What You're Doing
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| “What You're Doing” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Album | Beatles for Sale | |
| Released | December 4, 1964 | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road September 29, September 30, and October 26, 1964 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2:30 | |
| Label | EMI, Parlophone, Capitol | |
| Writer | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| Beatles for Sale track listing | ||
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"What You're Doing" is a song credited to Lennon/McCartney by Paul McCartney, one of eight originals of fourteen songs on the 1964 album Beatles for Sale (see 1964 in music) by the group; it also appeared on the 1965 American release Beatles VI (see 1965 in music). It was recorded on September 29, September 30, and October 26, 1964.
Contents |
[edit] Music
The song begins, uncommonly for the band, with a drum intro. It is followed by a guitar sequence used throughout the song as an ostinato figure after each verse (providing the song with a sense of unity). The atmosphere of the song is heavily syncopated, lending it a loose, jazzy feel. The influence of Buddy Holly can be felt in the song as well.
The song lacks a chorus, so the verses become the melodic focus of the song. In the first half of the verse, the ostinato figure continues to play and the first word of each line is punctuated by exclamatory background vocals. The second half of each verse is harmonized with "oohs," and the ostinato figure begins before the last line finishes. The overlapping of the ostinato figure contributes to the slightly disordered feel of the song. Each verse ends with a repetition of the title phrase:
- Look, what you're doing
- I'm feeling blue and lonely
- Would it be too much to ask of you
- What you're doing to me
The overall effect is tense—a tightly arranged song performed very loosely—suiting the lyrical matter of confronting a lover over a crumbling relationship.
There is also a bridge that occurs twice to provide a reprieve from the more anxious verses and an instrumental breakdown with a double-tracked guitar solo and a tumbling piano keeping rhythm underneath.
[edit] Lyrics
The lyrics are generally believed to concern Paul McCartney's relationship with Jane Asher. Between McCartney and Lennon, Paul had typically been the more optimistic of the two when it came to songwriting. However, with this song he's expressing feelings of loneliness and doubt in his relationship, a theme he would be forced to develop more over time as his relationship soured, with songs like I'm Looking Through You and You Won't See Me from Rubber Soul, and For No One from Revolver.
Throughout the song, Paul adds an interesting touch to the rhyme scheme by combining a single, two-syllable word with two one-syllable words (i.e. "Look what you're doing, I'm feeling blue and lonely...You got me runnin', and there's no fun in it..."), a technique he also used on She's A Woman which was also recorded during the Beatles For Sale sessions.
[edit] Personnel
- John Lennon — acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
- Paul McCartney — bass, double-tracked lead vocal
- George Harrison — 12-string lead guitar, harmony vocal
- Ringo Starr — drums
- George Martin – piano
[edit] Other versions
This song is sampled as part of a medley of "Drive My Car" / "The Word" / "What You're Doing" on the remix album Love (released in November 2006; see 2006 in music). "What You're Doing" shares a number of characteristics with (the also predominantly McCartney-written) "Drive My Car", particularly the home key (D major), meter (4/4), and chord progression (alternating between B minor and G major).
[edit] References
- Pollack, Alan W. "Notes On 'What You're Doing'". Retrieved December 15, 2006.
- MacDonald, Ian (1995). Revolution In the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties. Vintage. ISBN 0-7126-6697-4.
