Martha My Dear: Beatles song.

Martha My Dear: Introduction

“Martha My Dear” is a Beatles’ song on their “White Album” from 1968. The inspiration for the song came from Paul McCartney’s Old English Sheepdog, also named Martha.

  • Release Date: November 22, 1968
  • Recorded: October 4th & 5th, 1968
  • Studio: Trident Studios, Soho, London
  • Genre: Music hall
  • Track Duration: 2:28
  • Record Label: Apple Records
  • Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
  • Producer: George Martin
  • Engineer: Barry Sheffield
  • Paul McCartney: double-tracked lead vocals, piano, bass, drums, handclaps, brass and string arrangement
  • George Martin: brass and string arrangement:
  • Bernard Miller, Dennis McConnell, Lou Sofier, and Les Maddox: violin
  • Henry Myerscough, Leo Birnbaum: viola
  • Frederick Alexander, Peter Halling, and Reginald Kilby: cello
  • Leon Calvert: trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Ronnie Hughes, Stanley Reynolds: trumpet
  • Tony Tunstall: French horn
  • Ted Barker: trombone
  • Alf Reece: tuba

The white album will be with us for a long time to come, so you can still buy this song that way.

Written wholly by Paul McCartney, the song credit goes to the songwriting team of Lennon-McCartney, of course. The song features a piano solo for around the first 20 seconds. That blends in perfectly with a string and brass section arrangement by George Martin. The piano intro piece clearly has the feel of some music hall-inspired script.

“When I taught myself piano, I liked to see how far I could go, and this started life almost as a piece you’d learn as a piano lesson. It’s quite hard for me to play; it’s a two-handed thing, like a little set piece.

In fact, I remember one or two people being surprised that I’d played it because it’s slightly above my level or competence really, but I wrote it as that, something a bit more complex for me to play. Then, while I was blocking out words—you just mouth out sounds and some things come—I found the words ‘Martha my dear’.”

Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

Some people wrongly believed that the song was a covert message of love to Jane Asher, who was McCartney’s lover for the previous five years. However, McCartney insists that the song was about his Old English sheepdog, Martha.

“She was a dear pet of mine. I remember John being amazed to see me being so loving to an animal. He said, ‘I’ve never seen you like that before.’ I’ve since thought, you know, he wouldn’t have. It’s only when you’re cuddling around with a dog that you’re in that mode, and she was a very cuddly dog……..

It’s a communication of some sort of affection, but in a slightly abstract way: ‘You silly girl, look what you’ve done,’ all that sort of stuff. These songs grow. Whereas it would appear to anybody else to be a song to a girl called Martha, it’s actually a dog, and our relationship was platonic, believe me.”

Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

Of the four Beatles, only Paul McCartney features on “Martha My Dear,” while George Martin provides the brass and string sections. Although we know that George Harrison was present and playing his electric guitar during parts of the recording, it is not clear whether he features on the final mix.

Paul McCartney began recording the track on October 4, 1968, at the Trident Studios in Trident House, Soho, London, during the 4.00 p.m.–4.30 a.m. session. In this case, only one take was necessary to complete the rhythm track on the eight-track tape recorder.

Obviously, this shows the true professionalism of McCartney and the production team. Remember also that this was at a time when the band was not pulling their weight together.

The eight-track tape recording facilities allowed for greater flexibility, of course, and overdubbing was a lot easier. Meanwhile, Paul McCartney recorded his vocal piece again while tweaking the track. On October 5, during the 6 p.m.–1 a.m. session, further overdubbing occurred in order to complete the song.

Finally, listen to the song and leave your opinions below.

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