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Old Brown Shoe

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"Old Brown Shoe"
Song
A-side"The Ballad of John and Yoko"

"Old Brown Shoe" is a song written by George Harrison that was first released by the Beatles as a B-side to "The Ballad of John and Yoko". It is also available on the Beatles' compilation albums Hey Jude, 1967–1970 and Past Masters, Volume Two.

Composition and musical structure

Harrison commented about this song: "I started the chord sequences on the piano, which I don't really play, and then began writing ideas for the words from various opposites … Again, it's the duality of things – yes no, up down, left right, right wrong, etc."[1] This idea was also prevalent in the Beatles' earlier single "Hello, Goodbye".[2]

The song is in the key of C major. The chorus goes to the subdominant chord (F) ("I'm stepping out this old brown shoe"), and cadences on the submediant (Am) via its secondary dominant (E).[3][4] Everett considers that this "C/Am" duality fits well "with the composer's main concern in the poetic text" ("I want a love that's right but right is only half of what's wrong").[5] Pollack also emphasises the song's interesting flat VI (Ab) chord in the verse, the V-IV (G-F chord) alternation in the bridge and the "bluesy" effect of the frequent flat 3rd and 7th notes alongside the I7 (C7) chords.[6] Everett considers that the voice leading and harmony on "Old Brown Shoe" are "far more subtle and interesting" than such qualities in the song ("The Ballad of John and Yoko") on the A-side of the single.[7] Pedler terms the song "highly underrated" and featuring "some typically inspired Harrison-esque sleight-of-hand, courtesy again of the augmented chord".[8] MacDonald calls it "an archetypal B-side from an era when B-sides were worth flipping a single for."[9]

Recording

The Beatles' recording of this song features lead vocals from Harrison, and backing vocals from John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The unusual bass sound was achieved by tracking the bass with the lead guitar. There is some controversy over whether Harrison played bass. Everett states that it was McCartney's Jazz Bass doubled in the bridge with Harrison's Telecaster playing chromatically moving arpeggiations in a similar manner to the bridge guitars in "And Your Bird Can Sing".[10] In a two-part Creem interview (published in December 1987 and January 1988), however, Harrison appears to confirm he played bass for the piece. Extract from the interview:[11]

  • Creem: You also told me you played bass on "Old Brown Shoe."
  • George: It’s like a lunatic playing.
  • Creem: It sounds like McCartney was going nuts again.
  • George: That was me going nuts. I’m doing exactly what I do on the guitar.

Everett states that Harrison's "stinging highly Claptonesque solo" was played on a Telecaster coloured through a Leslie speaker given Automatic double tracking (ADT) treatment and "sent wild to both channels".[12] Although Lennon recorded a guitar part for the track, his instrumentation was removed and replaced by the organ sound.[13]

The song was recorded during the sessions for the Abbey Road album. The group had previously performed the song a number of times over three days during the Let It Be sessions at Apple Studios in January 1969, which have been widely bootlegged.[14] Harrison made a solo demo (featuring only piano and electric guitar) at EMI Studios on 25 February 1969 (along with "Something" and "All Things Must Pass"), which was released on Anthology 3 in 1996.

In 1980 Lennon claimed that he was responsible for the choice of "Old Brown Shoe" as the B-side of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" single.[15]

Personnel

Personnel per Ian MacDonald[9]

Cover versions

Notes

  1. ^ The Beatles Interview Database 2006.
  2. ^ Turner 1994, pp. 139–140.
  3. ^ Dominic Pedler. Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles Omnibus Press London 2003, pp327-328.
  4. ^ Alan W Pollack. Notes on Old Brown Shoe 1999. http://www.recmusicbeatles.com/public/files/awp/obs.html accessed 10 Jan 2012
  5. ^ Walter Everett. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. NY. 1999. p 244
  6. ^ Alan W Pollack. Notes on Old Brown Shoe 1999. http://www.recmusicbeatles.com/public/files/awp/obs.html accessed 10 Jan 2012
  7. ^ Walter Everett. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. NY. 1999. p 243
  8. ^ Dominic Pedler. Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles Omnibus Press London 2003, p327.
  9. ^ a b MacDonald 2005, p. 347.
  10. ^ Walter Everett. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. NY. 1999. p 243.
  11. ^ Kordosh 1987.
  12. ^ Walter Everett. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. NY. 1999. p 243
  13. ^ Walter Everett. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. NY. 1999. p 242
  14. ^ The Beatles Bible 2008.
  15. ^ Sheff 2000, p. 166.

References

  • "Abbey Road". The Beatles Interview Database. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2006.
  • Kordosh, J. (December 1987). "The George Harrison Interview". Creem Online. Creem Media, Inc. Retrieved 5 June 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 978-1-84413-828-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying. London: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-25464-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • "Old Brown Shoe". The Beatles Bible. 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
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