You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
| "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
| "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | |
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| Song |
| "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "City Winds" |
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a song by The Beatles. It was written and sung by John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and released on the album Help! in August 1965.
Composition and recording
The song shows the influence of the American singer Bob Dylan. The song "is just basically John doing Dylan", Paul McCartney later said.[1]
The song is in a folkish strophic form and uses a Dylanesque acoustic guitar figure in compound time, chiefly acoustic accompaniment, no backing voices and light percussion from brushed snare, tambourine and maraca.
"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" was the first Beatles song to feature an outside musician (apart from "Love Me Do", the group's first EMI recording, in which producer George Martin had engaged a session drummer to substitute for the then-untried Ringo Starr). The basic rhythm track was recorded first, followed by George Harrison's guitar and some extra percussion. John Scott recorded a tenor flute in the spaces in Lennon's vocal track and an additional alto flute part, in harmony with the first, on the last available track of the four-track machine.[2]
Musician/singer Tom Robinson connected the song's lyrics to Brian Epstein, the group's manager, who was a closeted homosexual (homosexuality was a criminal offence in Britain at the time).[3] When Lennon made a mistake during the recording, singing "two foot small" instead of "two foot tall", he is reported to have said: "Let's leave that in, actually. All those pseuds will really love it."[3]
Performance in the film
In the film Help!, at the opening of the song, the head of the cult, Clang (Leo McKern), appears from underneath a manhole cover in the middle of Ailsa Avenue, London, where parts of the film were shot. He stays there for the whole song, which the Beatles play in Lennon's quarter of the Beatles' shared flat. The flute part of the song is performed by George's in-house gardener (who also trims his grass carpet with chattery teeth). They are watched by Ahme (Eleanor Bron), and at the end of the song, Harrison passes out after Ahme produces a giant needle for Starr, who is wearing the ring the cult is seeking.
Other studio tracks
There is an alternative take included on Anthology 2. Before the song begins, a montage of chatter associated with several other takes is presented. In this sequence, Lennon counts off the song, then stops to readjust his guitar pickup.[citation needed] After a glass shatters, Lennon sings "Paul's broken a glass, broken a glass. Paul's broken a glass. A glass, a glass he's broke today." He also addresses Paul as 'Macca', a nickname in England for someone who's of Irish descent and/or having 'Mc' in their last name.
Personnel
- John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, twelve-string acoustic guitar
- Paul McCartney – bass
- George Harrison – acoustic guitar
- Ringo Starr – tambourine, maracas
- John Scott – tenor, alto flutes
Cover versions
Artists who have covered this song include the following, listed alphabetically:
- The Beach Boys, on their Beach Boys' Party! album, with the lead vocal by Dennis Wilson.
- The Beau Brummels on their album Beau Brummels '66.
- The Grass Roots on their first album Where Were You When I Needed You (1966).
- Joe Cocker
- Chris Cornell
- Elvis Costello
- Gary Lewis and the Playboys
- Gov't Mule
- Howie Day, with Dispatch.
- Daniel Johnston (Live shows)
- The Kentucky Headhunters
- King's Singers on their album The Beatles Connection.[4]
- Kramer on the album Songs from the Pink Death.
- Oasis, as a B-side.
- Perry Rose
- Tim Rose
- The Silkie, produced by the Beatles. Their version peaked at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] and peaked at #28 on the UK Singles Chart[6].
- The Subways
- Travis
- Type O Negative, Peter Steele performed the song live, solo, on bass and vocals while on tour supporting "Dead Again (Type O Negative album)".
- U2 has performed a snippet of the song during various tours, usually towards the end of the song "Bad".
- Union
- Eddie Vedder, on the movie soundtrack of I Am Sam, also popular during Pearl Jam concerts.
- Pearl Jam
- Julieta Venegas
- Ronnie Von
- Waylon Jennings
References
- ^
Dowling, William J. (1989). Beatlesongs. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. p. 554. ISBN 0-671-68229-6.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-80352-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ a b "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away". The Beatles Bible. 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
- ^ "King's Singers: The Beatles Connection". AOL Music. AOL Inc.
- ^ "The Silkie Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|class=ignored (help) - ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 498. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
