Nowhere Man (song)

This article is about The Beatles song. For other uses, see Nowhere Man (disambiguation).

"Nowhere Man"
Song by The Beatles from the album Rubber Soul
Released	3 December 1965
Recorded	21–22 October 1965, EMI Studios, London
Genre	Folk rock[1]
Length	2:44
Label	Parlophone
Writer	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	George Martin
Rubber Soul track listing
14 tracks Side one "Drive My Car" "Norwegian Wood" "You Won't See Me" "Nowhere Man" "Think for Yourself" "The Word" "Michelle" Side two "What Goes On" "Girl" "I'm Looking Through You" "In My Life" "Wait" "If I Needed Someone" "Run for Your Life"
Music sample "Nowhere Man"

"Nowhere Man"
Single by The Beatles
B-side	"What Goes On"
Released	15 February 1966 (US)
Format	7"
Recorded	21–22 October 1965, EMI Studios, London
Genre	Folk rock[1]
Length	2:44
Label	Parlophone
Writer(s)	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	George Martin
Certification	Gold (RIAA)[2]
The Beatles singles chronology
"We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" (1965) "Nowhere Man" (US-1966) "Paperback Writer" (1966)

"Nowhere Man" is a song by The Beatles, from their hit album Rubber Soul (in the United States on the Yesterday ... and Today album).^[3] The song was written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney).

It was recorded on 21 and 22 October 1965. "Nowhere Man" is among the very first Beatles' songs to be entirely unrelated to romance or love, and marks a notable instance of Lennon's philosophically-oriented songwriting.^[4] It was released as a single (although not in the United Kingdom) on 15 February 1966, and reached #1 in Australia and Canada and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison sing the song in three-part harmony. The song appears in the film Yellow Submarine, where the Beatles sing it after meeting the character Jeremy Hilary Boob in the "nowhere land".

Interpretation

Lennon claimed that he wrote the song about himself. He wrote it after racking his brain in desperation for five hours, trying to come up with another song for Rubber Soul. Lennon told Playboy: "I'd spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then 'Nowhere Man' came, words and music, the whole damn thing as I lay down".^[5]

McCartney said of the song: "That was John after a night out, with dawn coming up. I think at that point, he was a bit...wondering where he was going, and to be truthful so was I. I was starting to worry about him".^[6]

Personnel

• John Lennon: double tracked vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar, guitar solo (in unison)
• Paul McCartney: harmony vocals, bass
• George Harrison: harmony vocals, lead guitar (solo in unison)
• Ringo Starr: drums

Personnel per Ian MacDonald^[7]

Other recordings

• The Settlers recorded the song in 1966.
• In 1967, the Carpenters performed a piano/vocal version in Joe Osborn's garage studio. Richard Carpenter used the original demo to create a version that was released on As Time Goes By in 2001.
• In 1967, Indexi covered this song with the title Jednom smo se svađali.
• In 1969, Gershon Kingsley recorded a version featuring the Moog synthesiser on the album Music to Moog By.
• In 1976, Jeff Lynne recorded it for the musical documentary All This and World War II.
• The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton performed the song in the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, with Barry Gibb on lead vocals.
• Randy Travis recorded a version for the 1995 Beatles' tribute Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles.
• In 1996, Dokken recorded an acoustic version on their One Live Night album.
• Joe Pass released an instrumental version on his album Simplicity / A Sign Of The Times.
• Marky Ramone and the Intruders have a cover on their 1999 album The Answer To Your Problems?.
• The Smashing Pumpkins also released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.
• Paul Westerberg recorded a version for the soundtrack to I Am Sam released in 2002.
• Low recorded a version featured on the 2005 Beatles' tribute album, This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul.
• Mortal (band) recorded a version on their album, "Wake". Though the band was an industrial outfit, little was changed from The Beatles' original version.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Nowhere Man"
2. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - The Beatles Gold Singles". http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=The%20Beatles&format=SINGLE&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=Gold&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 20 July 2009. 
3. ^ Gilliland 1969, show 35.
4. ^ Unterberger 2009.
5. ^ Playboy, September 1980.
6. ^ Playboy, December 1984.
7. ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 172.

References

• Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X
• Gilliland, John (1969). "The Rubberization of Soul: The great pop music renaissance.". Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/partners/UNTML/browse/?start=34&fq=untl_collection%3AJGPC. 
• Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Rubber Soul [UK]". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1515. Retrieved 15 June 2009. 
• MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3. 

External links