Recording "We Love You" and "Dandelion"

About

On this day, Paul McCartney and John Lennon attended a Rolling Stones session. They contributed backing vocals and handclaps to the song “We Love You.” Also present at the session was American poet and writer Allen Ginsberg. Barry Miles introduced Ginsberg to Paul McCartney on July 15 at Cavendish Avenue. During the visit, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull were also present. Jagger then invited Ginsberg to attend this Rolling Stones’ session.

The song “We Love You” was written as a token of appreciation for the fans who stood by the Stones after their drug busts. It was also an ironic commentary on the authorities. On June 29, 1967, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were sentenced to prison for drug possession. Jagger was sentenced to three months, while Richards was sentenced to 12 months. Jagger was taken to Brixton Prison and handcuffed, but he only spent one night there. During that night, he purportedly wrote lyrics for the songs “We Love You” and “2000 Light Years From Home“. On the morning of June 30, he was released on £7000 bail while awaiting an appeal. A month later, on July 31, the Appeals Court quashed his sentence.

We’d be hanging out with the Stones, working on their sessions; it was a very friendly scene. There must have been a bit of competition because that’s only natural, but it was always friendly. We used to say, ‘Have you got one coming out?’ and if they had we’d say, ‘Well, hold it for a couple of weeks, because we’ve got one.’ It made sense, really, to avoid each other’s releases. John and I sang on the Stones’ song ‘We Love You’ – Mick had been stuck for an idea and he asked us to come along. So we went down to Olympic Studios and made it up.

Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles Anthology” book, 2000

On 19 July, Keith arrived at London Airport from Paris at 4:30 pm and was driven to Redlands and on to Olympic. We all met at the studio early in the evening. John Lennon and Paul McCartney did backing vocals on “We Love You.”

Bill Wyman – From “Rolling With The Stones“, 2003

During this session, the Rolling Stones also completed a track named “Dandelion.” Over the years, there have been debates about whether Paul McCartney and John Lennon contributed backing vocals to it. According to Allen Ginsberg’s recollection, they did. Keith Richards also confirmed this in a November 2023 interview.

Anyway that was later: went to England from Spoleto and stayed in style with Panna Grady and ran around a lot, finished proofs small book now published Cape-Goliard, yakked on TV and sang Hari Krishna in Hyde Park pot picnic, spent evening with Paul McCartney (He says “We are all one” i.e. all the same mystic-real being), spent a lot of evenings with Mick Jagger singing mantras and talking economics and law-politics during his court crisis — found him very delicate and friendly, reading Poe and Alistair Crowley — on thick carpets with incense and wearing ruffled lace at home — later spent nite in recording studio with Jagger, Lennon and McCartney composing and fixing voices on pretty song “Dandelion Fly Away” everybody exhilarated with hashish — all of them drest in paisley and velvet and earnestly absorbed in heightening the harmonic sounds inch by inch on tape, turning to piano to figure out sweeter variations and returning to microphone to try it out — lovely scene thru control booth window, I got so happy I began conducting like a madman thru the plate glass.

Allen Ginsberg – From “The letters of Allen Ginsberg“, 2008

Evening with Paul McCartney, and several evenings with Mick Jagger of the Stones — we plan to make a side of Hari Krishna together for next Stones album — what beautiful Karma! Spent one nite watching Jagger, Lennon and McCartney composing “Dandelion Fly” hairy new record at studio. Looked like 3 graces w/ beads and Persian shirts. They’re all turned on and dig the Diggers and new Fresh Planet. McCartney – “We re all one.” They got out of their fame paranoia this year — treated me like familiar holy phantom and all turned on yaketing about high soul – chanted prajnaparamita to all, and all understood already — beautiful blue skies in London.

Allen Ginsberg – From “The letters of Allen Ginsberg“, 2008

5.30 AM—all night in glass wall Electric studio watching from coffee-cup’d consol’d Sound Room at three Graces, Mick Jagger Paul McCartney & John Lennon sat on high stools before two microphones in their Botticelli finery, rings on delicate hands clapped to violet breast for high ecstatic swooning notes, crimson satin pants & voices trembling toward the angelic at the Shabda Universe Sound machinery darkness of London’s outskirts—repeated over and over into microphone by Jagger through thin body thick lips, his genitals bulged at tight trousered youth—eyes of Clara Bow on man McCartney, round pupils tuned up listening to asa funky sweet note fade—gold round glasses sitting on Lennon’s grandfatherly nose, as je pursed his lips forward, leaning to sing—Dandelion Disappear—the flower moment of the rue, richness as amethyst & Pearl, Diamond noise for the mind., majesty of the most delightful labor of the Universe, chanting music the world, angels of the summit of mea—I stared and made mudras of Raksha prayer, Tibetan oracle-ringed & hung with fearful Rudraksha beads, adoring them or ringing Shiva Self. And they hailed hare krishna when they trooped back to the sound room to hear the finished tape crashing thru channels of black loudspeakers to high-noted harmonic sound hush.

Allen Ginsberg – From “The Fall of America Journals 1965-1971”

Paul and John are on a track called “We Love You” in the middle ’60s. And another track, “Dandelion,” that John and Paul came by to sing, you know. Because they liked the Stones too, you know.

Keith Richards – Interview with Jimmy Fallon, October 21, 2023

Last updated on March 9, 2024

Songs recorded

Staff

Musicians on "We Love You"

Paul McCartney:

Handclaps, Backing vocals

John Lennon:

Handclaps, Backing vocals

Musicians on "Dandelion"

Paul McCartney:

Backing vocals

John Lennon:

Backing vocals

Production staff

Eddie Kramer:

Assistant engineer

Glyn Johns:

Sound engineer

Andrew Loog Oldham:

Producer

Visitors

Allen Ginsberg