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Encyclopedia > I'm Only Sleeping
"I'm Only Sleeping"
"I'm Only Sleeping" cover
Song by The Beatles
from the album Revolver
Released 5 August 1966
Recorded Abbey Road
27 April 1966
Genre Rock
Length 3:01
Label Parlophone
Writer(s) Lennon-McCartney
Producer(s) George Martin
Music sample

"I'm Only Sleeping" ( file info)
Play in browser (beta)
Album version Cover of The Beatles album Revolver. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... The Beatles U.S. chronology Back cover The back cover of the original 1966 UK LP. The main photo was edited in separate parts for the booklet of the 1988 compact disc release. ... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Parlophone is a record label which was founded in Germany prior to World War I by the Carl Lindstrom Company. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... The songwriting credit Lennon/McCartney appears on all Beatles songs that were written by John Lennon and/or Paul McCartney without the aid of the other two Beatles, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Sir George Henry Martin CBE (born 3 January 1926 in Highbury, London, England) is sometimes referred to as the fifth Beatle—a title that he owes to his work as producer of almost all of The Beatles records. ... Image File history File links Beatles_im_only_sleeping. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ...

Problems? See media help.
Revolver track listing
Side one
  1. "Taxman"
  2. "Eleanor Rigby"
  3. "I'm Only Sleeping"
  4. "Love You To"
  5. "Here, There and Everywhere"
  6. "Yellow Submarine"
  7. "She Said She Said"
Side two
  1. "Good Day Sunshine"
  2. "And Your Bird Can Sing"
  3. "For No One"
  4. "Doctor Robert"
  5. "I Want to Tell You"
  6. "Got to Get You Into My Life"
  7. "Tomorrow Never Knows"

"I'm Only Sleeping" is a song by The Beatles that appeared on their studio album Revolver (in the US on the Yesterday and Today album). Though the song-writing credit is Lennon-McCartney, it was written solely by John Lennon. It is unique because it features a dual guitar solo by George Harrison played backwards and an electronically compressed rhythm guitar track. The solo is consistent with the rest of the song because Harrison took great pains to practice the entire melody of his solo backwards, so that when reversed and mixed in, it would fit the overall dreamlike mood of the rest of the song. The Beatles U.S. chronology Back cover The back cover of the original 1966 UK LP. The main photo was edited in separate parts for the booklet of the 1988 compact disc release. ... For the profession, see Tax collector. ... Music sample Eleanor Rigby ( file info) Problems? See media help. ... Love You To is a song by the Beatles off of the album Revolver. ... Here, There and Everywhere is a song by Paul McCartney (though credited to Lennon-McCartney), recorded for The Beatles 1966 album Revolver. ... Music sample Yellow Submarine ( file info) Problems? See media help. ... She Said She Said is a song by the Beatles on the album Revolver. ... Good Day Sunshine is a song by The Beatles on the 1966 album Revolver. ... And Your Bird Can Sing is a song by the British rock and roll group The Beatles, released on their 1966 album Revolver (but on Yesterday. ... For No One is a song written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) that originally appeared on The Beatles seventh album, Revolver. ... Doctor Robert is a song by The Beatles on the album Revolver, recorded April 15, 1966 with vocals overdubbed April 16. ... I Want to Tell You is a song by the Beatles on the album Revolver. ... Got to Get You into My Life is a song by The Beatles on the album Revolver. ... Tomorrow Never Knows is the final track of The Beatles 1966 studio album Revolver, but it was the first to be recorded for the album. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... The Beatles U.S. chronology Back cover The back cover of the original 1966 UK LP. The main photo was edited in separate parts for the booklet of the 1988 compact disc release. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The songwriting credit Lennon/McCartney appears on all Beatles songs that were written by John Lennon and/or Paul McCartney. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943[1][2] – 29 November 2001[3]) was an Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, author and sitarist best known as the lead guitarist of The Beatles. ...


This hazy, disjointed mood on top of the lyrics suggest a drug-induced state rather than actual dreaming, and this is the most widely accepted interpretation of the song. However, the first draft of Lennon's lyrics for "I'm Only Sleeping", written on the back of a letter from 1966, suggest that he actually was writing about the joys of staying in bed rather than any drug euphoria. In fact, Lennon loved staying in bed or on a couch, and when he wasn't sleeping, he would sit in it and read, write, or watch television. In a March 1966 interview with Maureen Cleave, the same interview in which Lennon made his "more popular than Jesus" remark, Cleave said, "He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England." Lennon's "Bed-In" for Peace in 1969 with Yoko Ono may have been an unconscious extension of this habit. Maureen Cleave was a journalist with the London Evening News and London Evening Standard who conducted interviews with famous musicians of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan and John Lennon. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... Yoko Ono Lennon (小野 洋子 Ono Yōko (ONO Yōko), born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese-American artist and musician. ...


Interestingly, during the break before the second bridge at about 1:57 minutes into the song, a barely audible voice (probably Lennon's) can be heard saying, "Yawn, Paul." Following this, the slightly more audible sound of McCartney yawning can be heard at about 2:00 minutes into the song.

Contents

Beatles versions

The mono and stereo versions "I'm Only Sleeping" differ greatly as to the positioning and tracking of the backwards guitar:

  • U.K. stereo version: Features the backwards track during the second verse, through the entire instrumental break, and at the end of the song (immediately after the last verse).
  • U.S. stereo version: Same as U.K. stereo, except that the track fades in a second after the beginning of the instrumental break, thus the first fragment is not heard.
  • Mono version: No backwards track during the second verse, but a quick fragment is heard between "taking my time" and "lying there and staring at the ceiling" that does not appear on the stereo versions. The track is fully intact during the instrumental break. However, the first fragment from the ending is not heard as it fades in a second later.

Cover versions

  • A cover of "I'm Only Sleeping" was the first solo single by British singer Suggs, best known as the lead singer of Madness. Released in August of 1995, the song reached #7 on the UK charts.
  • The song has also been covered by Elliott Smith as part of a series of unofficial live recordings.

Suggs Suggs (born Graham McPherson on 13 January 1961 in Hastings), is a British singer, best known as a vocalist of the popular second wave ska band, Madness. ... Madness are an English pop/ska band from Camden Town, London that formed in 1976. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... The Vines are an Australian garage rock band notable for producing a raw musical hybrid of 60s rock and 90s alternative music. ... The Backstreet Boys, or BSB, are a boy band and pop group formed in 1992 by manager Lou Pearlman that grew to considerable popularity in the late 1990s, but quietly slipped away from the charts by the early part of the 2000s. ... Stereophonics are a rock band from Wales with members Kelly Jones, Richard Jones (no relation to Kelly) and Javier Weyler. ... Oasis are an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1991. ... Quorthon (Thomas Börje Forsberg) Thomas Quorthon Forsberg (February 17, 1966 – June 7, 2004) was the founder and main song writer of the pioneering Swedish heavy metal band Bathory. ... In Memory of Quarthon is as Boxset with remastered material from Bathory, Quarthons solo, and the Jennie Tebler project. ... Steven Paul Elliott Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. ...

Credits

  • John Lennon — lead vocal, rhythm guitar (acoustic)
  • Paul McCartney — bass guitar, harmony vocal
  • George Harrison — lead guitar
  • Ringo Starr — drums

References

  • Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X

External links

  • Lyrics
  • Alan W. Pollack's Notes on I'm Only Sleeping
v • d • e
The Beatles
Members John Lennon • Paul McCartney • George Harrison • Ringo Starr
Pete Best • Stuart Sutcliffe
Management Allan Williams • Brian Epstein • Allen Klein • Lee Eastman • Neil Aspinall • Mal Evans • Alistair Taylor • Apple Records
Production George Martin • Geoff Emerick • Norman Smith • Ken Scott • Phil Spector • Jeff Lynne • Abbey Road Studios
Please Please Me (1963) • With The Beatles (1963) • A Hard Day's Night (1964) • Beatles for Sale (1964) • Help! (1965) • Rubber Soul (1965) • Revolver (1966) • Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) • Magical Mystery Tour (U.S., 1967 / U.K., 1976) • The Beatles (The White Album) (1968) • Yellow Submarine (1969) • Abbey Road (1969) • Let It Be (1970)
Official post-
breakup albums
 Live at the BBC (1994) • Anthology 1–3 (1994–1996) • Let It Be... Naked (2003) • Love (2006)
Official compilations
 1962–1966 (1973) • 1967–1970 (1973) • Past Masters, Volume One (1988) • Past Masters, Volume Two (1988) • 1 (2000)
Filmography A Hard Day's Night (1964) • Help! (1965) • Magical Mystery Tour (1967) • Yellow Submarine (1968) • Let It Be (1970)
Related articles
 Line-ups • Bootlegs • Discography • Love (Cirque du Soleil) • Lennon/McCartney • Influence • Beatle boots • The Quarrymen • The Beatles' breakup • London • Beatlemania • Fifth Beatle • Paul is dead • The Beatles (TV series) • British Invasion • Apple Corps • Northern Songs • Yoko Ono • Linda McCartney • Cynthia Lennon • Billy Preston • Tony Sheridan • Chas Newby • Andy White • Jimmy Nicol • Astrid Kirchherr • Klaus Voormann

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