| "She Said She Said" | ||||
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| Song by The Beatles from the album Revolver | ||||
| Released | 5 August 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 21 June 1966, EMI Studios, London |
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| Genre | Acid rock, psychedelic rock,[1] hard rock[2] | |||
| Length | 2:37 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Writer | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| Revolver track listing | ||||
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"She Said She Said" is a song written by John Lennon[3][4] (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released by The Beatles on their 1966 album Revolver. Lennon described it as "an 'acidy' song" with lyrics inspired by actor Peter Fonda's comments during an LSD trip in 1965 with members of The Beatles and The Byrds.[5]
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In late August 1965 Brian Epstein had rented a house at 2850 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, California for The Beatles' six-day respite from their U.S. tour.[6][7] The huge Spanish-style house was tucked into the side of a mountain. Soon their address became widely known and the area was besieged by fans who blocked roads and tried to scale the steep canyon while others rented helicopters to spy from overhead. The police department detailed a tactical squad of officers to protect the band and the house. The Beatles found it impossible to leave and instead invited guests including actors Eleanor Bron (who co-starred with them in Help!), Peggy Lipton and folksinger Joan Baez.[8] On 24 August[6] The Beatles hosted the Byrds and Fonda and, except Paul McCartney, took LSD.[8]
Fonda wrote for Rolling Stone magazine:
| “ | I finally made my way past the kids and the guards. Paul and George were on the back patio, and the helicopters were patrolling overhead. They were sitting at a table under an umbrella in a rather comical attempt at privacy. Soon afterwards we dropped acid and began tripping for what would prove to be all night and most of the next day; all of us, including the original Byrds, eventually ended up inside a huge, empty, sunken tub in the bathroom, babbling our minds away.
I had the privilege of listening to the four of them sing, play around and scheme about what they would compose and achieve. They were so enthusiastic, so full of fun. John was the wittiest and most astute. I enjoyed just hearing him speak and there were no pretensions in his manner. He just sat around, laying out lines of poetry and thinking – an amazing mind. He talked a lot yet he still seemed so private. It was a thoroughly tripped-out atmosphere because they kept finding girls hiding under tables and so forth: one snuck into the poolroom through a window while an acid-fired Ringo was shooting pool with the wrong end of the cue. "Wrong end?" he’d say. "So what fuckin’ difference does it make?"[8] |
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As the group passed time in the large sunken tub in the master bedroom[8] Fonda brought up his nearly fatal self-inflicted childhood gunshot accident, writing later that he was trying to comfort a frightened George Harrison.[9] Fonda said that he knew what it was like to be dead. Lennon snapped, "Listen mate, shut up about that stuff"[8], and "You're making me feel like I've never been born."[9] Lennon explained, "We didn't want to hear about that! We were on an acid trip and the sun was shining and the girls were dancing (some from Playboy, I believe) and the whole thing was really beautiful and Sixties. And this guy - who I really didn't know, he hadn't made Easy Rider or anything - kept coming over, wearing shades, saying 'I know what it's like to be dead,' and we kept leaving him because he was so boring. It was scary, when you're flying high: 'Don't tell me about it. I don't want to know what it's like to be dead!'" "...[H]e was showing us his bullet wound. He was very uncool," Harrison added.[10]
McCartney recalls: "Fonda seemed to us to be a bit wasted; he was a little out of it. I don't know if we expected a bit more of Henry [Fonda]'s son but he was certainly of our generation and he was alright."[10] Actress Salli Sachse recalled: "Peter was really into music. He couldn't wait until The Beatles’ Revolver album came out. We went to the music store and played it, trying to hear any hidden messages."[11]
When someone realised that they had not eaten all day the group tried to make dinner in the kitchen but Lennon was too confused from the drug to use his knife and fork properly and as he tried to stop his food from moving around on his plate he spilled it onto the floor.[8]
This was the final track recorded during the Revolver sessions,[12] and was hastily added when the album line-up was found to be a song short. It took nine hours to rehearse and record the entire song, complete with overdubs.[12] After the recording of the song The Beatles' producer George Martin is reported to have said: "All right, boys, I'm just going for a lie-down."
Harrison said he helped Lennon construct the song from two separate "bits".[13] McCartney does not appear on the track; the bass is played by Harrison. McCartney said, "I'm not sure but I think it was one of the only Beatle records I never played on. I think we had a barney or something and I said, 'Oh, fuck you!,' and they said, 'Well, we'll do it.'"[4]
The song is in the key of B flat Mixolydian, based on three chords: B flat (I), A flat (flat-VII), and E flat (IV). The key centre shifts to E flat major during the bridge sections by means of an F minor (v minor) chord, a pivot chord The Beatles had used to modulate to the subdominant before on 'From Me To You' and 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. Since the guitars are audibly played in A, the song must have been sped up one semitone (by this time The Beatles routinely played with varying tape speeds) unless the guitarists retuned or used capos. The coda features a canonic imitation in the voice parts, a development of the idea originally presented by the lead guitar in the verse.
The song uses both 3/4 and 4/4 time.
A key element of Lennon's lyrics is the reminiscence of childhood; "When I was a boy everything was right/ Everything was right", a foil to the chaotic feelings of knowing "What it's like to be dead".
The song is often noted for Ringo Starr's "circular" patterns and other contributions: Starr himself has expressed particular pride in his performances during this era. Some drum enthusiasts have referred to Starr's performance on this track as one of the best drum tracks ever recorded in pop music, comparing the approach to that of Mitch Mitchell, drummer for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, who was himself a follower of Elvin Jones.
Denver memorabilia collector Chris Lopez discovered a tape made by Lennon while composing the song. The source was Anthony Cox, ex-husband of Lennon's second wife, Yoko Ono. He sold it along with other recordings made by John at Christie's Auction House in London for a six-figure sum.
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