Getting Better
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Getting Better" | ||
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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 and Roll | |
| Length | 2:47 | |
| Label | Parlophone, Capitol, EMI | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon-McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band track listing | ||
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"Getting Better" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an original idea by McCartney.[1] It was recorded by The Beatles for the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song's music suggests optimism yet the lyric, strongly influenced by Lennon, alludes to more sinister themes. In this sense, it exaggerates the contrasting personas of the two most active songwriters in the group. In response to McCartney's line, "It's getting better all the time," Lennon replies, "It can't get no worse!"[2] Lennon also claimed the lyric that begins, "I used to be cruel to my woman..."[3]
According to Hunter Davies, the initial idea for the song's title came from a phrase often spoken by Jimmy Nicol, the group's stand-in drummer for the Australian leg of a 1964 tour.[1]
The song, musically reminiscent of the hit single "Penny Lane",[4] moves forward by way of regular chords, produced by Lennon's guitar and George Martin, who struck the strings of a pianette with a mallet. These heavily accented and repetitive lines cause the song to sound as if it is based on a drone. Lead guitarist George Harrison adds an Indian tambura part to the final verse, which further accentuates this impact.
The song was performed live for the first time by McCartney during his 2002 and 2003 US and World Tours.
[edit] Cover versions
- In 1976, Status Quo covered the song for the transitory musical documentary All This and World War II.
- In the late 1990s, the song was recorded as a cover for the Australian television show Better Homes and Gardens.
- In 2000, it was covered by Gomez on their album Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline, this version was used as a theme song for the Philips' television ad campaigns in 2001.
- In 2003, the song was again covered by the band Smash Mouth for the film adaptation of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Barry Miles, Many Years From Now, p. 312-313
- ^ Barry Miles, Many Years From Now, p. 314
- ^ David Sheff, All We Are Saying, p. 182
- ^ Ian MacDonald, Revolution in the Head, p. 192
