by fl » Thu Jun 02, 2005 8:19 am
The Beatles -- Norwegian Wood
Lennon/McCartney
I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.
She showed me her room, isn't it good, Norwegian wood?
She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair.
I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine.
We talked until two and then she said, "It's time for bed".
She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh.
I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath.
And when I awoke I was alone, this bird had flown.
So I lit a fire, isn't it good, Norwegian wood.
Lead Singer: John
Recording: 10/12/65, 10/21/65
Mixing: 10/25/65, 10/26/65
Length: 2:02
Take: 4
Anomalies
0:38
Early American Mono releases of Rubber Soul - Cough just before "So I looked around ... "
This was the first Pop song to use a Sitar - George Harrison played it. Harrison was new to the Sitar and took many takes to get it right. He bought the instrument, which he described as "crummy," and taught himself to play. A few months later, he studied the Sitar with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, who helped Harrison explore Eastern music and religion.
John Lennon admitted this is about an affair he was having while married to his first wife, Cynthia.
Norwegian Wood is a fake wood that was used to make cheap furniture.
There are not many lyrics in this, but they tell the story of a man who gets invited to a girl's house, but when she won't let him into her bed, he sleeps in the tub. When she leaves the next morning, he sets the place on fire.
The Beatles recorded this on October 12, 1965, the first day of the Rubber Soul sessions. The first take of the song, which is included on the Anthology 2 CD and includes George's sitar much more prominently, was originally going to be put on Rubber Soul until a remake was made a week or two later. The notes in the Anthology 2 album verify this. (thanks, Adrian - Wilmington, DE)
Ringo played the finger cymbals.
Bob Dylan wrote a parody of this called "4th Time Around."
This was one of the first songs Lennon wrote that told a complete story.