Maggie Mae: Introduction
“Maggie Mae” is the second-shortest Beatles’ song on any official Fab Four album. Indeed, while this “Let It Be” track is 40 seconds long, “Her Majesty” from “Abbey Road” is only 23 seconds long. They recorded this traditional Liverpool song in 1969 while joking around and playing some old rock and roll from their early years. It is one of The Beatles unfinished songs.
In Detail
Release Date: May 8, 1970
Recorded: January 24, 1969
Studio: Apple Studios
Genre: Skiffle
Track Duration: 0:40
Record Label: Apple, EMI
Songwriters: Traditional arrangement, Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey
Producer: Phil Spector
Engineer: Glyn Johns
Performers And Instruments
- John Lennon: vocal, acoustic guitar (Gibson J-200)
- Paul McCartney: vocal, acoustic guitar (Martin D-28)
- George Harrison: bass-line on electric guitar (Fender Telecaster)
- Ringo Starr: drums
Where To Find “Maggie Mae”
At this time, you can still buy the song that is on the following album:
Maggie Mae: Background
While the real title of this traditional Liverpool folk song is “Maggie May,” The Beatles would use “Maggie Mae.” However, the original song, which dates back to the early 1800’s, was popular with seamen everywhere. Maggie May is apparently about a prostitute who stole from a sailor after returning home from a trip.
Indeed, the song became a favourite for some bands to play in skiffle style during the late fifties and early sixties. Liz Winters and Bob Cort released a version of the song as a single in 1957 but it didn’t chart.
The Vipers Skiffle Group also released it as the B-side to “The Cumberland Gap” in the same year but the BBC banned “Maggie May”. This was due to the sexual content of the lyrics. The single didn’t chart in the major charts but it did in some minor ones.
Other artists covered the song, such as British group The Searchers. But this song, with its different spelling, is not the same as Rod Stewart’s massive hit, “Maggie May.”
The Beatles also picked up on this song and played it from time to time at their gigs in their very early days. This was more evident when The Beatles had the name The Quarrymen, of course. The spelling they use is “Maggie Mae.”
Recording Studio
The Beatles recorded their version on January 24, 1969. This took place during the “Let It Be” recordings at their Apple Studios at 3 Savile Row in London. At the same studios, they also performed their last public concert on the rooftop in 1969.
Their ad-libbed recording came about spontaneously during takes of “Two Of Us.” The song appears as the last track on side one of their “Let It Be” album.
Maggie Mae: The Lyrics
Oh dirty Maggie Mae, they have taken her away
And she never walk down Lime Street any more
Oh the judge he guilty found her
For robbing a homeward bounder
That dirty, no-good robbin’ Maggie Mae
To the port of Liverpool
They returned me to
Two pounds ten a week, that was my pay.
Take A Listen
Finally, listen to the song and leave us a comment or two.
