- Her Majesty (song)
Infobox Song
Name = Her Majesty
Artist =The Beatles
Album = Abbey Road
Released =26 September 1969
track_no = 17
Recorded =2 July 1969
Genre = Folk
Length = 0:23
Writer =Lennon/McCartney
Label =Apple Records
Producer =George Martin
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = Abbey Road
Type = studio
Tracks = ;Side one
#"Come Together "
#"Something "
#"Maxwell's Silver Hammer "
#"Oh! Darling "
#"Octopus's Garden "
#"I Want You (She's So Heavy) ";Side two
#"Here Comes the Sun "
#"Because"
#"You Never Give Me Your Money "
#"Sun King"
#"Mean Mr. Mustard "
#"Polythene Pam "
#"She Came In Through the Bathroom Window "
#"Golden Slumbers"
#"Carry That Weight "
#"The End"
#"Her Majesty""Her Majesty" is a song written by
Paul McCartney (although credited toLennon/McCartney ) that appears onThe Beatles ' album "Abbey Road". "Her Majesty" appears as the final track. It was originally placed between "Mean Mr. Mustard " and "Polythene Pam ". Paul decided this sequence did not work and the song was edited out of the medley byAbbey Road Studios tape operator John Kurlander. He was instructed by McCartney to destroy the tape, but EMI policy stated that no Beatles recording was ever to be deleted.The fourteen seconds of silence between "The End" and "Her Majesty" are the result of Kurlander’s lead out tape added to separate the song from the rest of the recording. The loud orchestral blast that occurs at the beginning of the song is the last chord of "Mean Mr. Mustard". "Her Majesty" ends abruptly because its own final note was left at the beginning of "Polythene Pam". Paul applauded Kurlander's "surprise effect" and the track became the unintended closer to the LP. The crudely-edited beginning and end of "Her Majesty" shows that it was not meant to be included in the final mix of the album; as McCartney says in "
The Beatles Anthology ", "Typical Beatles - an accident." Consequently, both of the original sides of vinyl closed with a song that ended very abruptly (the other beingI Want You (She's So Heavy) ).This song pays tribute to to 1930's blues singer Robert Johnson, in being an accurately fingerpicked version of Johnson's "They're Red Hot" with different words, Paul singing "Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl" where Robert had sung "Hot tamales and they're red hot". Robert Johnnon's 1930's recordings had been released on two separate LP's during the early and late '60's, and Johnson was highly regarded by British guitarists, notably Eric Clapton who recast Robert's Crossroads as a rock 'n roll piece, and Keith Richards who recast Robert's "Love in Vain" in a country style. Both guitarists spoke highly of Robert Johnson in the press. Unlike these two guitarists however, Paul's recasting of "They're Red Hot" into "Her Majesty" accurately reflects Robert Johnson's fingerpicking patterns, and underscores McCartney's proficiency on pre-war blues fingerpicking at this time, which he has been given little credit for.
At 23 seconds long, "Her Majesty" is the shortest song in the Beatles repertoire. ("
Revolution 9 " is the longest of their official releases.) The song was not listed on the originalvinyl record 's sleeve as the sleeves had already been printed; subsequent pressings and the CD edition correct this. The song starts panned hard right and slowly pans to hard left.Covers
The song has been covered by:
*
Chumbawamba (with a length of 1:48)*
Eric Roza (with a length of 2:15)*
Peter Combe (with a length of 2:19)*
Tok Tok Tok (with a length of 0:22)*
Dave Matthews (with a length of 0:29 including the recital of several lines from "Come Together ")*Scenario (with a length of 4:02)
*
Eddie Vedder performed the song live onApril 10 ,2008 atArlington Theater in Santa Barbara, CA, and onApril 16 , 2008 atSpreckels Theater inSan Diego , California.* Paul McCartney performed the song live from
Buckingham Palace Gardens in 2002, as part of the celebrations of theGolden Jubilee of Elizabeth II .References
* Turner, Steve. "A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song", Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X
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