Think for Yourself

"Think for Yourself"
Song by the Beatles from the album Rubber Soul
Released	3 December 1965 (mono and stereo)
Recorded	8 November 1965, EMI Studios, London
Genre	Rock
Length	2:18
Label	Parlophone
Writer	George Harrison
Producer	George Martin
Rubber Soul track listing
14 tracks Side one "Drive My Car" "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" "You Won't See Me" "Nowhere Man" "Think for Yourself" "The Word" "Michelle" Side two "What Goes On" "Girl" "I'm Looking Through You" "In My Life" "Wait" "If I Needed Someone" "Run for Your Life"

"Think for Yourself" is a song by English rock band the Beatles which first appeared on their 1965 album Rubber Soul. Written and sung by George Harrison, it is a warning against listening to lies, and the first of Harrison's songs not to be a love song. In his book I, Me, Mine he writes, "But all this time later, I don't quite recall who inspired that tune. Probably the government." In a departure from all precedent at the time, the song has two bass lines, a normal one and one created by Paul McCartney's then-unique application of a fuzzbox to his bass.

Musical structure

The song is in the key of G major, but its musical premise appears to be permanent tonic key ambiguity and restless root movement (musically echoing the title) through extensive borrowing from the parallel G minor. Thus, the G7 introduction appears to ground us in G major (G Mixolydian); yet the verse soon opens ("I've got a word or two") with a ii chord (Am) that suggests we are in A Dorian mode or even A Aeolian mode with the following move to a Dm chord on "word or two" being a iv rather than a v in G major. The immediate shift to B♭ chord (♭III in G major) on "to say" and the C chord (IV in G major) on "about the things" again confuses as the Bb and C chords seem to hint at a ♭Vi- ♭VII rock run in D Aeolian. When we arrive at the chorus ("Think for yourself...") the anticipated tonic-identifying V-I (D7 chord-G7 chord) shift, is preceded (pointedly on "Think") with a strange ♭VI (E♭/B♭)chord in second inversion that undermines its tonal direction. This overlapping of major and minor harmony and restless root movement is an intriguing characteristic of Harrison's songwriting as far back as Don't Bother Me.

Personnel

• George Harrison – lead vocal, lead guitar
• John Lennon – harmony vocal, rhythm guitar, electric piano
• Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, double-tracked bass
• Ringo Starr – drums, percussion
• Norman Smith – engineer

Personnel per Ian MacDonald

References

• MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-84413-828-3. 
• Shea, Stuart; Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Beatles…and More!. 
• Turner, Steve (2005). A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Paperbacks. ISBN 0-06-084409-4. 

External links

• Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Think For Yourself"
• The Beatles Bible: Think For Yourself