Two of Us
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| "Two of Us" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| from the album Let It Be | ||
| Released | May 8, 1970 | |
| Recorded | January 31, 1969 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:33 | |
| Label | Apple, EMI | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Let It Be track listing | ||
| "Two of Us" (1) |
"Dig a Pony" (2) |
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"Two of Us" is the title of a 1969 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, although John Lennon claimed to have written it in his 1980 Playboy interview,[1] Lennon and McCartney sang the song.
"Two of Us" was originally released on Let It Be and was later released on Anthology 3 and Let It Be… Naked.
"Two of Us" originally began as a rocker with a strong "Peggy Sue" drum beat. It was written for Linda Eastman, McCartney's soon to be wife, though it sounds at times as if it is addressing Lennon, whose relationship with McCartney was tense at that time. In the Let It Be film, McCartney and Lennon sing the song "rocker" style into the same mike. The song lost its rock leanings as Paul worked out the composition over January 1969, and it became a more introspective song. The Beatles performed a finished version of the song live at Apple Studios on 31 January 1969; this performance was included in both the Let it Be film and album.
Acoustic guitars are the primary instruments in the song, though it also features an electric guitar line. Ringo Starr added a lighter drum beat, with a bass drum shot on each beat and snare linking the verses to the bridge.
At the beginning of the recording Lennon shouts, "'I Dig a Pygmy', by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids... Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats!" The shout was mixed in by Phil Spector for the Let It Be album and also appeared in the Let It Be film, both released in 1970. "The deaf aids" was the nickname given to The Beatles' Vox amplifiers.[citation needed]
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[edit] Writing credit
In his 1980 interview with Playboy, Lennon claimed he wrote the song,[1] but he may have been distracted at the time by a previous question about "Don't Let Me Down."
- Playboy: "Don't Let Me Down"?
- Lennon: That's me, singing about Yoko.
- Playboy: "Two of Us"?
- Lennon: Mine. By the way, Rod Stewart turned "Don't Let Me Down" into [sings] 'Maggie don't go-o-o.' That's one the publishers never noticed...[1]
[edit] Credits
- John Lennon — lead vocal, acoustic guitar
- Paul McCartney — lead vocal, bass, acoustic guitar
- George Harrison — lead guitar
- Ringo Starr — drums
[edit] Covers and cultural references
Aimee Mann and Michael Penn covered "Two of Us" as part of the soundtrack for the 2001 film, I Am Sam.
Two of Us is also the title of the 2001 film about the 1976 reunion of Lennon and McCartney (portrayed by Aidan Quinn and Jared Harris) directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press, 204. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
