"Tomorrow Never Knows"
Song by The Beatles
from the album Revolver
Released	August 5, 1966
Recorded	April 6–June 21, 1966
Genre	Psychedelic Rock
Length	2 min 57 s
Label	Parlophone
Writer(s)	Lennon-McCartney
Producer(s)	George Martin
Revolver track listing
Side one "Taxman" "Eleanor Rigby" "I'm Only Sleeping" "Love You To" "Here, There, and Everywhere" "Yellow Submarine" "She Said She Said" Side two "Good Day Sunshine" "And Your Bird Can Sing" "For No One" "Doctor Robert" "I Want to Tell You" "Got to Get You Into My Life" "Tomorrow Never Knows"

"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. Though the songwriting credit is Lennon-McCartney, the song was written primarily by John Lennon. "Tomorrow Never Knows" ends the Revolver album in a daring experimental fashion, no doubt contributing to Revolver's ongoing reputation as one of the group's most influential and expressive albums, in addition to consistently being regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 20th century. (An alternate take appears on the second of the series of Beatles out-take albums, Anthology 2.) Cover of The Beatles album Revolver. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (commonly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). ... The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... For the album by The Haunted, see rEVOLVEr. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour and to 60 seconds. ... This article is about the unit of time. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 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. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For the album by The Haunted, see rEVOLVEr. ... For the profession, see Tax collector. ... Eleanor Rigby is a song by The Beatles, originally released on the 1966 album Revolver. ... Im Only Sleeping is a song by The Beatles that appeared on their studio album Revolver. ... Love You To is a song by the Beatles off of the album Revolver. ... Here, There and Everywhere is a song attributed to John Lennon and Paul McCartney (though largely the work of McCartney), recorded for The Beatles album Revolver (1966). ... |- |- |- ! style=background: #E6E8FA; text-align: center colspan=3 | Yellow Submarine track listing |- style=text-align: center; font-size: 0. ... 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 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. ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... 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. ... The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... For the album by The Haunted, see rEVOLVEr. ... 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. ... The Beatles Anthology 2 is an album released in March 1996, and includes rarites and alternatives tracks from the sessions for Help! through the sessions for Magical Mystery Tour and singles they were planning to release before their trip to India in 1968. ...

Inspiration

John Lennon wrote the song in January 1966, closely adapted from the book The Psychedelic Experience by Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, and Ralph Metzner, which they based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead with the understanding that the "Ego Death" experienced under the influence of LSD and other psychedelic drugs is essentially similar to the dying process and requires similar guidance. At the time of the song's release, it was reputed to have been written to facilitate the "letting go" process of psychedelic voyagers. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... For the American baseball player use Tim Leary (baseball player) Timothy Francis Leary, Ph. ... Ram Dass at the Hanuman Temple in Taos, New Mexico, September 2004 Dr. Richard Alpert (born 1933), later known as Baba Ram Dass, was a professor of psychology at Harvard University who became well known for his controversial research program which studied the effects of LSD. Alpert worked closely with... Dr. Ralph Metzner Ph. ... The Bardo Thodol, sometimes called the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is a funerary text that describes the experiences of the soul after death during the interval known as bardo between death and rebirth. ... Ego death is an experience sometimes undergone by psychonauts. ...

Title

The title never actually appears in the song's lyrics, but was instead taken from Ringo Starr's interesting collection of malapropisms. Lennon chose to do this because he was embarrassed about the spiritual theme of the lyrics in the song, so he decided to give the song a throwaway title. The piece was originally titled "Mark I". Although "The Void" is cited as another working title, according to Lewisohn, this is a fan created myth. Richard Starkey, MBE (born 7 July 1940 in Liverpool, England), known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English popular musician, singer and actor, best known as the drummer of The Beatles. ... This article or section seems to contain too many quotations for an encyclopedia entry. ... Mark Lewisohn (born 1958) is one of the worlds foremost experts on The Beatles. ...

Recording

The track is regarded as one of the first pieces of psychedelia, including highly compressed drums, reverse guitar, processed vocals and looped tape effects. Lennon told producer George Martin that he wished to sound as if he were the Dalai Lama singing from a mountain top. Engineer Geoff Emerick wired Lennon's voice through a Leslie speaker, thus obtaining the desired effect. (Lennon's earlier idea, to have a thousand Tibetan monks come to Abbey Road and chant on the record, was passed on as unfeasible.) Psychedelia is a term describing a category of music, visual art, fashion, and culture that is associated originally with the high 1960s, hippies, and the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, California. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933). ... Engineer Geoff Emerick. ... The Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/loudspeaker used to create special audio effects. ...

Experimentation

The song is the first by The Beatles to feature experimentation (in this case brought on by Paul McCartney) with tape loops. Many of the more prominent loops sound somewhat like laughing seagulls (Paul McCartney's laughter played backwards and sped up) and the Indian sitar. The backwards guitar solo is often reported as being the guitar solo from the song "Taxman;" however it is revealed to trained ears listening to the song backwards that this is not so (as well as the fact that "Taxman" was recorded weeks after "Tomorrow Never Knows"). Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. ... Premla Shahane playing a sitar, 1927 The sitar (Urdu: ستار, Hindi: सितार) is probably the best-known South Asian instrument in the West. ... For the profession, see Tax collector. ...

The Beatles further experimented with tape loops in "Carnival Of Light", an as-yet-unreleased (even by bootleggers) McCartney piece recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, and "Revolution 9", a John Lennon experimentation released on The White Album. The song's harmonic structure is derived from Indian music, and is based upon a C drone. The "chord" over the drone is generally C major, with some changes to B flat major. Carnival of Light was an unreleased experimental piece by The Beatles. ... Sgt. ... Revolution 9 is an experimental recording which appeared on The Beatles 1968 self-titled LP release (known as the White Album). ... The self-titled double album The Beatles, released by the Beatles in 1968 at the height of their popularity, is often hailed as one of the major accomplishments in popular music. ... Drone can refer to many things: // In eusocial insects, a male bee, ant or wasp. ...

Remix

• On the Beatles remix album Love, the rhythm to "Tomorrow Never Knows" was mashed up with the vocals and melody from Within You Without You, creating a seamless harmonic musical atmosphere between the two songs. This, like all of the sounds on the album, were created and imagined by Beatles producer Sir George Martin with his son Giles.

A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. ... Love is a soundtrack compilation album by The Beatles released in November 2006. ... Within You Without You was a song written by George Harrison and recorded with a group of Indian musicians, without any input from his fellow Beatles. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Cover versions

Cover versions of the song include those by Jimi Hendrix, 801, Danielle Dax, The Chameleons on Strange Times, Monsoon and by Phil Collins on his 1981 album Face Value; where a brief clip of Phil singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" at the end is quietly heard. Our Lady Peace also covered the song on The Craft soundtrack. Gov't Mule perform the song live, quite frequently, as a medley with She Said She Said. The song is also featured on Coldplay's Twisted Logic Tour when it plays as one of the introduction songs. Additionally, Ratdog (Bob Weir) has added the song to its repertoire, and it is featured often as a show-opener. Night Ranger covered the song as part of a medley of it and Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do" on their 1995 album Feeding Off The Mojo. David Lee Roth recorded it on his 2003 Diamond Dave album under the title "That Beatles Tune." Living Colour covered it on their Collidescope album in 2003. Michael Hedges recorded an acoustic version of the song for his 1996 album [i]Oracle[/i]. Noel Gallagher from Oasis also paired with the band Cornershop, to preform a live version of the song at a Cornershop Concert. Junior Parker's cover appears in the film Children of Men. This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... 801 was a UK progressive rock band that was originally formed in 1976 for three live concerts by Phil Manzanera (guitars) The original 801 Live album cover Brian Eno (keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, and vocals) Bill MacCormick (bass and vocals) Francis Monkman (Fender Rhodes piano and clavinet) Simon Phillips (drums and... Danielle Dax was a goth/punk/experimental musician and producer from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. ... The Chameleons in 1984: Mark Burgess, Reg Smithies, John Lever, Dave Fielding The Chameleons (called The Chameleons UK on American releases) were a post-punk band that formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 1981. ... The Chameleons third studio album. ... Sheila Chandra (b. ... Philip David Charles Collins (born January 30, 1951 in Chiswick, London) is an English rock and pop musician. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Face Value is the title of Phil Collins debut solo album, released in February of 1981. ... Over the Rainbow, music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg, is one of the most famous songs of the late 1930s. ... Our Lady Peace, colloquially OLP, is a Canadian alternative rock band consisting of Raine Maida (vocals), Duncan Coutts (bass), Jeremy Taggart (drums), and Steve Mazur (guitar). ... The Craft is a 1996 movie directed by Andrew Fleming about a girl who moves to Los Angeles, California from San Francisco, California and meets three friends who teach her about the world of (fictional) witchcraft. ... Govt Mule is a southern rock/jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project, but has taken on a life of its own. ... She Said She Said is a song by the Beatles on the album Revolver. ... Coldplay are an English rock band from London. ... Twisted Logic redirects here. ... Ratdog, also known as Bob Weir and Ratdog, is an American rock band. ... Robert Hall Weir (October 16, 1947–) is an American guitar player, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. ... David Lee Roth, also known as Diamond Dave, (born October 10, 1954 in Bloomington, Indiana,) is a Jewish, American rock vocalist. ... Living Colour is a hard rock group formed in New York city in 1984 by black musicians. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Junior Parkers style influenced early rockabilly artists, such as Elvis Presley. ... Children of Men is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 dystopian thriller film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, loosely adapted from P.D. Jamess 1992 novel The Children of Men. ...

Extracts and references in other musical works

• The song's characteristic drum pattern was adapted by The Chemical Brothers for their songs "Setting Sun" and "Let Forever Be" as well as playing an integral part in their current stage show, looping the lyric "Surrender to the void" as their introduction.

• The Oasis song "Morning Glory" features the lyric "Yeah, I've been walking to the sound of my favourite tune: Tomorrow Never Knows what it doesn't know too soon".

• The influence of this song is difficult to miss on Beck's song "The New Pollution" from his album titled Odelay. Just like in "Tomorrow Never Knows", Beck's song is constructed of one repeating chord and a strikingly similar drum pattern. On top of the beat is a bass line which sounds as if it were lifted directly from Taxman the opening track of Revolver.

• The Bangles's song "Everything I Wanted" which appeared on their Greatest Hits album, and was released as a single in Australia and parts of Europe (though not the UK), uses most of the "Tomorrow Never Knows" melody for its verses.

• Public Enemy recorded a track entitled "Psycho of Greed" for their album Revolverlution that contained a continuous looping sample from this track. However, the clearance fee demanded by Capitol Records and the surviving Beatles was so high that the group decided to pull the track from the album.

[1] The Chemical Brothers are an electronic music duo from England, comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (occasionally referred to as Chemical Ed and Chemical Tom). ... Oasis are an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1991. ... Morning Glory is a song on the album (Whats the Story) Morning Glory by Oasis. ... Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, known by his simple stage name of Beck. ... Odelay is a 1996 album by alternative rock artist Beck. ... For the profession, see Tax collector. ... For the album by The Haunted, see rEVOLVEr. ... The Bangles were one of the new generation of independent all-women bands that followed The Go-Gos in the early 1980s. ... This article is about the music group. ... Revolverlution is a rap album by Public Enemy. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the...

• The Dave Matthews Band sometimes alludes to the song during the introduction to their own songs titled "Minarets" and "Bartender" including but not limited to the opening lyric "Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream."

• Australian rock band 'Silverchair' have a biography-type book entitled 'Tomorrow Never Knows'

Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initialism DMB) is an American rock band, originally formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991 by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave Matthews; saxophonist LeRoi Moore; bassist Stefan Lessard; fiddle player Boyd Tinsley; drummer Carter Beauford, and keyboardist Peter Griesar (who left the band in...

External links

• Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Tomorrow Never Knows"
• "Tomorrow Never Knows" at All Music Guide