All You Need Is Love
| "All You Need Is Love" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Baby You're a Rich Man" |
"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon with contributions from Paul McCartney[1] and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first ever live global television link. Broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 350 million people, the programme was broadcast via satellite on June 25 1967. The BBC had commissioned The Beatles to write a song for the UK's contribution and this was the result. It is among the most famous and significant songs performed by the group.
Release
Asked to come up with a song containing a simple message that would be understood by viewers of all nationalities, Lennon's "All You Need is Love" extended the message that he had first tried to put across in "The Word", from their 1965 album Rubber Soul. "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein. "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything." Lennon was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and was never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "Power to the People" were propaganda songs, he answered, "Sure. So was 'All You Need Is Love'. I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change."
The song was so well-received that the band decided it should be their next single. Released in the UK on July 7th, it went straight to No. 1 and remained there for three weeks. It was similarly successful in the US (also appearing on the American LP version of Magical Mystery Tour in December).
It was also the last song both recorded and released by the band before the tragic and untimely death of their manager, Brian Epstein, on August 27, 1967, little more than a month after the song was released.
The interviews on The Beatles Anthology documentary series reveal that Paul McCartney and George Harrison were unsure as to whether the song was written especially for the Our World broadcast. However, George Martin and Ringo Starr assert that it was. When asked, McCartney replied:
"I don't think it was written specially for it. But it was one of the songs we had. [...] It was certainly tailored to it once we had it. But I've got a feeling it was just one of John's songs that was coming there. We went down to Olympic Studios in Barnes and recorded it and then it became the song they said, 'Ah. This is the one we should use.' I don't actually think it was written for it."[1]
Live broadcast
For the live broadcast, The Beatles were (except for Ringo) seated on stools, and accompanied by a small studio orchestra. They were surrounded by many friends and acquaintances (seated on the floor), who sang along with the refrain during the fade-out, including Mick Jagger and Kim McLagan. Lennon, despite affecting indifference, was said to be quite nervous about the broadcast,[2] given the potential size of the international TV audience. Somewhat dissatisfied with his vocal performance, he subsequently re-recorded the solo verses in the studio for use on the single release. Contrary to popular belief, McCartney wore a rose in his headset not to go along with the theme of the performance, but to spite Lennon, with whom he spoke prior to the show. Lennon insisted that McCartney wear green. After getting his way, McCartney went looking around the studio for something red until he eventually came across a vase of roses outside George Harrison's dressing room.
The black and white footage of the performance was colourised for its inclusion on The Beatles Anthology documentary.
Structure
Because of the setting of a worldwide satellite broadcast, the song was deliberately given an international feel, opening with the French anthem "La Marseillaise", and including snatches of several other pieces during the long fade-out, including "2-part Invention #8 in F" by Johann Sebastian Bach (transposed to G and played on 2 piccolo trumpets), "Greensleeves" (played by the strings), Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" (played on a saxophone), one of The Beatles' seminal hits (particularly in Great Britain), "She Loves You" (spontaneously ad-libbed by John and Paul), and Jeremiah Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March" lilting off at the end. (Many sources, including Beatles' producer George Martin, have misremembered or misidentified the Bach quote as being from the "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2".)
The structure of the song is somewhat complex. It begins with background vocals repeatedly singing "Love, love, love", over the top of which enter Lennon's enigmatic lyrics in 7/4 time:
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
By contrast, the chorus, in 4/4 time is pure simplicity: "All you need is love", repeated against various backgrounds.
It remains one of only two songs (along with Pink Floyd's "Money") written in 7/4 time to reach the top 20 charts in the United States.
The track was remixed by George Martin and his son, Giles Martin, for the Beatles' soundtrack for the Cirque du Soleil show Love. The main differences are a more central sound to the song's introductory vocals and strings (rather than the left/right stereo split of the original) and a number of overdubs for the ending.
In the film "Yellow Submarine" (1968), the second verse, as well as the instrumental, are deleted. Also, the last Choruses are switched around, with the "All Together Now", and "Everybody", coming first before the last group of choruses.
Covers
The song was later used in the series finale of the science fiction television series The Prisoner. The song is used in an ironic context when the lead character leads a bloody attack while the song is played.
Elvis Costello sang it with the aid of just one guitar at the Wembley leg of Live Aid. It was also used to herald the entrance of Queen Elizabeth II into the Millennium Dome during the United Kingdom's millennial celebrations on 31 December 1999, having been voted the nation's favourite song. A part of the song is also used in the movie Moulin Rouge!. The song appeared again in the wedding scene in the movie Love Actually. The britpop band Oasis has performed this song live. It was also parodied by The Rutles in their film All You Need is Cash as "Love Life".
Nada Surf's 2006 cover of "All You Need is Love" was featured in a Chase Credit Card commercial in the US.
Echo & The Bunnymen's cover can be found on the 2003 re-releasing of the CD Ocean Rain.
Einstürzende Neubauten's song "Headcleaner" (Tabula Rasa) contains the lyrics for "All You Need Is Love", except they are in a skewed tense. Where the original goes:
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
In Neubauten's version the line goes:
Cause nothing has been done that can't be done
Nothing has been sang that can't be sung
And nothing has been set, so forget how to play the game
It's easy
The line 'All you need is love' is also replaced with 'All you need is headcleaner'.
The Ruttles used a spoof of this song as "Love Life", stating the words "Love is the meaning of life. Life is the meaning of love", at the end, while the quoting from the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is used at the beginning,as a contrast to the French National Anthem, Le Marsailles", as well as one of the Ruttl's song, "Hold my hand, Yeagh Yeagh" is used as a contrast to "She Loves You".
Notes
References
- Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X
- MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Great Britain: 1994, ISBN 0-8050-2780-7