Chords for Why Is This Beatles Song So Messy?
Tempo:
86.575 bpm
Chords used:
Ab
Eb
Db
Bbm
Fm
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
In this video, I'm going to point out the mistakes and oddities in the messiest song
the Beatles ever officially released and present a few theories as to what might have happened.
The song in question [Ab] is called I'm Looking [Eb] Through You [Ab] and it was released in 1965 on
the Beatles' sixth studio album, Rubber Soul.
[Bbm] [Ab] At [Eb]
[Ab] this [Db] point in their career, the Beatles were becoming more and [Eb] more of a studio band.
[F] That meant they would [Dbm] spend weeks [E] recording and re-recording songs in Abbey Road [Db] Studios
using multi-track tape machines to add additional vocal and instrument layers to their songs.
[N] Usually it worked out pretty well and allowed them to experiment with new sounds and styles.
But for some reason, one track on Rubber Soul falls a bit short of their usual standard.
The tenth track, I'm Looking Through You, was written by Paul McCartney following a
rough patch in his relationship to Jane Asher.
There really aren't any big issues in the first minute or so.
But then it kind of goes off the rails.
At around the one minute mark, pay close attention to the [Ab] tapping in the right channel.
[Db]
[Ab] [Db]
[Ab] Whoever's tapping completely loses the beat and then just abruptly stops.
Listen again, this time I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more clearly.
[Db]
[Ab] [Db]
[Ab] If you're paying really close attention, there's a subtle edit in Paul's lead vocal
between the words love has and a nasty habit.
[Db]
[N] These sorts of mid-phrase edits are surprisingly common in Beatles songs.
What happened was that the engineer basically stitched two takes of a track together, probably
because it was easier to re-record one section of the song than redo the entire track from scratch.
Then there's the electric guitar, which comes and goes in the right channel throughout the
song, playing a few repeated licks with a bunch of random stuff in between.
Listen to this section from 1.05 to around 1.12.
I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more [Db] clearly.
[Ebm]
[Ab] [Bbm] [F]
[Eb] [Ab] It's like whoever's playing, whether it's George or Paul, is not really convinced of
the notes that he's playing.
They're either out of tune or the wrong notes or both.
It happens again noticeably during the chorus at 1.40.
[Db]
[Ab] Then at 1.52, [Fm] there's two totally random out-of-tune notes.
[Eb] [Ab]
[Fm] It's as if they intended to edit some of these guitar parts later on, but totally forgot
or just didn't have time.
There's other little weird stuff in the song too.
At 1.20,. it sounds like someone drops the tambourine. [Eb] [F] Now this could be an intentional hit, but there's no other tambourine part in [Db] this section, so its inclusion seems a bit odd. During those little blue sections at the end of each verse, the double organ hits are always in the far right channel, [Ab] except at 1.34 when one clearly ends up in the center. I don't have the original vinyl, so it's possible this error was introduced later on, like when the Beatles catalog was remixed for the digital era. And that's not all. There's two random clicks at 1.41. I'm not even sure what those are. [Db] And then at around 1.57, whoever's playing the snare drum, presumably Ringo, [Eb] completely misses the snare. [Ab] [Bbm] [Fm] [Eb] [F]
[Bbm] [Ab] Here's the odd part. According to the studio logs, the Beatles spent almost 20 hours of studio time working on this song, more than they had spent on any song up to that point in time. They recorded three very different versions over the course of three weeks, and the one that was used was actually the last version, recorded just days before the album was finally mixed. It almost sounds like a demo of the song. So what happened? It's possible that Paul wasn't happy with the first two versions, so the band put together this last-minute, simpler revamp to get the album finished in time for the holidays. But there's another interesting theory that suggests, contrary to the liner notes, that Paul McCartney is actually playing most of the instruments on this track, including percussion obviously recorded over multiple takes. I'm not sure I buy it, but it would explain some of the roughness around the edges. And Paul did step in to play drums on later albums, so it's not totally impossible. Mistakes and mystery [Eb] aside, I still love the song, [Ab] and now you'll never hear it the same way again. So what do you think happened? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for watching. [Bbm] [Fm] [Eb] [Ab]
[Bbm] [Fm] [Eb] [Fm]
[Bbm] [Ab] [N]
the Beatles ever officially released and present a few theories as to what might have happened.
The song in question [Ab] is called I'm Looking [Eb] Through You [Ab] and it was released in 1965 on
the Beatles' sixth studio album, Rubber Soul.
[Bbm] [Ab] At [Eb]
[Ab] this [Db] point in their career, the Beatles were becoming more and [Eb] more of a studio band.
[F] That meant they would [Dbm] spend weeks [E] recording and re-recording songs in Abbey Road [Db] Studios
using multi-track tape machines to add additional vocal and instrument layers to their songs.
[N] Usually it worked out pretty well and allowed them to experiment with new sounds and styles.
But for some reason, one track on Rubber Soul falls a bit short of their usual standard.
The tenth track, I'm Looking Through You, was written by Paul McCartney following a
rough patch in his relationship to Jane Asher.
There really aren't any big issues in the first minute or so.
But then it kind of goes off the rails.
At around the one minute mark, pay close attention to the [Ab] tapping in the right channel.
[Db]
[Ab] [Db]
[Ab] Whoever's tapping completely loses the beat and then just abruptly stops.
Listen again, this time I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more clearly.
[Db]
[Ab] [Db]
[Ab] If you're paying really close attention, there's a subtle edit in Paul's lead vocal
between the words love has and a nasty habit.
[Db]
[N] These sorts of mid-phrase edits are surprisingly common in Beatles songs.
What happened was that the engineer basically stitched two takes of a track together, probably
because it was easier to re-record one section of the song than redo the entire track from scratch.
Then there's the electric guitar, which comes and goes in the right channel throughout the
song, playing a few repeated licks with a bunch of random stuff in between.
Listen to this section from 1.05 to around 1.12.
I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more [Db] clearly.
[Ebm]
[Ab] [Bbm] [F]
[Eb] [Ab] It's like whoever's playing, whether it's George or Paul, is not really convinced of
the notes that he's playing.
They're either out of tune or the wrong notes or both.
It happens again noticeably during the chorus at 1.40.
[Db]
[Ab] Then at 1.52, [Fm] there's two totally random out-of-tune notes.
[Eb] [Ab]
[Fm] It's as if they intended to edit some of these guitar parts later on, but totally forgot
or just didn't have time.
There's other little weird stuff in the song too.
At 1.20,. it sounds like someone drops the tambourine. [Eb] [F] Now this could be an intentional hit, but there's no other tambourine part in [Db] this section, so its inclusion seems a bit odd. During those little blue sections at the end of each verse, the double organ hits are always in the far right channel, [Ab] except at 1.34 when one clearly ends up in the center. I don't have the original vinyl, so it's possible this error was introduced later on, like when the Beatles catalog was remixed for the digital era. And that's not all. There's two random clicks at 1.41. I'm not even sure what those are. [Db] And then at around 1.57, whoever's playing the snare drum, presumably Ringo, [Eb] completely misses the snare. [Ab] [Bbm] [Fm] [Eb] [F]
[Bbm] [Ab] Here's the odd part. According to the studio logs, the Beatles spent almost 20 hours of studio time working on this song, more than they had spent on any song up to that point in time. They recorded three very different versions over the course of three weeks, and the one that was used was actually the last version, recorded just days before the album was finally mixed. It almost sounds like a demo of the song. So what happened? It's possible that Paul wasn't happy with the first two versions, so the band put together this last-minute, simpler revamp to get the album finished in time for the holidays. But there's another interesting theory that suggests, contrary to the liner notes, that Paul McCartney is actually playing most of the instruments on this track, including percussion obviously recorded over multiple takes. I'm not sure I buy it, but it would explain some of the roughness around the edges. And Paul did step in to play drums on later albums, so it's not totally impossible. Mistakes and mystery [Eb] aside, I still love the song, [Ab] and now you'll never hear it the same way again. So what do you think happened? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for watching. [Bbm] [Fm] [Eb] [Ab]
[Bbm] [Fm] [Eb] [Fm]
[Bbm] [Ab] [N]
Key:
Ab
Eb
Db
Bbm
Fm
Ab
Eb
Db
In this video, I'm going to point out the mistakes and oddities in the messiest song
the Beatles ever officially released and present a few theories as to what might have happened.
The song in question [Ab] is called I'm Looking [Eb] Through You [Ab] and it was released in 1965 on
the Beatles' sixth studio album, Rubber Soul.
_ _ [Bbm] _ _ [Ab] At [Eb] _
[Ab] this [Db] point in their career, the Beatles were becoming more and [Eb] more of a studio band.
[F] That meant they would [Dbm] spend weeks [E] recording and re-recording songs in Abbey Road [Db] Studios
using multi-track tape machines to add additional vocal and instrument layers to their songs.
[N] Usually it worked out pretty well and allowed them to experiment with new sounds and styles.
But for some reason, one track on Rubber Soul falls a bit short of their usual standard.
The tenth track, I'm Looking Through You, was written by Paul McCartney following a
rough patch in his relationship to Jane Asher.
There really aren't any big issues in the first minute or so.
But then it kind of goes off the rails.
At around the one minute mark, pay close attention to the [Ab] tapping in the right channel.
_ [Db] _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _ _
[Ab] Whoever's tapping completely loses the beat and then just abruptly stops.
Listen again, this time I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more clearly.
[Db] _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
_ [Ab] _ If you're paying really close attention, there's a subtle edit in Paul's lead vocal
between the words love has and a nasty habit.
_ [Db] _
_ [N] These sorts of mid-phrase edits are surprisingly common in Beatles songs.
What happened was that the engineer basically stitched two takes of a track together, probably
because it was easier to re-record one section of the song than redo the entire track from scratch.
Then there's the electric guitar, which comes and goes in the right channel throughout the
song, playing a few repeated licks with a bunch of random stuff in between.
Listen to this section from 1.05 to around 1.12.
I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more [Db] clearly.
_ _ _ [Ebm] _
_ _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Bbm] _ _ [F] _
_ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ _ It's like whoever's playing, whether it's George or Paul, is not really convinced of
the notes that he's playing.
They're either out of tune or the wrong notes or both.
It happens again noticeably during the chorus at 1.40.
[Db] _
_ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _ Then at 1.52, [Fm] there's two totally random out-of-tune notes.
[Eb] _ _ [Ab] _
[Fm] _ It's as if they intended to edit some of these guitar parts later on, but totally forgot
or just didn't have time.
There's other little weird stuff in the song too.
At 1.20,. it sounds like someone drops the tambourine. [Eb] _ _ [F] _ Now this could be an intentional hit, but there's no other tambourine part in [Db] this section, so its inclusion seems a bit odd. During those little blue sections at the end of each verse, the double organ hits are always in the far right channel, [Ab] _ _ _ _ except at 1.34 when one clearly ends up in the center. _ _ _ I don't have the original vinyl, so it's possible this error was introduced later on, like when the Beatles catalog was remixed for the digital era. And that's not all. There's two random clicks at 1.41. I'm not even sure what those are. _ _ _ [Db] _ And then at around 1.57, whoever's playing the snare drum, presumably Ringo, [Eb] completely misses the snare. [Ab] _ _ [Bbm] _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [F] _
_ [Bbm] _ [Ab] Here's the odd part. According to the studio logs, the Beatles spent almost 20 hours of studio time working on this song, more than they had spent on any song up to that point in time. They recorded three very different versions over the course of three weeks, and the one that was used was actually the last version, recorded just days before the album was finally mixed. It almost sounds like a demo of the song. So what happened? It's possible that Paul wasn't happy with the first two versions, so the band put together this last-minute, simpler revamp to get the album finished in time for the holidays. But there's another interesting theory that suggests, contrary to the liner notes, that Paul McCartney is actually playing most of the instruments on this track, including percussion obviously recorded over multiple takes. I'm not sure I buy it, but it would explain some of the roughness around the edges. And Paul did step in to play drums on later albums, so it's not totally impossible. Mistakes and mystery [Eb] aside, I still love the song, [Ab] and now you'll never hear it the same way again. So what do you think happened? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for watching. _ _ _ _ [Bbm] _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _
_ [Bbm] _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Fm] _
_ [Bbm] _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ [N] _ _
the Beatles ever officially released and present a few theories as to what might have happened.
The song in question [Ab] is called I'm Looking [Eb] Through You [Ab] and it was released in 1965 on
the Beatles' sixth studio album, Rubber Soul.
_ _ [Bbm] _ _ [Ab] At [Eb] _
[Ab] this [Db] point in their career, the Beatles were becoming more and [Eb] more of a studio band.
[F] That meant they would [Dbm] spend weeks [E] recording and re-recording songs in Abbey Road [Db] Studios
using multi-track tape machines to add additional vocal and instrument layers to their songs.
[N] Usually it worked out pretty well and allowed them to experiment with new sounds and styles.
But for some reason, one track on Rubber Soul falls a bit short of their usual standard.
The tenth track, I'm Looking Through You, was written by Paul McCartney following a
rough patch in his relationship to Jane Asher.
There really aren't any big issues in the first minute or so.
But then it kind of goes off the rails.
At around the one minute mark, pay close attention to the [Ab] tapping in the right channel.
_ [Db] _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _ _
[Ab] Whoever's tapping completely loses the beat and then just abruptly stops.
Listen again, this time I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more clearly.
[Db] _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
_ [Ab] _ If you're paying really close attention, there's a subtle edit in Paul's lead vocal
between the words love has and a nasty habit.
_ [Db] _
_ [N] These sorts of mid-phrase edits are surprisingly common in Beatles songs.
What happened was that the engineer basically stitched two takes of a track together, probably
because it was easier to re-record one section of the song than redo the entire track from scratch.
Then there's the electric guitar, which comes and goes in the right channel throughout the
song, playing a few repeated licks with a bunch of random stuff in between.
Listen to this section from 1.05 to around 1.12.
I've isolated the right channel so you can hear it more [Db] clearly.
_ _ _ [Ebm] _
_ _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Bbm] _ _ [F] _
_ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ _ It's like whoever's playing, whether it's George or Paul, is not really convinced of
the notes that he's playing.
They're either out of tune or the wrong notes or both.
It happens again noticeably during the chorus at 1.40.
[Db] _
_ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _ Then at 1.52, [Fm] there's two totally random out-of-tune notes.
[Eb] _ _ [Ab] _
[Fm] _ It's as if they intended to edit some of these guitar parts later on, but totally forgot
or just didn't have time.
There's other little weird stuff in the song too.
At 1.20,. it sounds like someone drops the tambourine. [Eb] _ _ [F] _ Now this could be an intentional hit, but there's no other tambourine part in [Db] this section, so its inclusion seems a bit odd. During those little blue sections at the end of each verse, the double organ hits are always in the far right channel, [Ab] _ _ _ _ except at 1.34 when one clearly ends up in the center. _ _ _ I don't have the original vinyl, so it's possible this error was introduced later on, like when the Beatles catalog was remixed for the digital era. And that's not all. There's two random clicks at 1.41. I'm not even sure what those are. _ _ _ [Db] _ And then at around 1.57, whoever's playing the snare drum, presumably Ringo, [Eb] completely misses the snare. [Ab] _ _ [Bbm] _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [F] _
_ [Bbm] _ [Ab] Here's the odd part. According to the studio logs, the Beatles spent almost 20 hours of studio time working on this song, more than they had spent on any song up to that point in time. They recorded three very different versions over the course of three weeks, and the one that was used was actually the last version, recorded just days before the album was finally mixed. It almost sounds like a demo of the song. So what happened? It's possible that Paul wasn't happy with the first two versions, so the band put together this last-minute, simpler revamp to get the album finished in time for the holidays. But there's another interesting theory that suggests, contrary to the liner notes, that Paul McCartney is actually playing most of the instruments on this track, including percussion obviously recorded over multiple takes. I'm not sure I buy it, but it would explain some of the roughness around the edges. And Paul did step in to play drums on later albums, so it's not totally impossible. Mistakes and mystery [Eb] aside, I still love the song, [Ab] and now you'll never hear it the same way again. So what do you think happened? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for watching. _ _ _ _ [Bbm] _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _
_ [Bbm] _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Fm] _
_ [Bbm] _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ [N] _ _