Martha My Dear
| "Martha My Dear" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Beatles from the album The Beatles | |
| Released | 22 November 1968 |
| Recorded | 4 October 1968 |
| Genre | Music hall[1] |
| Length | 2:28 |
| Label | Apple Records |
| Writer(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
"Martha My Dear" is a song by the Beatles written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney), which first appeared on the double album The Beatles (also known as "the White Album"). McCartney is the only Beatle to perform on the track.
Style and form
The song features a music hall-inspired piano line that recurs throughout the piece, as well as a brass section. The song modulates smoothly through several keys.[1]
The song key is E-flat major, showing up embellished chords with jazzy sprinkled dissonances. The verse is a syncopated replicate of the first melodic section adding two extra beats, a technique similar to that used later by McCartney in “Two of Us”. Though the bridge is in the key of F major, the manner in which it abruptly sets in and exits makes it sound more out-of-the-way than it really is.[1]
Origins
The title "Martha My Dear" was inspired by McCartney's Old English Sheepdog, named Martha.[2][3] McCartney has said that the song itself is probably about his longtime love interest Jane Asher. Asher broke off their engagement in mid-1968. McCartney chides her with the lyrics in the song "...when you find yourself in the thick of it, help yourself to a bit of what is all around you..."[4] Asher inspired many of McCartney's songs, including "Here, There and Everywhere", "I'm Looking Through You", "For No One" and "We Can Work It Out". (A later "Martha" lyric explains, "You have always been my inspiration..." McCartney has also said that the song is about his "muse"—the voice in his head that tells him what words and music to write.[5])
Cover versions
British rock band Ambrose Slade, later known as Slade, released a cover version on their debut album Beginnings in 1969.
Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has released versions of the song on his albums Day Is Done (2005) and Live in Marciac (2011).[6][7]
When Mojo released The White Album Recovered in 2008, part of a continuing series of CDs of Beatles albums covered track-by-track by modern artists, the track was covered by Vashti Bunyan and Max Richter.[8]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocals, piano, bass, drums, electric guitar, handclaps, brass and string arrangement
- George Martin – brass and string arrangement
- Bernard Miller – violin
- Dennis McConnell – violin
- Lou Sofier – violin
- Les Maddox – violin
- Leo Birnbaum – viola
- Henry Myerscough – viola
- Reginald Kilbey – cello
- Frederick Alexander – cello
- Peter Halling - cello
- Leon Calvert – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Stanley Reynolds – trumpet
- Ronnie Hughes – trumpet
- Tony Tunstall – French horn
- Ted Barker – trombone
- Alf Reece – tuba
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[2] and Mark Lewisohn[9]
Notes
- 1 2 3 Pollack 1995.
- 1 2 MacDonald 2005, p. 322.
- ↑ Raul (10 January 2010). "The Story About Paul McCartney's Dog Martha". John Lennon, Paul McCartney, The Beatles. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ↑ Matthews 2008.
- ↑ Turner 2005, pp. 157–159.
- ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Brad Mehldau Day Is Done - Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Brad Mehldau Live in Marciac - Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
- ↑ http://www.mojocovercds.com/cd/305
- ↑ Lewisohn 1988, p. 159.
References
- "Will Taylor and Strings Attached - Beatles' White Album Live". CDBaby.com. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
- Matthews, Brian (23 February 2008). "Interview". BBC Radio 2.
- Pollack, Alan W. (1995). "Notes on Martha My Dear". Notes on ... Series (No. 137). Retrieved 10 July 2008.
- Turner, Steve (2005). A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Paperbacks. ISBN 0-06-084409-4.