Sexy Sadie (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Sexy Sadie” | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Album | The Beatles | |
| Released | 22 November 1968 | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road Studios 19 July 1968 |
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| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:17 | |
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Writer | Lennon-McCartney | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| The Beatles track listing | ||
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Side one
Side two
Side three
Side four
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"Sexy Sadie" is the name of a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon in India and credited to Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Originally titled "Maharishi", the Beatles changed the title to "Sexy Sadie" to avoid the potential for litigation as the song's lyrics portray the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in a less than favourable light. Lennon became discouraged after the Maharishi had allegedly made a pass at one of the female members of their entourage, though in later years George and Paul endeavored to set the record straight.[1] Lennon once said of the song: "That was inspired by Maharishi. I wrote it when we had our bags packed and were leaving. It was the last piece I wrote before I left India. I just called him, 'Sexy Sadie,' instead of (sings) 'Maharishi what have you done, you made a fool...' I was just using the situation to write a song, rather calculatingly but also to express what I felt. I was leaving the Maharishi with a bad taste. You know, it seems that my partings are always not as nice as I'd like them to be."[2]
After returning from India John scratched the lyrics into a piece of wood, with the original title "Maharishi". The recorded version changed only after George insisted that if the song was used he wanted the name changed and persuaded John to change the title to Sexy Sadie. George recounts the event in the directors cut, from the anthology film. Derek Taylor remembered John fiddling about scratching the wood in the Apple offices. The wood ended up in the possession of Maureen Starkey and was ultimately sold to a Beatles collector.
In a 1969 interview, John Lennon stated one of his favourite songs was "I've Been Good To You" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. The Miracles song begins with the line Look what you've done / You made a fool out of someone, compared to Sexy Sadie's What have you done? / You made a fool of everyone.
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[edit] Influence
The Spanish band Sexy Sadie took their name from this song.
As described in Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter, Charles Manson took the title of this song as a reference to Manson Family member Susan Atkins, who was nicknamed Sadie Mae Glutz, prior to the release of the White Album.
Songs deemed similar to "Sexy Sadie" include Australian rock group Jet's "Look What You've Done", which has similar (occasionally identical) lyrics and style to the song. Oasis lifts a remarkably similar intro on their b-side, "Sitting Here In Silence (On My Own)." Also, Jack Johnson's song, "Cocoon" (from the On and On album), is strikingly similar to this song and parts of the piano are similar to Radiohead's song "Karma Police", and the band has apparently acknowledged the similarity. Also, "Death of a Disco Dancer" by the The Smiths.
The song inspired one of the characters' names in the 2007 Beatles-themed film Across the Universe, Sadie, played by Dana Fuchs.
[edit] Credits
- John Lennon – lead and harmony vocals; rhythm guitar and Hammond organ
- George Harrison – lead guitar and backing vocals
- Paul McCartney – piano, bass and backing vocals
- Ringo Starr – drums and tambourine
[edit] References
- ^ According to several authors, (Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles, New American Library: 2002, p.264, "By the end of the tenth[week, Alex was bent on undermining the Maharishi's influence. . . . Cynthia, for one, didn't believe a word of [the accusations]. She had long ago become acquainted with Alex's jealousy over anyone who had John's attention, and she didn't doubt that Alex would lie to destroy the Maharishi's hold."; Miles, Barry, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now (Holt: 1998), p. 429; Spitz, Bob, The Beatles: The Biography, Little, Borwn: 2005, pp. 755-757; Cynthia Lennon, A Twist of Lennon, Avon: 1978, pp. 174-176) Alexis Mardas deliberately engineered these rumors because he was bent on undermining the Maharishi's influence on the Beatles. George Harrison's statement, "Now, historically, there's the story that something went on that shouldn't have done—but nothing did,"The Beatles Anthology, Chronicle Books, 2000, pp. 285-86 is supported by comments made by Sir Paul McCartney in his approved biography.Miles, Barry, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now (Holt: 1998), p. 429, "it was Magic Alex who made the original accusation and I think it was completely untrue."
- ^ Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Macmillan, 191. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
