Deciphering The Beatles ..............Ten.............Tomorrow Never Knows

[gryphon]

Deciphering The Beatles …………………….Ten……………….Tomorrow Never Knows

Lyrics


Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream,
It is not dying, it is not dying

Lay down all thought, surrender to the void,
Is it shining? Is it shining?

That you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being

Love is all and love is everyone
Is it knowing? Is it knowing?

That ignorance and hate may mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing

But listen to the colour of your dreams
Is it not living, is it not living

Or play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning



This is the second song to have its title derived from one of Ringo’s malapropisms. ( The first being A Hard Day’s Night)
The song is one of John’s and seems to have been written in 1965/6 and is based upon The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The original title is “The Void” or Mark I.
It is odd that George is always looked at as The Beatle with the Indian leanings because this too is a song that has connection with the Asian subcontinent .
The musical part is interesting : It is best to look at the early takes to see what is going on. Basically the main part of the song has an Indian format………….Basically a rhythm with the musical action based around one note.


The song's harmonic structure is derived from Indian music and is based upon a C drone. The "chord" over the drone is generally C major, with some changes to B flat major. Thanks Wiki


John wanted his voice to sound like a to sound like a hundred chanting Tibetan monks, which left Martin the difficult task of trying to find the effect by using the basic equipment they had. Lennon's suggestion was that he be suspended from a rope and—after being given a good push—he would sing as he spun around the microphone. This idea was rejected by Martin, but when asked by Lennon about it, he would only reply with, "We're looking into it."[17] Emerick finally came up with the idea of wiring Lennon's vocal through a Leslie rotating speaker, thus obtaining the desired effect without the need of a rope.[6][18] Emerick made a connector to break into the electronic circuitry of the cabinet and then re-recorded the vocal as it came out of the revolving speaker.[ Again Thanks Wiki


The Lyrics are lifted mostly from The Tibetan book of the Dead:


Song facts says
It was inspired by Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert's book The Psychedelic Experience, which Lennon would read while tripping on LSD.


There are a few standard song writing references……


Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream,


………A river or stream is often used to reflect the path of life

It is not dying, it is not dying

Curious reference this : John is said to have had a conversation with Peter Fonda who ad had a near death experience ...............John used this idea in She Said She Said.


But listen to the colour of your dreams


Quite a few song writers used the idea that LSD burrs and mixes the senses.


Or play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning


This is an odd construction from John and in fact is more typical of George’s writing. The use of couplets with direct opposites in them…………….It could be that both took them from the same origin or did George make uncredited contributions to John’s songs?
The tapes loops used:
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The tape loops contained:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]A "seagull" or "American Indian" whooping effect (which was the sound of Harrison's guitar sped up).[/FONT]
  
• [FONT=&quot]An orchestral chord of B flat major (from a [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Sibelius[/FONT][FONT=&quot] symphony) (0:19)[/FONT]
  
• [FONT=&quot]A [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Mellotron Mk.II[/FONT][FONT=&quot], played with the "[/FONT][FONT=&quot]brass[/FONT][FONT=&quot]" tape set (0:22)[/FONT]
  
• [FONT=&quot]Another Mellotron played in 6/8 from B flat to C, using the "3 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]violins[/FONT][FONT=&quot]" tape set (0:38)[/FONT]
  
• [FONT=&quot]A [/FONT][FONT=&quot]sitar[/FONT][FONT=&quot]-like ascending scalar phrase (actually played on an electric guitar, reversed and severely sped up), recorded with heavy saturation and acceleration (0:56)[/FONT]
  

Thanks Wiki

It is interesting to note that there are several released versions of his track……………..most of which vary at the level of the tape loops.

The mono and stereo takes are different.
It is reputed that each take is different although only a few have every surfaced.( Anthology has one!)

There is another curious take.

Very early copies of revolver carry a different matrix number to later ones:

PMC 7006 XEX 606-1


I take the rest from an advert :
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Revolver, Parlophone, PMC 7009, 08.05.1966, mono. Very Rare First pressing with mispressing! Side 2 matrix no.: XEX 606-1 have “Remix 11[/FONT][FONT=&quot]″[/FONT][FONT=&quot] of “Tomorrow Never Knows”. When “Revolver” was initially mixed a different master for “Tomorrow Never Knows” was sent off to be pressed. This mix is known as ‘Remix 11[/FONT][FONT=&quot]′[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. Although subtle, it is different to the[/FONT][FONT=&quot] standard ‘Remix 8[/FONT][FONT=&quot]′[/FONT][FONT=&quot] which was ultimately to replace it. The story goes[/FONT][FONT=&quot] that each group member was given the first copies from the production line and John went to listen to it. But, it turned out that he was unhappy with the mix or that the wrong one had been used and he informed George Martin. Production was then stopped as the new masters were cut and the pressing plates were replaced. First presses have a side 2 matrix number of XEX 606-1 whereas the standard presses have XEX 606-2 and beyond. Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd. or Ernest J.Day & Co. front laminated flipback cover. Black & Yellow label with “The Gramophone Co. Ltd.” perimeter print and “Sold in U.K. subject…” text. Plain white or sepia “LP advertising” inner sleeves. Tax code “KT” by spin-hole. Matrix numbers: Side 1: XEX 605-2; Side 2: XEX 606-1................[/FONT] It contains a different mix of one of the tracks - which was immediately withdrawn and replaced – and has never been re-issued. I Believe even with the re-masters this is so ?
[FONT=&quot]These are [/FONT]pretty rare I have never seen one : The mix is the material of legend and I’ve not heard it but Remix 11 has different levels of tape loops in it .


:cool::cool::cool::nod::cool:

[SteveO]

Thanks again, Gryph ! Another extensive insight into one of the Beatles' songs ! It would be interesting to hear the differences between the various mixes of Tomorrow Never Knows !

Another example of John's brilliant mind !!! Another reason why they were so darn good... always experimenting for new sounds !

[CRAZY-HORSE]

sorry it took so long for me to get round to reading this one Gryphon....

another project full of information about the Baetles i crave....thank you!!