| "I'm Only Sleeping" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of theNorthern Songs sheet music (licensed to Sonora Musikförlag) | |
| Song bythe Beatles | |
| Released |
|
| Recorded | 27 and 29 April, 5 and 6 May 1966 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:02 |
| Label | Parlophone |
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Audio sample | |
"I'm Only Sleeping" | |
| Music video | |
| "I'm Only Sleeping" onYouTube | |
"I'm Only Sleeping" is a song by the English rock bandthe Beatles from their 1966 studio albumRevolver. In the United States and Canada, it was one of the three tracks thatCapitol Records cut from the album and instead included onYesterday and Today, released two months beforeRevolver. Credited as aLennon–McCartney song, it was written primarily byJohn Lennon.[3] The track includes abackwards lead guitar part played byGeorge Harrison, the first time such a technique was used on a pop recording.[4][5]
Since the standardisation of the Beatles' catalogue for its international CD release in 1987, the song has appeared onRevolver in North America. The 1996Anthology 2 compilation includes outtakes of the song from theRevolver sessions, including an instrumental version that features the Beatles' first use of avibraphone. In 2018, the music staff ofTime Out London ranked "I'm Only Sleeping" at number 12 on their list of the best Beatles songs.[6]
The first draft of Lennon's lyrics for "I'm Only Sleeping", written on the back of a letter from 1966, suggests that he was writing about the joys of staying in bed rather than any drug euphoria sometimes read into the lyrics.[7] While not on tour, Lennon would usually spend his time sleeping, reading, writing or watching television, often under the influence of drugs, and would have to be woken by McCartney for their songwriting sessions.[8] In a LondonEvening Standard article published on 4 March 1966,Maureen Cleave, a friend of Lennon, wrote: "He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England. 'Physically lazy,' he said. 'I don't mind writing or reading or watching or speaking, but sex is the only physical thing I can be bothered with any more.'"[9]
The recording of the song began atEMI Studios on 27 April 1966[10] with eleven takes of the rhythm track,[11] comprising two acoustic guitars, bass and drums.[12][13] Five further takes of the song were recorded but they were not used.[13] Take 11 was chosen as the master and two days later Lennon added his lead vocals.[11] On 5 May,George Harrison wrote and recorded the double guitar part. The next day the recording was completed by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison's backing vocals.[14]
The song features the then-unique sound of a reversed guitar duet played by Harrison in a five-hour late-night recording session with producerGeorge Martin.[15] Harrison perfected the part with the tape running backwards so that, when reversed, it would fit the dreamlike mood.[16] One guitar was recorded with fuzz effects, the other without. EngineerGeoff Emerick described the meticulous process as "interminable". "I can still picture George hunched over his guitar for hours on end", Emerick wrote in 2006, "headphones clamped on, brows furrowed in concentration."[7]
During the break before the second bridge, the sound of a yawn can be heard, preceded by Lennon saying to McCartney, "Yawn, Paul."[15]
"I'm Only Sleeping" was first released on 20 June 1966 as the second track on the US albumYesterday and Today[17] and on 5 August 1966 as the third track onRevolver,[18] the album for which the song was originally intended.[19] The US version ofRevolver did not include the song as it had already been released: US Beatles releases frequently differed from the British versions.[20]
The mono and stereo versions of "I'm Only Sleeping" differ in the positioning and length of the backwards guitar parts:[21][22]
The Beatles' pioneering studio effects onRevolver proved highly influential on other contemporary artists.[25] MusicologistWalter Everett cites the inclusion of backwards guitar parts onCrosby, Stills & Nash's 1969 song "Pre-Road Downs" as an apparent "homage" to "I'm Only Sleeping".[22]
Since the release of the Beatles' music on CD in 1987, the UK stereo version of the album has become the standard version in the US.[21] Part of an instrumental rehearsal of the song featuring avibraphone and the first take of the song from 29 April 1966[12] were released on the 1996 albumAnthology 2.[26] The inclusion of the vibraphone part marked the Beatles' first use of this instrument and reflected the band's experimentation with new sounds during theRevolver sessions.[27] The UK mono version of "I'm Only Sleeping" was released on CD as part of the 2009The Beatles in Mono remastered box set.
An official music video, directed byEm Cooper, was released toYouTube on 1 November 2022.[28] It won theGrammy Award for Best Music Video at the66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024.[29]
| "I'm Only Sleeping/Off on Holiday" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single bySuggs | ||||
| from the albumThe Lone Ranger | ||||
| Released | July 31, 1995 (1995-07-31)[30] | |||
| Genre | Pop[30] | |||
| Length | 4:17 | |||
| Label | WEA | |||
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | Sly & Robbie | |||
| Suggs singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Madness singerSuggs released a cover version of the song in July 1995, produced bySly & Robbie, as the first single of his solo career and the lead single from his debut solo albumThe Lone Ranger.[31] The single reached Number 7 in theUK Singles Chart.[32] The music video also featured fellow Madness membersMike Barson andChas Smash, who also collaborated with him on other songs in the album.
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[33] | 7 |
According to Ian MacDonald:[34]
