Revolution 9

"Revolution 9"
The White Album
Song by The Beatles
From the album The Beatles
Album released	22 November 1968
Recorded	May 30, 31; June 4, 6, 10, 11, 21; September 16, 1968
Genre	Rock
Song Length	8:24
Record label	Apple Records
Producer	George Martin
The Beatles Album Listing
Cry Baby Cry (Track 11 of Disc 2)	Revolution 9 (Track 12 of Disc 2)	Good Night (Track 13 of Disc 2)

"Revolution 9" is an experimental recording which appeared on The Beatles' 1968 self-titled LP release (known as the White Album). Unlike anything else the group ever wrote or recorded, the track marked the peak of the band's studio experimentation; the inclusion of such a sound collage or musique concrete on a pop music release was virtually unprecedented. The recording is a bizarre combination of vocal and music sound clips, tape loops, and sound effects manipulated with editing and sound modification techniques (stereo panning and fading). Meant to capture the violence of a revolution in progress, the track creates a strange mood for many listeners, evoking psychedelic images. At over eight minutes, it was the longest track on the album.

The work is officially credited to Lennon-McCartney (as were all songs written by either composer), though it was primarily the effort of John Lennon, and in fact George and Yoko made small contributions, while Paul did not. One music critic writes that "Revolution 9" demonstrates "the influence of Yoko Ono on principal composer John Lennon". [1]

Structure and content

After a brief piano introduction taken from an unreleased Paul McCartney song, a loop of a male repeating the words "number nine" (taken from an EMI test tape indicating a recording of the ninth take of a song) begins to be heard, (this phrase fades in and out throughout the recording as a sort of Leitmotif). Then there is chaos: feedback, impromptu screaming, rehearsed overdubs, and more tape loops.

As some portions of "Revolution 9" are recordings of other music (bits of Sibelius and Beethoven, for example), the piece can be seen as an early example of sampling. Other audio elements include various bits of apparently nonsensical dialogue, various found sounds, reversed sounds and recordings of soccer chants.

"Paul is Dead" Significance

Revolution 9 played an important part in the infamous "Paul is Dead" controversy. If one listens carefully, the "babble", as many believe, includes hints left by the band about Paul's alleged death. As the "Paul Is Dead" rumours were quickly debunked, these "clues" are creative misinterpretation of "Revolution 9", and are an interesting footnote to the Beatles' history.

Hints and clues cited include:

A conversation between John Lennon and George Martin about slipping the hints in: (John) "I'm sorry.... Will you forgive me?" (George) "Mmm... Yes..." (In reality, it is not John that is speaking. It is actually Alistair Taylor and George Martin discussing a bottle of wine, with the words "cheeky bitch" heard at the end of the dialogue.)
"My fingers are broken and so is my hair", a reference to the car crash which supposedly killed Paul. (It really says "My wings are broken...")
"...his voice was low and his eye was high and his eyes were closed.."
"...Paul died.." (Actually says "all right".)
"I'm not in the mood for wearing clothing..."
"...maybe even dead..."
...you become naked...
Also, a car crash can be heard with Paul yelling "Get me out! Get me out!", as well as flames and sirens.

Perhaps most notorious is the suggestion that "Number nine... number nine" — when played backwards — is said to become "Turn me on, dead man."

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