The End (The Beatles song)

Infobox Song
Name = The End


Artist = The Beatles
Album = Abbey Road
Released = 26 September 1969
track_no = 16
Recorded = 23 July–18 August 1969
Genre = Art rock, Hard rock
Length = 2:19
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""The End" is a song by The Beatles composed by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) for the album "Abbey Road". It was the last song recorded collectively by all four of The Beatles, and is the final song of the medley that dominates side two of the LP version of the album.

Composition and recording

McCartney said, "I wanted [the medley] to end with a little meaningful couplet, so I followed the Bard and wrote a couplet."cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |authorlink=Barry Miles |title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now |year=1997 |pages=558 |publisher=Henry Holt & Company |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5249-6] In his 1980 interview with Playboy, John Lennon acknowledged McCartney's authorship by saying, "That's Paul again ... He had a line in it, 'And in the end, the love you get is equal to the love you give,' which is a very cosmic, philosophical line. Which again proves that if he wants to, he can think."cite book |first=David |last=Sheff |title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |year=2000 |pages=204 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=0-312-25464-4] Lennon misquoted the line slightly; the actual words are, "And, in the end, the love you take/ Is equal to the love you make."cite book |author=Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation |title=The Beatles - Complete Scores |year=1993 |pages=252–253 |publisher=Hal Leanord |location=Milwaukee |isbn=0-7935-1832-6]

Recording began on 23 July, 1969 when The Beatles recorded a one-minute, 20-second master take that was extended via overdubs to two minutes and five seconds. At this point, the song was called "Ending."cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |authorlink=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=181 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-57066-1] The first vocals for the song were added on 5 August, additional vocals and guitar overdubs were added on 7 August, and bass and drums on 8 August, the day the "Abbey Road" cover picture was taken.cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=185–186] Orchestral overdubs were added 15 August, and the closing piano and accompanying vocal on 18 August.cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=190]

All four Beatles have a solo in "The End", including Ringo Starr's only drum solo for The Beatles.cite book |author=The Beatles |title=The Beatles Anthology |year=2000 |pages=337 |publisher=Chronicle Books |location=San Francisco |isbn=0-8118-2684-8] Starr disliked solos; he preferred to cater drumwork to whoever sang in a particular performance. The take in which he performed the solo originally had guitar and tambourine accompaniment, but other instruments were muted during mixing giving the effect of a drum solo. The additional instruments were restored for a remix on the "Anthology 3" compilation album.cite album-notes |title=Anthology 3 |albumlink=Anthology 3 |year=1996 |bandname=The Beatles |format=booklet |publisher=Apple Records |location=London |publisherid=34451] The drum solo was also later used at the beginning of "Get Back" on the 2006 album "Love".

McCartney, Harrison, and Lennon perform a rotating sequence of three, two-bar guitar solos.cite book |first=Ian |last=MacDonald |authorlink=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties |year=2005 |pages=361 |edition=Second Revised Edition |publisher=Pimlico (Rand) |location=London |isbn=1-844-13828-3] The solos begin approximately 53 seconds into the song and end just before the final piano part. Lennon described it in his 1970 interview with "Rolling Stone": "There's a nice little bit I played on "Abbey Road". Paul gave us each a piece, a little break where Paul plays, George plays and I play."cite book |first=Jann S. |last=Wenner |authorlink=Jann Wenner |title=Lennon Remembers (Full interview from Lennon's 1970 interview in Rolling Stone magazine) |year=2000 |pages=22 |publisher=Verso |location=London |isbn=1-85984-600-9]

"The End" was initially intended to be the final track on "Abbey Road", but it is followed by "Her Majesty". In the first practice mix of the medley, constructed on 30 July, "Her Majesty" followed "Mean Mr. Mustard" (on the released version of the album, "Her Majesty" begins with the excised final chord of "Mean Mr. Mustard"). According to sound engineer John Kurlander, McCartney said, "I don't like 'Her Majesty,' throw it away." Kurlander cut it out, but said, "I'd been told never to throw anything away, so after he left I picked it up off the floor, put about 20 seconds of red leader tape before it, and stuck it onto the end of the edit tape." When McCartney heard "Her Majesty" in its new position he liked it and decided that it should remain on the album.cite book |author=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=183]

Reception

Richie Unterberger of Allmusic considered "The End" to be "the group's take on the improvised jamming common to heavy rock of the late '60s, though as usual the Beatles did it with far more economic precision than anyone else."cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:40ngtq5zxu42 |title=Review of "The End" |publisher=Allmusic |accessdate=2007-03-01] John Mendelsohn of "Rolling Stone" said it was "a perfect epitaph for our visit to the world of Beatle daydreams: "The love you take is equal to the love you make ..."cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thebeatles/albums/album/206268/review/5943715/abbey_road |title=Review of "Abbey Road" |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=1969-11-15 |accessdate=2007-03-01] .

In popular culture

*Ringo's drum solo is re-created by Rick Moranis (playing Ringo) in an episode of SCTV.

*The Beastie Boys sampled a portion of "The End" for their track "The Sounds of Science" from "Paul's Boutique."

*In the end of the movie "Happy Feet" the quote "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" is said.

*During the 1990s, Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts began with the signature guitar riff from "The End".

*Les Fradkin recorded an instrumental cover version of the song for his 2005 release "While My Guitar Only Plays". He recreated all the guitar solos playing identical guitars to the models The Beatles used on the original version.

Personnel

*Paul McCartney: lead and backing vocals, bass, piano, and lead guitar.
*John Lennon: lead guitar, backing vocals and maracas.
*George Harrison: lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals.
*Ringo Starr: drums and tambourine.

:Credits above per Ian MacDonald

*George Martin: orchestration

Notes