Written by: Harrison
Recorded: 11, 13 April 1966
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Released: 5 August 1966 (UK), 8 August 1966 (US)
George Harrison: vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, sitar
Paul McCartney: backing vocals, bass
Ringo Starr: tambourine
Anil Bhagwat: tabla
Other musicians: sitar, tambura
Available on:
Revolver
Yellow Submarine Songtrack
Following the sitar motif on Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Love You To was The Beatles' first full attempt at recording a piece of music in the classical Indian style.
At the time George Harrison was learning the sitar from Ravi Shankar, who inspired him to learn more about Indian music and Eastern religion.
I wrote Love You To on the sitar, because the sitar sounded so nice and my interest was getting deeper all the time. I wanted to write a tune that was specifically for the sitar. Also it had a tabla part, and that was the first time we used a tabla player.
Recorded under the working title Granny Smith, Love You To shows Harrison's burgeoning interest in philosophy, as well as his love for new wife Pattie whom he married on 21 January 1966).
A short extract from the song was included in the animated film Yellow Submarine, in the scene where Harrison's character first appears.
In the studio
Recording began on 11 April 1966. Take one was George singing while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, and Paul on backing vocals. Take three saw the introduction of the sitar, which appeared again as an overdub onto take six, along with tabla, bass and fuzz guitar.
Love You To was finished on 13 April. George added more vocals, Ringo played tambourine and Paul contributed falsetto harmonies, left out of the final mix.
“Love You To” is one of those Beatles songs that was tough to determine who played what. Some sources will say that George was the only Beatle on the recording, others will say that Ringo played tambourine, while still some others will say that John and Paul provided backing vocals. I prefer to call this song a George solo song, as I don’t believe that there is real evidence of any other Beatle participating.
This song is complete gibberish, nothing at all compared to “Within You Without You”
Any information on the title being a typo – Love You To(o)?
I always thought it was a transposition of words in the line “I’ll make love to you”.
It’s not a typo, it’s like:
“Would you like me to?”
“[I’d] love you to”
Hmmyes, but then there’s the label text on side one of my Revolver LP (from that Beatles Collection box which came out in the 80s) which reads “Love You Too”. I’ve always thought that this made more sense and have always called the song that… 🙂
Homophone. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
I’m with you Daniel. I never imagined it any other way. The Beatles are notorious for word play.
Its a typo the song is “Love To You”
I can’t hear any acoustic guitar nor bass guitar in this song. The only bass sound I can hear is the low “drum” of the tabla, all the time.
I can’t detect any bass either, but I’m pretty sure that’s an acoustic guitar being strummed throughout, often in tandem with the tambourine. It’s most prominent in the right stereo channel during the instrumental section in the middle.
From the first day’s sessions we hear an Indian group on the centre channel, George electric rhythm guitar on the right and a dub in the centre that sounds like a volume-pedal-controlled fuzz guitar.
The Indian instruments included a svaramandal, a Punjabi table harp with between ten and thirty brass and steel strings, a tabla, a pair of hand-played drums, sitar and tamboura.
This was all reduced when vocals from George and Paul were added along with a tambourine.
In mixing ADT was applied to both vocals.
Also John did vocals as well, Paul might have done bass guitar on this song but it may have been wiped out.
But did Harrison play the “lead” sitar? Some question as to whether he was accomplished enough to have handled that, or in fact it was more likely one of the uncredited Indian musicians.
‘Ian McDonald suggests that the sitar part on Revolver’s “Love You To”,
although not credited, might have been played by [Harrison’s] anonymous tutor, but it is more likely that Harrison played it himself with close supervision, according to Shankara Angadi.’
Ray Newman, Abracadabra!: The Story of The Beatles’ Revolver (London, 2006), p. 25.
There is no way this is Harrison on sitar. He was a rather clumsy guitar player up until this point but he the picks up the sitar and plays so wonderfully! I think not.
Clumsy? Have a look at the Ed Sullivan Show performance of Till There Was You, and tell me his solo wasn’t actually rather elegant.
He has few moments not many. He is not what you would consider a natural.
That is false to say. That was the style of electric guitar that everyone up to the mid sixties played. He could play very well and was improving every year. He was a natural and considered one of the premier guitarist in liverpool in the beginning.
Great point, Luke. Many, many legendary artists (too many to name) agree as well.
George Harrison is very good in “chord melody” guitar soloing, – a style in jazz guitar. He applied it in ‘Till There Was You’ & ‘All My Loving’ & some other Beatles songs. That was an advanced skill at that time especially for a pop and rock & roll band like them.
There’s footage of George practicing and learning stuff with Ravi.
Ravi himself said this was not incredibly difficult stuff. He’s kind of the authority I’d say. lol So I tend to assume it’s George based on that critique.
There is obviously a percussion section in this song, but it’s not listed.
In addition to tambourine and tabla? Let me know what you can hear and I’ll try and verify it.
It also sounds like there’s a string section too
Hmm, don’t hear ’em myself. (Nor the “obvious” percussion section.) But the mix sounds kinda muddy to my ears, so who really knows?
George was exercising his sitar playing so much by the time, so he could play it really well for the recording of this song. Eventually there might be other musicians playing different instruments. I don´t think Paul was there for the ocassion. And I don´t think Ringo was needed just to play such a simple instrument as the tambourine.
Why wasn’t John in on this one? He couldve added the acoustic guitar easy.
John didn’t like George’s songs.
Sorry, but George’s Indian stuff always left me cold. I personally find most of those Indian instruments irritating.
I love these songs. They were among the most inventive songs any of the Beatles composed, although, of course, there is no denying that Tomorrow Never Knows was a gigantic breakthrough. George’s sitar playing sounds especially good compared to the other 60s bands that attempted to use the instrument. But I prefer the 12 string electric violin used by Shankar (not Ravi Shankar) in albums released starting (?) in the early 1990s, when it was “Shankar and the Epidemics”.
But Paint It Black is a wonderful exception.
When you Google the lyrics to “Love You To,” there is a discrepancy: Some websites show “Love me while you can… or I’ll get a plan…” And other sites list the lyric as “Love me while you can… before I’m a dead old man…” Which is the correct lyric? It’s not as if one makes more sense than the other; It’s just that when it comes to singing along with Beatles’ songs, I’d like to get a plan. At least before I’m a dead old man. Thanks to whoever has the definitive answer.
I think the second option is true, sense-wise & sonic-wise (not that it matters).
I think he very clearly sings “before I’m a dead old man.” It never occurred to me that he might be singing anything else. Perhaps a good pair of head phones would make it easier for you to understand what words he is singing?
Originally George didn’t have a name for this song, he called it “Granny Smith” during it’s production. When a friend asked him if he think of a name for it, George replied “Love You To”. So it’s not a typo, but very interesting way it got it’s title.
Can anyone name the instrument that makes the groan sound at around 0:58, during “Love me while you can…”? It pops up in every, I guess what you would call, mini break from the main part. Thanks.
I guess it’s a backwards guitar, maybe?
I’m fairly sure that’s a fuzz guitar. It always grabs me
I believe the instrument at :58 is a guitar with an orchestra pedal effect so it kind of hums. It comes back later in the song and is at the end of Here There and Everywhere but the effect is more melodic there. I believe it is George on lead sitar. There’s footage of him playing with Ravi and he sounds like he’s got it down. Even take ! on Norwiegian Wood has more sitar on it and George sounds pretty good there as well.
Orchestra pedal? What is that supposed to be?
I think it’s a Shruti Box
A beautiful and cosmic song. Great melody and lyric.
I even like Blue Jay Way and love Northern Song, but for me this one is just dismal.
We’re going to perform the song in a forthnight. The longer I am working on It, the more I appreciate It! Great, great song!
It is a great song. This song has real punch and drive and it is George Harrison who leads the way on sitar. It was he that introduced much of the west to this instrument in late 1965 on John’s “Norwegian Wood”. This then influenced The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones who is brilliant on sitar on their 1966 rock masterpiece “Paint it Black”. This Harrison composition adds much to “Revolver”, one of popular musics greatest albums.also in 1966.
This is one of the more ridiculous songs in the Beatles’ catalog (thanks to George H.’s religious and moralistic lunacies).
You have to be joking. First off, the song is a masterpiece. Second, you come off as a bigot. Or do you not mind how people perceive you?
Yeah, it really is a very fine composition.
The Sitar adds some excitement, the buildup here and there is really good.
George was creative and added to the expansion of the use of the Sitar by other bands and had bands doing more of a mystical/psychedelic way in new songs.
The Beatles were a full on/best band of the 20th century, as in rock/pop with the influence of brother George.
You can dig that
I have to say I always found George’s ‘Within you without you ‘ to be a bit dull. Then I heard the instrumental version and it blew me away. Exquisite melody all written on a single chord.
“Other musicians: sitar, tambura?”
Don’t you mean other instruments that Anil Bhagwat played?