- Album This song officially appears on the The Beatles (Mono) Official album.
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
Late May 1968
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Song facts
From Wikipedia:
“Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” is a song by the English rock group the Beatles from their 1968 album The Beatles (also known as “the White Album”). The song was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Its title is the longest of any song released by the group.
Background
“Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” was written about Lennon’s future wife, Yoko Ono. Lennon said of the song:
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.
Many listeners, including Paul McCartney, believed that the song was about heroin, as the term “monkey” is often associated with the drug. Although Lennon and Ono used the drug, McCartney, as well as Harrison and Starr, did not, with McCartney later saying, “It was a harder terminology, which the rest of us weren’t into.”
Recording
Lennon’s working title for the composition was “Come on, Come on“. An unreleased demo of the song, recorded in George Harrison’s Esher home in May 1968, features all-acoustic instrumentation, and a vocal sung in a more Bob Dylan-like spoken word style than the released version.
The released version of the song was recorded at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios on 27 June 1968, and an overdub session on 1 July. Final stereo mixing was completed on 12 October.
Paul McCartney in "Many Years From Now", by Barry Miles:
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.
From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:
- [a] stereo 12 Oct 1968.
UK: Apple PCS 7068 white album 1968.
US: Apple SWBO 101 white album 1968.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46443 2 white album 1987.- [b] mono 12 Oct 1968.
UK: Apple PMC 7068 white album 1968.The screaming after “come on” in the last verse is different in [a] and [b].
Last updated on August 20, 2016
Lyrics
Come on, come on
Come on, come on
Come on, it's such a joy
Come on, it's such a joy
Come on, let's take it easy
Come on, let's take it easy
Take it easy
Take it easy
Everybody's got something to hide
Except for me and my monkey
The deeper you go the higher you fly
The higher you fly the deeper you go
So come on, come on
Come on, it's such a joy
Come on, it's such a joy
Come on, let's make it easy
Come on, let's take it easy
Take it easy
Take it easy
Everybody's got something to hide
Except for me and my monkey
Your inside is out when your outside is in
Your outside is in when your inside is out
So come on, come on
Come on, it's such a joy
Come on, it's such a joy
Come on, let's make it easy
Come on, let's make it easy
Make it easy
Take it easy
Everybody's got something to hide
Except for me and my monkey
Come on, come on, come on
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 1968
2:25 • Studio version • B • Mono
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Handclaps, Percussion
- Ringo Starr :
- Drums, Handclaps, Percussion
- John Lennon :
- Guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals
- George Harrison :
- Backing vocals, Handclaps, Lead guitar, Percussion
- George Martin :
- Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Recording engineer
- Ken Scott :
- Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jun 27, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- Jul 01, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 12, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Official album • Released in 1968
2:25 • Studio version • A • Stereo
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Handclaps, Percussion
- Ringo Starr :
- Drums, Handclaps, Percussion
- John Lennon :
- Guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals
- George Harrison :
- Backing vocals, Handclaps, Lead guitar, Percussion
- George Martin :
- Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Recording engineer
- Ken Scott :
- Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jun 27, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- Jul 01, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 12, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Official album • Released in 2018
2:25 • Studio version • R2018 • Stereo
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Handclaps, Percussion
- Ringo Starr :
- Drums, Handclaps, Percussion
- John Lennon :
- Guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals
- George Harrison :
- Backing vocals, Handclaps, Lead guitar, Percussion
- George Martin :
- Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Recording engineer
- Ken Scott :
- Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jun 27, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- Jul 01, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 12, 1968
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Official album • Released in 2018
Demo
- Session Recording:
- Late May 1968
- Studio :
- George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
Bootlegs
Unofficial album
2:32 • Studio version • Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey RM5 from take 12 acetate mono
Unofficial album
0:27 • Studio version • Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey RS From takes 6 & 12 Stereo
Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 4 (1968)
Unofficial album • Released in 1989
2:29 • Alternate take • Everybody\'s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (tk 12, undocumented RM)
Live performances
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
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