Lovely Rita: Introduction
“Lovely Rita” is a Beatles’ song on their “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album from 1967. Indeed, the song is about a female traffic warden who gave Paul McCartney a parking ticket outside the Abbey Road Studios. But, instead of getting angry, Paul wrote a song about her. When asked why he called her Rita, Paul said, “Well, she looked like a Rita to me.”
In Details
- Release Date: May 26, 1967
- Recorded: February 23 & 24; March 7 & 21, 1967
- Studio: EMI Studios, London
- Genre: Psychedelic rock and music hall
- Track Duration: 2:42
- Record Label: Parlophone
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Performers And Instruments
- Paul McCartney: lead and backing vocal, bass guitar, piano, also the comb and tissue paper kazoo
- John Lennon: backing vocal, vocal percussion, acoustic rhythm guitar, also the comb and tissue paper kazoo
- George Harrison: backing vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar, also the comb and tissue paper kazoo
- Ringo Starr: drums, also the comb and tissue paper kazoo
- George Martin: piano
Where To Find “Lovely Rita”
You can still buy this song on the following album:
Lovely Rita: Background
Written and sung by Paul McCartney, the song credits go to Lennon-McCartney, of course. During the song, McCartney shows affection towards a female traffic warden, Meta Davies. In short, the term “meter maid” is American slang for what the British call a female traffic warden.
“There was a story in the paper about ‘Lovely Rita’, the meter maid. She’s just retired as a traffic warden. The phrase ‘meter maid’ was so American that it appealed, and to me, a ‘maid’ was always a little sexy thing: ‘Meter maid. Hey, come and check my meter, baby.’ I saw a bit of that, and then I saw that she looked like a ‘military man’.”
Paul McCartney
Anthology
The Beatles are always newsworthy, of course, and the fact that Paul McCartney got a parking ticket made headlines.
“His car was parked on a meter where the time had expired. I had to make out a ticket, which, at the time, carried a 10 shilling fine. I’d just put it on the windscreen when Paul came along and took it off. He looked at it and read my signature, which was in full, because there was another M. Davies on the same unit.
As he was walking away, he turned to me and said, ‘Oh, is your name really Meta?’ I told him that it was. We chatted for a few minutes and he said, ‘That would be a good name for a song. Would you mind if I use it?’ And that was that. Off he went.”
Meta Davies
A Hard Day’s Write, Steve Turner
Recording Studio
The Beatles began recording “Lovely Rita” on February 23, 1967, in Studio Two of the EMI Studios, London, during the 7.00 p.m.–3.45 a.m. session. They recorded eight takes, of which the last one was suitable for the rhythm track, while on the next day, Paul McCartney recorded the lead vocals.
On March 7, they returned to the song to make special sound effects for it, such as the various moans and groans. Then, on March 21, George Martin recorded the piano solo, ready for the final mix.
Take A Listen To The Song
Finally, listen to the song and leave us a comment or two.
