Dear Prudence

"Dear Prudence" is a song written by John Lennon,^[1] and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released by The Beatles as the second track on their 1968 double-disc album entitled The Beatles, commonly known as The White Album.

Composition

The subject of the song is actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence Farrow who was present when The Beatles went to India to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.^[1]

Farrow became so serious about her meditation that she "turned into a near recluse" and "rarely came out" of the cottage she was living in. John Lennon was asked to "contact her and make sure she came out more often to socialize". As a result, Lennon wrote the song Dear Prudence. In the song Lennon asks Farrow to "open up your eyes" and "see the sunny skies" reminding her that she is "part of everything". The song was said to be "a simple plea to a friend to 'snap out of it'".^[2] Lennon said later that "She'd been locked in for three weeks and was trying to reach God quicker than anyone else".^[3] According to Farrow: "I would always rush straight back to my room after lectures and meals so I could meditate. John, George and Paul would all want to sit around jamming and having a good time and I'd be flying into my room. They were all serious about what they were doing, but they just weren't as fanatical as me".^[4]

Lennon did play the song for Farrow while they were in India together. According to Farrow, "I was flattered. It was a beautiful thing to have done".^[2] The lyrics of the song are simple and innocent and praise the beauty of nature in the lines: "The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you".^[5]

Recording

The song was recorded at Trident Studios in London on 28, 29 and 30 August 1968.^[6] The Beatles utilised state of the art eight-track recording equipment on the song. The basic track was finger picking guitar performed by John Lennon as well as George Harrison on the lead guitar, plus Paul McCartney playing the drums in place of Ringo Starr, who had temporarily left the band. The next day, McCartney performed and recorded the bass track and Lennon recorded additional layers to his vocals. Handclapping, tambourine and cowbell were then added by McCartney and Harrison. On the last day of the recording session, piano and flügelhorn tracks were recorded by McCartney.^[2][5]

The complete list of recording session personnel included:^[7][2][5]

• John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, backing vocal, guitar
• Paul McCartney – backing vocal, drums,^[8] bass guitar, piano, flügelhorn, tambourine, cowbell, handclaps
• George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
• Mal Evans – backing vocal, handclaps
• Jackie Lomax – backing vocal, handclaps
• John McCartney (Paul's cousin) – backing vocal, handclaps^[2]

On The Beatles album, the song was sequenced as the second track on side one, its introduction cross-faded with the sounds of a jet aircraft landing which conclude the opening track, Back in the U.S.S.R.^[5]

The song was first played on the radio in November and December of that year.^[5]

In The Beatles: Rock Band, Starr appeared in this animated song clip.

Other

Lennon is said to have selected it as one of his favourite songs by The Beatles.^[5] In 1987, Lennon's original handwritten lyrics of the song, containing 14 lines and some "doodles" in the margin, sold at auction for $19,500.^[9] The song is playable in The Beatles: Rock Band.

The song is one of seventeen songs recorded by The Beatles that mentions the words "sun" or "sunshine" and according to Julian Lennon, it is one of his favourite songs written by his father.^[2][5]

The descending chromatic bass-line in the song is similar to that of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.^[10]

Cover versions

When British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees released their version of the song in 1983, it became one of their biggest hits, peaking at number three in the UK singles chart.^[5]

Jerry Garcia, a member of the Grateful Dead was a fan of the song and is said to have called it "one of his all-time personal favorites". The Jerry Garcia Band covered the song in extended, improvised versions at concerts between 1979 and Garcia’s death in 1995. The song was recorded for the 1991 album, Jerry Garcia Band.^[5]

The song was used in commercial advertising by the US wireless phone company, Cellular South, in a TV commercial during 2008.^[5]

In 2011, the song was parodied by The Fringemunks to recap Fringe episode 4.02, "One Night in October."^[11]

The song has also been recorded by the following artists:^[5]

See also

• Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1. 
• MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3. 
• Rimer, Sara (28 June 1987). "The Beatles And Youth At Auction". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1D91F30F93BA15755C0A961948260. Retrieved 10 November 2009. 
• Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4. 

References