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- Album This song officially appears on the Abbey Road LP.
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
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Song facts
From Wikipedia:
“She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the fifth song of the album’s climactic B-side medley, immediately following “Polythene Pam“.
Origin
McCartney said the song was inspired by Apple scruffs (dedicated fans who hung around outside the Abbey Road studio, the Apple Corps offices, and the individual homes of the Beatles), who broke into McCartney’s St John’s Wood home. Diane Ashley says:
“We were bored, he was out and so we decided to pay him a visit. We found a ladder in his garden and stuck it up at the bathroom window which he’d left slightly open. I was the one who climbed up and got in.”
She then opened the front door to let the others in. The scruffs also stole a number of photographs in addition to clothes. Another Apple scruff, Margo Bird, remembers being good friends with McCartney – she would often take his dog for walks – and later got a job at Apple Corps. She says that she was asked to retrieve a photograph of his father Jim, which she did.
Recording
The rhythm track was recorded by the Beatles for this and “Polythene Pam” as one piece on 25 July 1969. After take 39, they added lead vocals, and re-recorded the drums and bass parts. On 28 July they added more vocals, guitar, percussion and piano. The song was completed two days later with additional guitar and percussion. “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” segues abruptly after “Polythene Pam”, the song on the preceding track, without pause. At the very beginning of the song, in anticipation of the change of tempo, John Lennon gives out a laugh and then shouts “Oh, look out!”
A slower, ethereal version of this song, recorded in late January 1969 during the Let It Be sessions, appears on the 1996 compilation Anthology 3.
Paul McCartney in "Many Years From Now", by Barry Miles:
After two weeks of exploring New York, Paul, Linda and Heather took a yellow cab to Kennedy Airport, bound for London. […] Paul was working on the song ‘She Came in through the Bathroom Window’ at the time, but still needed a final verse. He looked at the police identification panel mounted on the dashboard of the cab. There was a mug shot of the driver and his name; stencilled in large black letters: ‘Eugene Quits’; beneath that was written ‘New York Police Dept’.] So I got ‘So I quit the police department’, which are part of the lyrics to that. This was the great thing about the randomness of it all. If I hadn’t been in this guy’s cab, or if it had been someone else driving, the song would have been different. Also I had a guitar there so I could solidify it into something straight away.
From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:
[a] stereo 14 Aug 1969. crossfaded 14 Aug 1969.
UK: Apple PCS 7088 Abbey Road 1969.
US: Apple SO-383 Abbey Road 1969.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46446 2 Abbey Road 1987.[Polythene Pam / She Came In Through The Bathroom Window] were recorded straight through. The crossfade joins this to the preceding song, Sun King / Mean Mr Mustard.
Last updated on May 14, 2021
Lyrics
She came in through the bathroom window
Protected by a silver spoon
But now she sucks her thumb and wanders
By the banks of her own lagoon
Didn't anybody tell her?
Didn't anybody see?
Sunday's on the phone to Monday
Tuesday's on the phone to me
She said she'd always been a dancer
She worked at 15 clubs a day
And though she thought I knew the answer
Well I knew what I could not say
And so I quit the police department
And got myself a steady job
And though she tried her best to help me
She could steal but she could not rob
Officially appears on
LP • Released in 1969
1:59 • Studio version • A • Stereo
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Electric piano, Lead guitar, Piano, Vocals
- Ringo Starr :
- Cowbell, Drums, Maracas, Tambourine
- John Lennon :
- 12-string acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps, Rhythm guitar
- George Harrison :
- Backing vocals, Lead guitar
- George Martin :
- Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Recording engineer
- Phil McDonald :
- Recording engineer
- Session Recording & overdubs:
- Jul 25, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- Jul 28, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs & mixing:
- Jul 30, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Official album • Released in 1996
3:37 • Outtake • B • Stereo • Recording from the first day of the Savile Row sessions. The performance of She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is a rehearsal, Paul running the Beatles through one of his latest compositions. The song did not surface again in these Get Back sessions but, uptempo, would become a part of the Abbey Road medley, for which it was recorded in July 1969.
- Glyn Johns :
- Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jan 22, 1969
- Studio :
- Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Abbey Road (Stereo - 2009 remaster)
Official album • Released in 2009
1:59 • Studio version • A2009 • Stereo • 2009 stereo remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Electric piano, Lead guitar, Piano, Vocals
- Ringo Starr :
- Cowbell, Drums, Maracas, Tambourine
- John Lennon :
- 12-string acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps, Rhythm guitar
- George Harrison :
- Backing vocals, Lead guitar
- George Martin :
- Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Recording engineer
- Phil McDonald :
- Recording engineer
- Guy Massey :
- Remastering
- Steve Rooke :
- Remastering
- Allan Rouse :
- Project co-ordinator
- Session Recording & overdubs:
- Jul 25, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- Jul 28, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs & mixing:
- Jul 30, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Official album • Released in 2016
3:37 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Recording from the first day of the Savile Row sessions. The performance of She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is a rehearsal, Paul running the Beatles through one of his latest compositions. The song did not surface again in these Get Back sessions but, uptempo, would become a part of the Abbey Road medley, for which it was recorded in July 1969.
- Glyn Johns :
- Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jan 22, 1969
- Studio :
- Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)
Official album • Released in 2019
1:59 • Studio version • C • Stereo • 2019 Stereo Mix
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Electric piano, Lead guitar, Piano, Vocals
- Ringo Starr :
- Cowbell, Drums, Maracas, Tambourine
- John Lennon :
- 12-string acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps, Rhythm guitar
- George Harrison :
- Backing vocals, Lead guitar
- George Martin :
- Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Recording engineer
- Giles Martin :
- Producer
- Phil McDonald :
- Recording engineer
- Sam Okell :
- Mix engineer
- Session Recording & overdubs:
- Jul 25, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- Jul 28, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs & mixing:
- Jul 30, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)
Official album • Released in 2019
2:06 • Alternate take • Take 27
- Giles Martin :
- Producer
- Sam Okell :
- Mix engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 25, 1969
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Let It Be (50th anniversary boxset)
Official album • Released in 2021
2:48 • Studio version • Rehearsal
Live performances
“She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” has been played in 30 concerts.
Latest concerts where She Came In Through The Bathroom Window has been played
Jul 20, 2008 • Canada • Quebec City • Plains Of Abraham
Los Angeles • Staples Center • USA
Nov 30, 2005 • Part of The US Tour
Los Angeles • Staples Center • USA
Nov 29, 2005 • Part of The US Tour
Las Vegas • MGM Grand Garden Arena • USA
Nov 26, 2005 • Part of The US Tour
Las Vegas • MGM Grand Garden Arena • USA
Nov 25, 2005 • Part of The US Tour
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