After a few times on the turntable, you realised that the goal posts had been moved, forever, and you really wanted to hear the next record now. And the phrase So I lit a fire means exactly that. Im not completely convinced that the line is So I lit a fire instead of So I lit the fire. I have always heard the, though I know lyric sources say a, and I have always seen this fire in the fireplace. I love all the comments here! "[30], The Beatles recorded an early version of "Norwegian Wood" during the first day of sessions for their album Rubber Soul, on 12 October 1965. [44][45][46] The song marked the first example of a rock band playing a sitar[47] or any Indian instrument on one of their recordings. This was my favourite song of theirs at the time. Talking to Rolling Stone in 1970, Lennon attributed the middle section to McCartney, although in a 1980 interview with Playboy he called it my song completely. Id always had, I came in and he had this first stanza, which was brilliant: I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me. That was all he had, no title, no nothing. She told me she worked in the morning Too funny! i went to catholic school in NY. Dylan himself responded with 4th Time Around on 1966s Blonde On Blonde album, which shares a similar melody and lyrical theme. And when I awoke Men need to grow up! I love the original version with the cough and hate that it was later taken out. Maybe John, in 1980, psychologically, simply wanted to take full responsibility for being unfaithful? I hesitate to enter the fray with people more knowledgeable and articulate than I, but has no one noticed that Norwegian Wood is an anagram of a womans name, Rowena Goodwin? [7] McCartney commented on the final verse of the song: "In our world the guy had to have some sort of revenge. Actually, it seems that she and her husband lived in the first floor of the house where John and Cyn lived until 1964 or 65 in London. 02:10. For him it was the beginning of his interest in Hinduism. For all of Paul says, will keeping saying, adding to the story, is bullshit. 'Norwegian Wood' ' ' . Hes come to realize at this particular momentprobably his first time to her flatthat shes a rather superficial person, and superficial people can be hollow, overinflating the value of material things that are actually of no value at all (like a cheap wood that otherwise looks nice). By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Its just a vignette, a sketch or doodle, a phrase, an idea not the full portrait or novel. Although begun in Switzerland, Norwegian Wood was completed as a collaboration between Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song is often identified as the first example of raga rock,[58] while the trend it initiated led to the arrival of Indian rock and formed the essence of psychedelic rock. Dylan wanted to take ownership of "Norwegian Wood" in . re: the fire at the end: knowing paul, especially his need to be cutting edge and hip, i wouldnt doubt he heard that interpretation (i.e. That bit about burning the place downnever would I have come up with that; took me totally by surprise when I read Many Years from Now. Geoff Emerick Former tape operator takes over for Norman Smith as Engineer at age 20. (: The first time I looked into the lyrics, without much influence reading about the meaning, this is what I thought: The first line indicates this is an established relationshiptheyve hooked up before. In June 1966, Harrison met Shankar in London and became a student under the master sitarist. John Lennon claimed he had no idea where the title came from, but Paul McCartney said he came up with it, inspired by the Norwegian Wood in the Asher household, where he was staying. The Norwegian Wood song title according to Paul McCartney's explanation was based on a sarcastic reference to the cheap pine wall panelling then in vogue (e.g. It's innovative. Crawled OUTof bedyes! Heres how I see it, Im a Loser and definitely Youve Got to Hide Your Love Away, are fair game for Dylan. Also, did anyone besides Paul say it was about arson? He decides to mock her and end it all by burning the place down. The lyrics are whimsical, the type of thing, Random jukebox-only single. The track features a sitar part, played by lead guitarist George Harrison, that marked the first appearance of the Indian string instrument on a Western rock recording. It was written mainly by John Lennon, with lyrical contributions from Paul McCartney, and credited to the LennonMcCartney songwriting partnership. To wake up alone in the bath is bittersweet but with nowhere to be why not light a fire and basque in the warm glow of the previous evening or anticipation of evenings to come? Theres something maybe like melancholy in the melody, but not bitterness. I believe the lyric is I wanted a girl, or should I say, she once had me. I always did picture a fire being lit in a fireplace, never arson! Rock Quiz 2. I once had a girl, or should I say she once had me could be referring to his mom. Norwegian Wood by The Beatles: Song Analysis , Download Views 985 The song opens with a sweepingly catchy acoustic melody that seamlessly evokes a sense of nostalgic longing. Supposedly, John and Sonny carried on an affair in the Freemans wood panelled home. It was quite spontaneous: I found the notes that played the lick. She showed me her room, I read in a book on John that he once spoke about lying in bed with his mom as a young teen and wondering what to do next. I have always assumed that John didnt want his wife to know about his affair, so he made up a cover that he slept in the bath, and that he lit a fire masturbated. I'd always had some kind of affairs going, so I was trying to be sophisticated in writing about an affair. He also said the song marked a pivotal moment in Lennon's use of surreal lyrics, following on from the songs "Ask Me Why" and "There's a Place". Been reading alot about Dylans 4th Time Around. " Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Interestingly, Norwegian Wood wasnt the first Beatles release to feature a sitar. Although the part was later re-recorded on a guitar by Jeff Beck, it is possible that The Beatles who appeared on a bill with The Yardbirds in June, the month Heart Full Of Soul was released would have been aware of the burgeoning influence of Indian music upon the groups sound. Great Lennon song about one of his extramartial love affairs during his marriage to Cynthia. Not necessarily a rejection just an acknowledgment that theyre about to do the nasty. Oh, I guess that this song was quite a tribute to a girl named Sonny, a german woman who liked to say that she was born in Norway. It was about an affair I was having. [25] Once back in London, Harrison followed Crosby's suggestion by seeking out Shankar's recordings,[26][27] and he also purchased a cheap sitar, from the Indiacraft store on Oxford Street. Not even Lennon, for sure. It's light, almost airy. [23] According to author Ian MacDonald, however, while the Kinks' single most likely influenced the Beatles, Davies could well have been influenced by "Ticket to Ride" when recording "See My Friends". Men say no if and when they want to and we (women) dont call them teases we call them impotent assholes, but not teases. When he says he crawled off to sleep in the bath it was a way of not incriminating himself, censoring the song, leaving it ambiguous and to your imagination. Many of these are so interesting and its fun to speculate. [48] It was also issued on a single with "Nowhere Man" in Australia and was a number 1 hit there in May 1966. The positively puts it in the fireplace, though a doesnt necessarily eliminate it. album was issued in August 1965, four months prior to Rubber Soul. When he did.. it became obvious to me that Norwegian Wood was a little secret code by Lennon that really meant knowing she would! The sitar was played on the first two takes but beginning with Take 3 it is not heard on the basic tracks and they decided to overdub it. To play it on Sitar, tuned in C# (the first chord, Ma, has to be tuned in F#) the riff has to be from G# to G#, and not from B to B. It was written by the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and was first released on the album Rubber Soul on 3 December 1965. "Norwegian Wood" was written mainly by John. Youre funny. You Won't See Me 4. Not according to John Lennon and Paul. The new folk-rock style with the ethnic element ( sitar) and the druggy lyrics plus the two-part harmony, created the Beatles rendition of how Dylan's songwriting could have otherwise sound. I have played the song around camp fires, in clubs and pubs for over 35 years literally hundreds of times and still love it it seems weird that they never got to enjoy the song the way normal people do. This overdubs were made onto Take 4 which became the final master. The music was sublimely different. De de de de. The first comment about Sonny is found in the Philip Norman book John Lennon The Life. Sonny is actually Sonny Freeman, the wife of Robert Freeman, photographer of the Beatles during the early years (including the Rubber Soul album cover). [11] Over the following days, Lennon expanded on an acoustic arrangement of the song, which was written in a Dylanesque 68 time signature, and showed it to Martin while he recovered from a skiing injury. Chasing the bird is a reference in the Kuma Satra, but thats a stretch. [54] Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork considers the song to be one of the most self-evident Lennon pieces on Rubber Soul to exemplify his maturity as a songwriter, and praises the composition as "an economical and ambiguous story-song highlighted by Harrison's first dabbling with the Indian sitar". Her father Dr. Wolfgang Spielhagen became the deputy mayor of Breslau now the Polish city of Wroclaw in 1942. , Its a good song but I agree its weird it has always gotten more praise than other songs on rubber soul and help that are pretty similar. I went and bought a sitar from a little shop at the top of Oxford Street called Indiacraft it stocked little carvings, and incense. Legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar and The Beatles had a meaningful relationship. She once had me means she was the aggressor. Beatlemania "A Day in the Life" came from which phase of the Beatles' development? He lit a fire. Nobody is disputing the fact that the song goes I once had a girl, or should say, she once had me. I figured out the meaning exactly as Sir Paul says it after one listen many, many years ago. Bardot was the blowing mind sexual fantasy of Lennon during his life. I understand that John Lennon enjoyed word play. [64] Harrison developed a fascination for Indian culture and mysticism, introducing it to the other Beatles. 711 0. I really love this idea, think it has a good deal of truth to it that it may actually be the real deal. Im 67. love i. I always thought the lady with which Lennon had an affair was Norwegian, and that the phrase was, uh, a bit more pedestrian than that. The lyric, Isnt it good, Norwegian wood seems to be a play on words: Isn Tit good, Norwegian wood. [41] In all, the rhythm section accommodates the acoustics, and the band thought the musical style was an improvement over earlier run-throughs. I was very careful and paranoid because I didnt want my wife, Cyn, to know that there really was something going on outside of the household. Manage Settings It doesnt mean youre missing something, or that one of us is wrong. Without Shankar's influence, The Beatles might not have experimented with new sounds. The reason why Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) is so important is because it was the first time that George Harrison played the sitar on a Beatles track. And end it all by burning the place down lyric sources say,... 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