| "Across the Universe" | |
|---|---|
| Song bythe Beatles | |
| from the albumNo One's Gonna Change Our World | |
| Released | 12 December 1969 (1969-12-12) |
| Recorded |
|
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Psychedelia[1] |
| Length | 3:49 |
| Label | Regal Starline |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
"Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock bandthe Beatles. It was written byJohn Lennon and credited toLennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charitycompilation albumNo One's Gonna Change Our World and later, in a different form, on their 1970 albumLet It Be, the group's final released studio album. The original version featured on two different albums both titledRarities: a 1978 British release and a 1980 US release. It was also included on their 1988 albumPast Masters, Volume Two.The song has been covered by many artists, includingDavid Bowie on his 1975 albumYoung Americans, which featured contributions from Lennon.
One night in 1967, the phrase "words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup" came to Lennon after listening to the voice of his then-wifeCynthia:
I was lying next to my first wife in bed, you know, and I was irritated, and I was thinking. She must have been going on and on about something and she'd gone to sleep and I kept hearing these words over and over, flowing like an endless stream. I went downstairs and it turned into a sort of cosmic song rather than an irritated song, rather than a "Why are you always mouthing off at me?"[2] [The words] were purely inspirational and were given to me asboom! I don't own it you know; it came through like that.[3]
The flavour of the song was heavily influenced by Lennon's and the Beatles' interest inTranscendental Meditation in late 1967 – early 1968, when the song was composed. Based on this, he added themantra "Jaigurudevaom" (Sanskrit:जय गुरुदेवॐ) to the piece, which became the link to the chorus. TheSanskrit phrase is a tribute to the lateMaharishi Mahesh Yogi's spiritual teacher, "All glory toGuru Dev".[4][5]
The song's lyrical structure is straightforward: three repetitions of a unit consisting of a verse, the line "Jai guru deva om" and the line "Nothing's gonna change my world" sung four times. The lyrics are highly image-based, with abstract conceptsreified with phrases like thoughts "meandering", words "slithering", and undying love "shining". The title phrase "across the universe" appears at intervals to finish lines, although it nevercadences, always appearing as a rising figure, melodically unresolved. It finishes on theleading note; to the Western musical ear, the next musical note would be the tonic and would therefore sound complete.
In his1970 interview withRolling Stone, Lennon referred to the song as perhaps the best, most poetic lyric he ever wrote: "It's one of the best lyrics I've written. In fact, it could be the best. It's good poetry, or whatever you call it, without chewin' it. See, the ones I like are the ones that stand as words, without melody. They don't have to have any melody, like a poem, you can read them."[6]
On a standard-tuned guitar (EADGBE) the song is played in the key of D; however, the recording was slowed electronically, resulting in a lower C♯ tuning to the ear. The verse beginning "Words are flowing out" (I (D) chord) is notable for a prolonged vi (Bm)–iii (F♯m) to ii7 (Em7) minor drop to the dominant chord V7 (A7) on "across the universe" in the 4th bar.[7] On the repeat of this chord sequence a turn following the ii7 (Em7) through a iv minor (Gm) brings the verse to a close before moving on directly to the tonic on the "Jai Guru Deva Om" refrain. The vi–ii minor drop leading to V was also used in "I Will" (on "how long I've loved you") andGeorge Harrison had utilised a shorter vi–iii minor alternation to delay getting back to the dominant (V) in "I Need You".[7] The verse beginning "Words are flowing out like endless rain ..." is also notable for the suitably breathless phrasing and almost constant 8th-note rhythm (initially four D melody notes, then C♯, B, A, B).[8]
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 4 February 1968 | Takes one–two and four–seven recorded.Overdub onto take seven. Reduction into take eight. Overdub onto take eight.Sound effects on tracks one–three.[9] |
| 8 February 1968 | Overdub onto take eight. Monomixing from take eight.[10] |
| January 1969 | Overdubs onto take eight. Mono mixing from take eight. Version planned for the albumNo One's Gonna Change Our World.[11] |
| 2 October 1969 | Bird sounds overdubbed onto take eight. Stereo mixing from take eight. Version released on the albumNo One's Gonna Change Our World and later onPast Masters.[12] |
| 5 January 1970 | Stereo mixing from take eight. Version to have been released on 5 JanuaryGet Back album.[13] |
| 23 March 1970 | Stereo mixing from take eight.[14] |
| 1 April 1970 | Reduction into take nine. Orchestral and choral overdubs onto take nine.[15] |
| 2 April 1970 | Stereo mixing from take nine. Version released on theLet It Be album.[15] |
In February 1968, the Beatles convened at the EMI Abbey Road studios to record a single for release during their absence ontheir forthcoming trip toIndia.Paul McCartney had written "Lady Madonna", and Lennon had "Across the Universe". Both tracks were recorded along with Lennon's "Hey Bulldog" and the vocal track for Harrison's "The Inner Light" between 3 and 11 February.
The basic track was taped on 4 February. Along with acoustic guitar, percussion andtambura, it featured an overdubbed sitar introduction by Harrison. Deciding the song needed a high-pitched voice to sing the refrain "Nothing's gonna change my world", McCartney approached fans waiting outside the studio and asked if anyone could hold a high note.[16] Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease answered yes. Shortly after, the band's road manager,Mal Evans, came out and ushered the two girls into the recording studio to record the backing vocals. Although the girls' voices are not heard on the version of "Across the Universe" on the albumLet It Be, their background vocals are heard on the albumsNo One's Gonna Change Our World,Rarities andPast Masters.[17]
Lennon was still not satisfied with the feel of the track, and several sound effects were taped, including 15 seconds of humming and a guitar and a harp-like sound, both to be played backwards; however, none of these were used on the released version. The track was mixed to mono and put aside as the group had decided to release "Lady Madonna" and "The Inner Light" as the single. On their return from India, the group set about recording the many songs they had written there, and "Across the Universe" remained on the shelf. In the autumn of 1968, the Beatles seriously considered releasing anEP including most of the songs for theYellow Submarine album and "Across the Universe", and went as far as having the EP mastered.[18]
During the February 1968 recording sessions,Spike Milligan dropped into the studio and, on hearing the song, suggested the track would be ideal for release on a charity album he was organising for theWorld Wildlife Fund. At some point in 1968, the Beatles agreed to this proposal. In January 1969, the best mono mix was remixed for the charity album.[11] In keeping with the "wildlife" theme of the album, sound effects of birds were added to the beginning and end.[19] The original (mono) mix from February 1968 is 3:37 in length. After the effects were added, the track was sped up so that even with 20 seconds of effects, it is only 3:49. Speeding up the recording also raised the key to E-flat.[19] By October 1969, it was decided that the song needed to be remixed into stereo. This was done byGeoff Emerick immediately prior to the banding of the album. "Across the Universe" was first released in this version on the Regal Starline SRS 5013 albumNo One's Gonna Change Our World in December 1969.
This version was issued, in its stereo form, on four Beatles compilation albums: the British version ofRarities, the different American version ofRarities,The Beatles Ballads, and the second disc of the two-CDPast Masters album, released in 1988. The January 1969 mono mix, which had been considered for an abortedYellow Submarine EP, was finally released onMono Masters, part ofThe Beatles in Mono box set, in 2009.
| "Across the Universe" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover | |
| Song bythe Beatles | |
| from the albumLet It Be | |
| Released | 8 May 1970 (1970-05-08) |
| Recorded |
|
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Psychedelia[1] |
| Length | 3:47 |
| Label | Apple |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | Phil Spector |
The Beatles took the song up again during theGet Back/Let It Be rehearsal sessions of January 1969; footage of Lennon playing the song appeared in theLet It Be movie. Bootleg recordings from the sessions include numerous full group performances of the song, usually with Lennon–McCartney harmonies on the chorus. To ensure the album tied in with the film, it was decided that the song must be included on what by January 1970 had become theLet It Be album.
Although the song was extensively rehearsed on the Twickenham Studios soundstage, the only recordings were mono transcriptions for use in the film soundtrack. No multitrack recordings were made after the group's move to Apple Studios. Thus in early January 1970Glyn Johns remixed the February 1968 recording. The new mix omitted the teenage girls' vocals and the bird sound effects of the World Wildlife Fund version. As neither of the Glyn JohnsGet Back albums were officially released until 2021, the most well-known version of the song came fromPhil Spector, who in late March and early April 1970 remixed the February 1968 recording yet again and added orchestral and choral overdubs. Spector also slowed the track to 3:47, close to its original duration. According to Lennon, "Spector took the tape and did a damn good job with it".[20]
A previously unreleased February 1968 alternative take of the song (recorded before the master), without heavy production, appeared onAnthology 2 in 1996.[21] This is often referred to as the "psychedelic" recording because of the strong Indian sitar andtambura sound, and illustrates the band's original uncertainty over the best treatment for the song.
The February 1968 master was remixed again for inclusion onLet It Be... Naked in 2003, at the correct speed but stripped of most of the instrumentation and digitally processed to correct tuning issues.
In 2018, take 6 of the song was released onThe Beatles: 50th Anniversary Edition (also known as the "White Album"). This version is a bit more sparse than theLet It Be... Naked version and lasts 15 seconds longer.
Lennon was unhappy with the song as it was recorded. In his 1980Playboy interview, Lennon says that the Beatles "didn't make a good record of it" and says of theLet It Be version that "the guitars are out of tune and I'm singing out of tune ... and nobody's supporting me or helping me with it and the song was never done properly".[22] He further accused McCartney of ruining the song:
Paul would ... sort of subconsciously try and destroy a great song ... usually we'd spend hours doing little detailed cleaning-ups of Paul's songs; when it came to mine ... somehow this atmosphere of looseness and casualness and experimentation would creep in. Subconscious sabotage.[23]
No One's Gonna Change Our World (1969)[edit]According toIan MacDonald:[24] The Beatles
Additional musicians and production
| Let It Be (1970)[edit]According to John C. Winn:[26] The Beatles
Additional musicians and production
|
Music criticRichie Unterberger ofAllMusic said the song was "one of the group's most delicate and cosmic ballads" and "one of the highlights of theLet It Be album".[27]Neil Finn ofCrowded House andSplit Enz named the song as possibly his favorite written song of all time.[28]
Music criticIan MacDonald was critical of the song, calling it a "plaintively babyish incantation" and saying "its vague pretensions and listless melody are rather too obviously the products of acid grandiosity rendered gentle by sheer exhaustion".[24]
On 4 February 2008, at 00:00UTC,NASA transmitted theInterstellar Message "Across the Universe"[29] in the direction of the starPolaris, 431light-years from Earth.[30] The transmission was made using a 70-metreantenna in the Deep Space Network'sMadrid Deep Space Communication Complex, located outside ofMadrid,Spain. It was done with an "X band" transmitter, radiating into the antenna at 18 kW. This was done to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song's recording, the 45th anniversary of theDeep Space Network (DSN), and the 50th anniversary of NASA. The idea was hatched by Beatles historianMartin Lewis, who encouraged all Beatles fans to play the track as it was beamed to the distant star. The event marked the first time a song had ever been intentionally transmitted intodeep space, and was approved by McCartney,Yoko Ono, andApple Corps.[31]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[32] 2010 release | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Across the Universe" | |
|---|---|
| Song byDavid Bowie | |
| from the albumYoung Americans | |
| Released | 7 March 1975 (1975-03-07) |
| Recorded | c. 12–15 January 1975[33] |
| Studio | Electric Lady, New York |
| Genre | Blue-eyed soul[34] |
| Length | 4:29 |
| Label | RCA |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | David Bowie,Harry Maslin |
"Across the Universe" was covered by English singer-songwriterDavid Bowie in 1975 on his ninth studio albumYoung Americans. He recorded his cover atElectric Lady Studios in New York City in January 1975, on the same day as "Fame".[34] Ablue-eyed soul reworking, his cover is notable for featuring Lennon on guitar and backing vocals. The cover also featuresCarlos Alomar andEarl Slick on guitar and backing vocals, Emir Ksasan on bass guitar, andDennis Davis on drums.[33]
Reflecting on his contribution, Lennon later said: "I thought, great, because I'd never done a good version of that song myself. It's one of my favourite songs, but I didn't like my version of it."[34] Bowie concurred, calling the Beatles' original version "very watery" and wanting to "hammer the hell out of it."[33]
Bowie's cover of "Across the Universe" has received predominantly negative reviews from music critics and biographers.Douglas Wolk ofPitchfork calls it "the album's one genuine embarrassment, Vegas-y and bathetic."[35] Biographer Chris O'Leary agrees, calling it "one of his most utterly tasteless recordings."[33] AuthorPeter Doggett similarly describes it as "bombastic", "mannered", and a "bizarre way of impressing Lennon."[36] Despite being generally regarded as one of Bowie's low points in his "golden years", biographerNicholas Pegg gave the recording a positive review, calling it "exquisitely beautiful".[34]
According to Chris O'Leary:[33]
Technical
The song was released as a single in 1988 from albumLet It Be byLaibach with a music video appearing in next year.[37][38][39]
In 1998,Fiona Apple recorded and released the song as part of thePleasantville motion picture soundtrack.[40]Pitchfork named it Apple's best cover, highlighting how it suits the film.[41]
In 2002,Rufus Wainwright recorded a cover version for the filmI Am Sam.[42]
In 2005,Alicia Keys,Alison Krauss,Billie Joe Armstrong,Bono,Brian Wilson,Norah Jones,Steven Tyler,Stevie Wonder,Tim McGraw andVelvet Revolver performed a cover at the47th Grammy Awards. The performance was recorded as a tribute to the2004 tsunami victims. It was released on 13 February 2005 and debuted at number 22 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart as a digital download.[43]
In 2011,Beady Eye released a cover of "Across the Universe" as a charity single available to download through their website from 4 April 2011 until 17 April 2011.[44] All proceeds from the sale of the track went directly toward theBritish Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal. The single charted at #88 in the UK.[45]
In 2019, Norwegian singerAurora recorded aLike a Version for Australian radio stationTriple J. In 2023, this version was voted by the public as one of the100 best Like a Versions of all time.[46]
Lennon is the main author of nearly all of The Beatles' psychedelic classics: Tomorrow Never Knows, I'm Only Sleeping, Rain, She Said She Said ... I Am the Walrus, Across the Universe.
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