was standard fare.
As with much of the Beatles’ subtler commentary, it’s meaning has been lost on subsequent generations of listeners. Today “Helter Skelter” just seems like a great “hard rock” tune and precursor to “heavy metal,” especially watered down, as it has been, by minimalist bands like Motley Crue or U2. Gone are the devilish squeals seeming to emanate straight out of hell, and the awful taint of the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Modern audiences probably don’t realize that Roman Polanski, much in the news of late, was Sharon Tate’s husband, and escaped being butchered himself by his absence, although he presumably lost an unborn child in the attack.
The ghost hunters of “TAPS” recently paid a visit to the site of the murders, and filmed evidence of supposed contact with the spirits of one or more murdered victims.
I’ll stop there — I admit that’s already more than weird enough, and apologize if anyone finds it upsetting.
Frankly, I wish people would quit linking this to Manson. Manson was an ex-convict, druggie, and wanna-be songwriter who for a time hung out with and mooched off Dennis Wilson (Beach Boys), trying to get them to take him seriously as a songwriter. He was, in fact, awful and on the extreme fringe. Like most nut cases with fragile egos and delusional tendencies, Manson took things to extreme and threatened Wilson when the Beach Boys didn’t give Manson what he wanted. He later adopted the Beatles as part of his twisted psychosis, which had nothing to do with their songs but with his apocalyptic delusions and misinterpretations. There was/is simply no connection between the Beatles and Manson.
“This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles…we’re stealin’ it back.”
And so Bono of U2 introduces “Helter Skelter” on my copies (CD and DVD) of “Rattle and Hum.”
I can understand your angst, and your wish that the song and the Manson murders not be inextricably linked in people’s minds. History has not been your ally, however, in this regard, and prospects for the future appear equally dim.
Actually thomas, The Beach Boys did record one of Manson’s songs, and Dennis leads it on the vocals
Lennon’s bass playing on this track is suprising considering how badly he supposedly played on The Long and Winding Road…but I suppose this is a much more exciting track…
Ringo: drums
George: lead guitar and backing vocals
Paul: lead vocals, lead and bass guitars, piano
John: backing vocals, rhythm and bass guitars, saxophone
Mal: trumpet
They atacked with three guitars and then Paul and John contribution on bass.
Gustavo, John is the sole bass player, on every version of Helter Skelter that was ever recorded, n he played no rhythm guitar at all, he also played tha funky saxophone at the end of the song
For his first time playing saxophone, John wasn’t so bad. Did he ever play sax out of The Beatles?
You can hear John’s guitar at 2’18-2’31 minutes for example. His rhythm is basically creating the electric static noise you hear throughout. Frantic. And he even gets his five seconds of fame at 3’01 to 3’08!
McCartney’s bass is much quieter, but it’s in there. His bass is clean, probably the Hofner.
You can really hear it clearly in the middle-right channel at 1:35-1:43 (listen to the bass drum).
When I hear Helter Skelter I hear Paul creating heavy metal, as we know it. Helter Skelter was the prototype for heavy metal throughout the 70s and 80s. As was Revolution which was recorded a week earlier. The guitar became the lead instrument rather than vocal harmonies. Paul taught heavy metal bands for years to come how to sing the heavy metal style of vocals. The Manson thing is somewhat interesting as a side note but the song is better and more important to the evolution of Rock and Roll rather than to give that punk Manson any Beatle press. (Although it made the song somewhat notorious) Also interesting was what John and Paul had to say about what happened in LA in Aug of ’69 (again as a side note) but I question the wisdom of quoting a murderer on such a fine website. It becomes something else when we talk about “the family”.
Agree. Way too much is made of that psycho Manson on this article.
I would pay a whole lot of money that Paul certainly doesn’t need to hear the 27 minute version of this song. I heard he considered it for Anthology but decided against it because it took up too much space.
How about a 2-song EP, featuring Carnival of Light and Helter Skelter?
Interesting concept. I’d buy it.
Heavy metal? Not so much. Most likely one of Jimi Hendrix’s songs. When The White Album came out Hendrix had already released all three of his (new material) albums. Given that, I would have to give the nod to Jimi as the true Pioneer/Godfather of Heavy Metal.
Have never considered Hendrix as sounding like heavy metal. Do you have any particular songs in mind?.
Go to Youtube — type `John Lennon playing bass’ and you’ll hear Lennon’s bass isolated. It’s marvelously raw and, imo, gives the track its weight.
I wish I could see George doing an Arthur Brown impression. That would’ve been hilarious!
I’ve always hated this song, and being from the US, I think that the connotations with Manson have a lot to do with that. I was around when that happened, and it was very big and shocking news indeed. But the Manson thing aside, the song just sounds like it has a serious sinister undertone to it that I’ve always found disturbing. That’s probably why it appealed to Manson in the first place. Anyone else notice that?
Unfortunately, Charles Manson the nutjob has tainted this harmless song forever by including it as part of his warped philosophy and rationale for an unspeakable crime. I hear no serious sinister undertone(s) when I listen to this song.
How in the hell do you “hate” a Beatles song?
You can hate the ones that sucked, or is there some unwritten rule that all they did was gold? Great band, but they did have bad songs, like every band this world has and will evr know.
Heard ‘Wild Honey Pie’ lately? Or ‘Piggies’?
Those songs are horrible.
I’d rather not decide which songs are horrible and which are not. Piggies are like one of my favourites from this album.
yeah i love Piggies and i dont mind wild honey pie but i agree Heltar skeltar is down at the bottom of my list below these songs if i were to rate my favorite Beatles song in order by popularity in my mind.
Not my favorite White Album track, but it has a lot going for it. I especially like the descending guitar riff that starts the song and the descending scales in the choruses–good hooks. And good vocals from Paul.
And I loved the guitar sounds all over the White Album. After MMT, which had almost no lead guitar, it was nice to hear some again. This was the first album where I thought that George’s leads really soared–the second lead in Yer Blues, the chorus lead in Me and My Monkey, the solo in Savoy Truffle… Early George leads sometimes sounded clunky to me, but these are all sinuous and cool. Always thought they sound like a Tele or Strat with a lot of compression. You can sort of hear how he might end up being the slide master he became.
I’ve always thought of this song as a spoof of I Can See For Miles. First, there’s the interview in which Townshend indicated he thought the Beatles are like Herman’s Hermits, and can’t rock. So I imagine a Beatle saying “Let’s out-noise them”. Then there’s the over-powered recurring twangy bass note as an answer to Townshend’s whining high note. “I see you again” vs “I can see for miles”. Townshend has commented many times about his windmill guitar strokes tearing up his fingertips…thus “I got blisters on my fingers!”.
Listening to the original, the driving beat reminds me of the doors “Five to One” which had just been released.
The song is extremely evocative, just like Cobain ´s tunes. One doesn t sometimes fully comprehend, what he wrote and recorded. Not to take away the guilt factor of the Tate la Bianca slayings. On the other hand – Charles Manson certainly was a talented musician and composer.
One thing I would like to know: by which authority is determined which Beatle played what on whichever? Emerick? Lewisohn? John probably played some bass noise on this track like he played noise sax, but the main bassline has to have been Paul’s. I forget where I read it, but John’s skill on bass was horrible and there was a tune he tried to play and it got erased and dubbed over. Yes, I know George played bass on She Said, She Said and Old Brown Shoe, but I need documentation before I’ll believe John played bass on this tune.
All important sources claim Lennon plays bass. I´m not a bass player, but I think the part for HS It´s not a difficult one, but Lennon played it with feeling and emotions. Lennon play awful in TLAWR and LIT because he was bored and didn´t care at all.
I read somewhere that John purposely messed up the bass lines for LaWR because he didn’t like the song.
I was wondering if anyone here has any idea what is being said during the interlude part where no vocals are. I can’t figure it out and to be honest, it’s driving me crazy. I’m not sure who it is but it sounds like Paul’s voice.
Interlude:
Hey come here son…
I saw you do that you little booger.
Pop your bloody hands on here – come on.
PUT your bloody hands on here – come on.
Heavy English accent.
Youtube has the isolated Macca vocal track, its at the very end.
It took, literally, a few decades, for me to be able to not think of Manson, when listening, or even thinking about this song.
I was only 9 years old, and lived several miles away, from the Manson terror, that night. Most schoolchildren, were terrified, that perhaps, somehow, he, or his so-called family, would cause harm to us.
We are still paying for him, by our taxes.
Perhaps, because of the sheer popularity of the Beatles, it was bound to attract some psychopaths, but it is lamentable, just the same.
Is it definitely John on bass? If so, why does Ringo speak of “Paul’s bass line and my drums “.
Genuine question too as I was surprised to see Johnny getting the credit. It doesn’t sound like John to me.
Here’s the isolated bass track from the “Rock Band” mixes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PxVrOuMxy0
It sounds raw & dirty on purpose, In my opinion, if Paul was to play that, it would be too clean & precise for this song.
As for Ringo’s quote, he can’t remember everything about The Beatles history, same goes with Paul. They were far too involved with it to remember all of it.
Thanks for the link Julian.
However, you knew that was coming, I think it proves John wasn’t on bass. Why? Well, I don’t think John had the chops to do the, as we musicians say, dadedadedada riffs after Helter Skelter on the chorus.
Not only that, but the bass doesn’t sound like Fender 6 – more like a Jazz. Paul had a Jazz.
And as to being too clean and precise… here’s some Paul, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiYQtXazlUw.
Factor in some wine and some jazz woodbines, and Paul would easily be the sloppy bassist on Helter Skelter.
Well, him or George, ha ha.
I disagree. I own and play both a Bass VI and a Jazz and the isolated bass track from “Helter Skelter” sounds like a Bass VI.
Not one of the best songs they ever wrote, but far and away the heaviest and loudest and most intense. Despite the bevy of covers over the decades by other harder bands (Motley Crue for and Aerosmith for instance) NO ONE has even come close to topping the original.
I always thought it was ironic since, despite having nothing to do with murdering anyone or ill-intent, Helter Skelter still sounds like the soundtrack to a murder spree at the end. Right at the part where it fades back in with the out of tune horns and droning guitar chords…it just sounds….eerie and evil. lol. That’s the only way I can put it.
Btw, there’s a recurring squeaking sound that sounds like someone squeezing a rubber ducky on the left channel behind Paul’s vocal. You can hear it right after he sings “Look out ’cause her she comes” before the short guitar solo.
Also, the stereo mix is far better than the mono cut. Paul’s got an echo effect on his voice that comes and goes and Helter Skelter just doesn’t sound complete without the fade out-in-out and Ringo yelling at the end. The mono cut is too dry sounding by comparison.
That squeaky sound, as I’ve figured out, is the sax & trumpet overdub by John & Mal Evans. 😉
Y’know, if he decided to take lessons, John coulda been a good sax player. There’s a picture of him playing an alto
It was John who said I got Blisters on my fingers not Ringo !!!!
it was definately Ringo who said the ‘BLISTERS” bit. Thats his voice. Not John’s
Helter Skelter – the beginning of heavy metal?
See here, right at the start of this interview with Howard Stern.
Interviews Paul McCartney: http://youtu.be/owP_32EIoXE
” Helter Skelter” is a great Paul McCartney and Beatles song off the brilliant double White Album. I love the guitars, they just go off! . Just like John Lennon’s great rock/ blues song ” Yer Blues ” off the same album, they are examples of why you could talk about The White Album for ever. The latter is an example of Lennon’s vocals at his best, this was to come to full fruition on his first solo album two years later.
I actually think the bluesier jam version on “anthology” might have been a more interesting direction had it worked out. Unfortunately that version fades way too early on “3” (lennon recycled the idea for “wellwellwell”) but what we have in the released version is pretty good. It is a lot of chaotic,noisy fun.
SIde THREE of the White Album was maybe their best along with side two of Abbey Road. It has three very underrated songs one each by John, Paul and George….respectively Yer Blues, Helter Skelter and Long, long, long.
Paul McCartney’s brilliant response to Pete Townshend’s comment and The Who’s song “I Can See For Miles”. As someone else said that nutjob Charles Manson’s total misreading of this song is part of history. But that should never detract from this songs brilliance.
Hey – maybe it’s just me, but urban legend growing up said that it was Jimmy Page that played the guitar solo. Anyone got any info on that? Speaking as a guitarist and using Birthday, Yer Blues and The End as my yardsticks, Helter Skelter really doesn’t sound like anything Paul or George were doing.
Although a classic Beatles song, it could have been better if John had done the vocals
No it wouldn’t have. Paul’s vocals are perfect for it. He has a better scream. Sorry. He sounds a unhinged which is perfect for the song.
Does anyone know which Beatle plays the opening guitar part? I always assumed it was Paul but I’m not sure. And I assume George plays the leads during the chorus and the solo. If it is John on bass, then he did a fantastic job!! There has to be notes or outtakes somewhere to determine which Beatle played which instrument.
John’s bass is awesome at 3:09
“Associated Performer, Vocals, Electric Guitar, Piano: Paul McCartney
Associated Performer, Background Vocalist, Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Sound Effects: John Lennon
Associated Performer, Background Vocalist, Rhythm Guitar, Slide Guitar, Sound Effects: George Harrison
Associated Performer, Drums, Background Vocalist: Ringo Starr
Associated Performer, Trumpet: Mal Evans”
That is the official line-up released with this new edition of the White Album. These informations mostly confirms the information on beatles bible, but not always…
Love the sequencing to go from Helter Skelter into Long, Long, Long … brilliant.
Ditto. John would have blown it of the water. But that’s a quibble. The track is the nuts.