Fixing a Hole
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| "Fixing a Hole" | ||
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band |
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| Released | June 1, 1967 | |
| Recorded | December 6, 1966 – April 21, 1967 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2:36 | |
| Label | Parlophone | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon-McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band track listing | ||
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"Fixing a Hole" is a song written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
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[edit] Recording
The first of two recording sessions for the song was at Regent Sound Studio in London on February 9, 1967. Regent was used because Abbey Road was not available that night. This was the first time the Beatles used a studio other than Abbey Road for recording a track for an EMI album.[1]
The lead vocal was recorded at the same time as the rhythm track, a change from their post-1963 approach of overdubbing the vocal.[1]
According to McCartney, on the night of the session an unusual man appeared at the gate of McCartney's home and identified himself as Jesus Christ. After a cup of tea, and after getting him to promise to be quiet and sit in a corner, McCartney brought the man to the recording session.[2] After the session the man left and was never heard from again.
In another version of the story, John Lennon arrived at the studio, found the man hanging around the front door, and it was Lennon who invited him in.[citation needed]
[edit] Inspiration
A common theory is the song was about heroin, but McCartney said the song was "another ode to pot." He further said the song was about having the freedom to let one's mind roam freely. Another theory is the song is about McCartney repairing the roof of his Scottish farmhouse, but McCartney said he didn't get around to that until much later.[2]
McCartney has added to the confusion:
- In an interview with Q magazine from around the time of his 1997 album Flaming Pie, McCartney said that the song's lyric began with the simple idea of someone mending a hole in the road, and that he was living alone and smoking a lot of pot when he wrote it.[citation needed]
- In a 1967 interview, McCartney said the following lines were about those fans who hung around outside his door day and night and whose actions put him off.[3]
See the people standing there
They worry me, and never win
And wonder why they don't get in my door
[edit] Writing credits controversy
According to Mal Evans' diaries—from which extracts have recently been released—he helped McCartney to write "Fixing a Hole". Evans wrote in his diary, on 27 January 1967:
| “ | Sgt Pepper: Started writing song with Paul upstairs in his room, he on piano. What can one say about today — ah yes! Four Tops concert at Albert Hall. Beatles get screams they get the clap. Off to Bag after gig. Did a lot more of "where the rain comes in". [Evans' title for "Fixing a Hole"] Hope people like it. Started Sergeant Pepper.[4] | ” |
He also wrote on 1 February 1967:
| “ | "Sergeant Pepper" sounds good. Paul tells me that I will get royalties on the song — great news, now perhaps a new home.[4] | ” |
He never received royalties and had to make do with £38-a-week pay. McCartney and the Apple label have not commented about the diaries, or the songwriting credits. Keith Badman, who is the author of "The Beatles Off the Record", stated that he obtained a tape of Evans talking before his death, on which Evans repeated the claims. According to Badman, Evans was asked (before the record came out) if it would be a problem that his name was not credited, as the Lennon-McCartney writing name was "a really hot item".[5]
[edit] Other versions
- In the 1978 film based on the album, the song was performed by George Burns in a soft shoe style.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books, 95, 99. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ^ a b Barry Miles (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 314-315. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ^ Beatles Ultimate Experience: The Beatles Interview Database. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
- ^ a b TIMESONLINE: March 20, 2005 - Mal Evans' diary Retrieved: 2 March 2007
- ^ timesonline.co.uk: 20 March 2005 – Evan’s writing of Beatles’ songs Retrieved: 3 March 2007
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