All Together Now

Song facts

When they (the Music Hall performers) were singing a song, to encourage the audience to join in, they’d say, ‘All together now,’ so I just took it and read another meaning into it, of we are all together now. So, I used the dual meaning. It’s really a children’s song.

Paul McCartney – Quoted in “The Beatles: Off the Record” by Keith Badman

From Wikipedia:

“All Together Now” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was recorded during the band’s Magical Mystery Tour period, but remained unreleased until it was included on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack. It was released as a single in 1972 in European countries such as France and Germany, backed by “Hey Bulldog.”

Background

McCartney described the song as a children’s sing-along with the title phrase inspired by the music hall tradition of asking the audience to join in. He also described a “subcurrent” in the song, a dual-meaning where “we are all together now.” According to music critic Tom Maginnis of AllMusic, McCartney created the song “to match the same light-hearted spirit” of “Yellow Submarine“.

Recording

The track was recorded on 12 May 1967 at EMI Studios and mixed the same day, but was not released until 13 January 1969, when it appeared on the soundtrack album. George Martin was absent from this session, leaving recording engineer Geoff Emerick in charge of the control room. The song took less than six hours to record and was recorded in nine takes, the last of which was selected for overdubs.

Personnel

Mark Lewisohn reported that the “party-style” backing vocals were provided by “whoever happened to be around”.

Appearances and performances

“All Together Now” appears in an animated sequence in the film Yellow Submarine, and is also introduced by the Beatles themselves in a final live-action scene of the film. During the latter scene, translations of “All Together Now” into various languages appear written on-screen.

Paul McCartney performed the song live for the first time by any Beatle on 4 May 2013 at the Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He subsequently played it throughout his 2013–15 Out There tour. […]

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

[a] stereo 29 Oct 1968.
UK: Apple PCS 7070 Yellow Submarine 1969.
US: Apple SW 153 Yellow Submarine 1969.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46445 2 Yellow Submarine 1987.

[a1] mono made from [a] 1968.
UK: Apple PMC 7070 Yellow Submarine 1969.

A mono mix made 12 May 1967 was used only in the original Yellow Submarine film print.

Last updated on October 16, 2021

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