I Want You (She’s So Heavy): Introduction
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is a Beatles’ song on their 1969 album, “Abbey Road.” The guitars from the song also feature as part of a medley on their 2006 album, “Love.”
In Detail
- Release Date: September 26, 1969
- Recorded: February 22, April 18 and 20; August 8 and 11, 1969
- Studios: EMI and Trident Studios, London
- Genre: Blues rock, hard rock, progressive rock
- Track Duration: 7:47
- Record Label: Apple
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineers: Barry Sheffield, Jeff Jarratt, Tony Clark, Geoff Emerick, and Phil McDonald
Performers And Instruments
- John Lennon: lead and harmony vocals, multi-tracked lead guitar, Moog synthesizer
- Paul McCartney: harmony vocals, bass guitar
- George Harrison: harmony vocals, rhythm guitar, multi-tracked lead guitar
- Ringo Starr: drums, congas, wind machine
Other Performer
Where To Find I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
You can still buy this track on the following albums:
I Want You (She’s So Heavy): Background
John Lennon wrote the song, but credit obviously goes to Lennon-McCartney. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” contains just 14 words in total. It sits at the end of side one on the 1969 “Abbey Road” album after “Octopus’s Garden.” Although it has very few words, and the title makes up six of those, it is one of the longest Beatles’ tracks at almost 8 minutes long!
John Lennon wanted to keep the song simple and he did just that:
“A reviewer wrote of She’s So Heavy: ‘He seems to have lost his talent for lyrics; it’s so simple and boring.’ She’s So Heavy was about Yoko. When it gets down to it, like she said, when you’re drowning, you don’t say, ‘I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,’ you just scream.
And in She’s So Heavy, I just sang, ‘I want you; I want you so bad; she’s so heavy; I want you,’ like that.”
John Lennon
Rolling Stone Magazine (1970)
While the lyrics are simple by nature, the end guitar chords are similarly simple and are repetitive for around 3 minutes, right up until the track comes to an abrupt ending.
Recording Studio
The Beatles began recording “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” while it’s working title was simply “I Want You.” This was on February 22, 1969, in the Trident Studios, Trident House, London, during a session in which there were 35 takes.
The next day, a composite, unnumbered master mix came about through the joining together of takes 9, 20, and 32. Further overdubbing occurred to this composite mix on the 18th and 20th of April.
They didn’t return to it again until the 8th of August, when the famous Abbey Road photo shoot took place. This saw the introduction of the white noise produced by a Moog synthesizer played by Lennon. Further overdubbing occurred on this day for the master copy. They continued the overdubbing on this take on the 11th of August.
Before completion, on August 20th, the track still had to have yet another mixdown from the takes on April 18th and August 8th. When finished, the original length of the track was 8 minutes and 4 seconds, but John Lennon wanted a surprise ending. He told recording engineer Geoff Emerick to “cut it right there.” This was at the 7:44 mark on the tape, so this is why the song ends abruptly.
In 2006, The Beatles released the album “Love,” which features the guitars from “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” as part of a medley. That medley comprises “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!/I Want You (She’s So Heavy)/Helter Skelter.”
Take A Listen
Finally, what are your thoughts about this song?
