Taxman

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This article is about the Beatles song. For the profession, see Tax collector. For other uses of taxman, see the Taxman.
"Taxman"
Song

"Taxman" is a song written by George Harrison and released as the opening track on The Beatles' 1966 album Revolver. Its lyrics attack the high levels of progressive tax taken by the government.[1][2] Richie Unterberger of allmusic said that Revolver is where Harrison "came more to the fore, not only writing three songs but also getting honored with the album-opener."[3]

Composition

Harrison said, "'Taxman' was when I first realised that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes. It was and still is typical."[4] The Beatles' large earnings placed them in the top tax bracket in the United Kingdom, liable to a 95% supertax introduced by Harold Wilson's Labour government.[5] In a 1984 interview with Playboy magazine, Paul McCartney agreed: "George wrote that and I played guitar on it. He wrote it in anger at finding out what the taxman did. He had never known before then what he'll do with your money."

In 1980, Lennon recalled in an interview with Playboy magazine, "I remember the day he [Harrison] called to ask for help on 'Taxman', one of his first songs. I threw in a few one-liners to help the song along, because that's what he asked for. He came to me because he couldn't go to Paul, because Paul wouldn't have helped him at that period. I didn't want to do it... I just sort of bit my tongue and said OK. It had been John and Paul for so long, he'd been left out because he hadn't been a songwriter up until then."[6]

The backing vocals' references to "Mr. Wilson" and "Mr. Heath", suggested by Lennon, refer respectively to Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, the then-leaders of the Labour Party and Conservative Party, the two largest parties in British politics.[1] Wilson, who was then Prime Minister, had nominated all four of the Beatles as Members of the Order of the British Empire just the previous year.[1] The chanted names replaced two refrains of "Anybody got a bit of money?" heard in take 11, an earlier version released on Anthology 2 in 1996.[7]

In 1987, Harrison stated that he had been pleased McCartney agreed to play the guitar on "Taxman": "I was pleased to have Paul play that bit on 'Taxman'. If you notice, he did like a little Indian bit on it for me."[8] Ian MacDonald praised McCartney's contributions to the song saying his guitar solo was "outstanding" and his bass part was "remarkable".[1]

Release and after

Although Lennon and McCartney had always been the more prolific songwriters, they made allowance for a few Harrison songs on each album in much the same way they would attempt to ensure at least one album track always featured drummer Ringo Starr's singing. Because it was the first track, a fake count-in was added at the beginning.[citation needed] A heavily distorted voice counts along with Harrison: McCartney can be heard shouting the actual count-in underneath the distorted one (in the stereo version, McCartney's count-in is in the left speaker).[citation needed] There are minor differences in the stereo and mono versions, particularly the entry points for the cowbell and tambourine.[citation needed]

In the show Love, the guitar solo was sampled in the piece "Drive My Car"/"The Word"/"What You're Doing".

"Taxman" was included in Harrison's concert repertoire during his solo career; on his tour of Japan in 1991 with Eric Clapton, "Taxman" was on the set list. "It's a song that goes regardless if it's the sixties, seventies, eighties or nineties," Harrison declared. "There's always a taxman." Harrison added more lyrics on that tour, such as "If you're overweight, I'll tax your fat."

In the US, radio disc jockeys and TV news reporters annually feature the song in the days leading up to 15 April, the date by which US income tax returns must usually be filed. Some post offices have even been known to sardonically play the song on in-house audio systems for the long lines of last-minute tax filers. In 2002, tax preparation service H&R Block used a slower-paced cover version of the song in television commercials.

Personnel

Personnel per MacDonald[1]

Other versions

The song has also been played and recorded by Junior Parker, Black Oak Arkansas, Bill Wyman, The Music Machine, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nickel Creek, Les Fradkin, Garrison Starr, Rockwell, Mutual Admiration Society, Pat Travers and Power Station.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played the song in tribute to Harrison at 2002's Concert For George.

"Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of this song in late 1981 called "Pac-Man", during the height of the game's popularity. It was released on the compilation Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 4. Beatallica recorded a parody called "Sandman", which also was a parody of a popular Metallica song, "Enter Sandman".

The Jam in 1980's "Start!" wrote a new song around the McCartney bassline and guitar solos.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e MacDonald 2005, p. 200.
  2. ^ Everett 2010, p. 48.
  3. ^ Unterberger 2009.
  4. ^ Harrison 1980, p. 94.
  5. ^ WalesOnline 2009.
  6. ^ Sheff 2000, pp. 150–151.
  7. ^ Apple Records 1996, p. 22.
  8. ^ Guitar 1987.

References

  • Anthology 2 (Media notes). London: Apple Records. 1996. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |publisherid= ignored (help)
  • Everett, Walter (1999). The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology Project. US: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512941-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Everett, Walter (2010), The Beatles as Musicians {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Guitar. November 1987. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Harrison, George (1980). I Me Mine. London: Phoenix. ISBN 0753817349. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • "How the Budget affects you: The public give their verdict". WalesOnline. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Robb, John (2010). The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Strong, Martin C (2010). The Essential Rock Discography. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of "Taxman"". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

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