Mother Nature’s Son: Introduction
“Mother Nature’s Son” is a Beatles’ song from their 1968 “White Album.” However, “Take 2” makes an appearance on their “Anthology 3” album.
In Detail
- Release Date: November 22, 1968 (UK), November 25, 1968 (US)
- Recorded: August 9 & 20, 1968
- Genre: Folk
- Track Duration: 2:48
- Record Label: Apple Records
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Ken Scott
Performers And Instruments
Paul McCartney: double-tracked vocal, acoustic guitars, timpani, bass drum
George Martin: brass arrangement
Where To Find “Mother Nature’s Son”
You can still buy these songs on the following albums:
**If you need only the original version, then buy the White Album. However, if you are collecting Beatles records, the Anthology series allows you to listen to various takes, etc.
Mother Nature’s Son: Background
Written mostly by Paul McCartney, credit goes to the songwriting partnership of Lennon-McCartney, of course. Indeed, only Paul McCartney and George Martin recorded the song together, with Martin arranging the brass section. The inspiration behind the song came from a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi while the Beatles were in India.
Although Maharishi’s speech was a key factor, so was Nat King Cole’s song “Nature Boy.”
“I seem to remember writing Mother Nature’s Son at my dad’s house in Liverpool. I often used to do that if I’d gone up to see him. Visiting my family, I’d feel in a good mood, so it was often a good occasion to write songs. So this was me doing my mother nature’s son bit.
I’ve always loved the song called Nature Boy [by Nat King Cole]: ‘There was a boy, a very strange and gentle boy…’ He loves nature, and Mother Nature’s Son was inspired by that song. I’d always loved nature, and when Linda and I got together, we discovered we had this deep love of nature in common. There might have been a little help from John with some of the verses.”
Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
Apart from his double-tracked vocals, McCartney also played the acoustic guitars, timpani, and bass drum.
Recording Studio
This song comes from the “White Album” era, so it’s from a time when tensions within the band were running high. In fact, they worked alone and independently for a lot of the time.
Paul McCartney mostly worked on the track alone, although he needed help from George Martin for the brass arrangement. There were 25 takes on August 9, 1968, in Studio Two at the EMI Studios in London, during the 7.30 p.m.–2.00 a.m. session. Take 24 was suitable for the overdubbing. However, Take 2 is available on the 1996 album Anthology 3.
On August 20, in the same studio, during the 8 p.m.–4 a.m. sessions, McCartney added the instrumentations to complete the track. To achieve a bongo-like staccato sound, the drums were in a corridor that had no carpet, and the microphones were on the far side. This sort of experimentation shows what lengths the studio is prepared to go for a better listening experience.
To highlight the tensions during this often fractious period in time, there was an incident during the recording of “Mother Nature’s Son”:
“Paul was downstairs going through the arrangement with George and the brass players. Everything was great; everyone was in great spirits. It felt really good. Suddenly, halfway through, John and Ringo walked in, and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. An instant change. It was like that for 10 minutes, and then as soon as they left, it felt great again. It was very bizarre.”
Ken Scott
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
Of course, what we get with the “White Album” is possibly their best ever studio recording, despite the problems. Indeed, the album is often said to be the best Beatles studio production by Beatles fans.
Take A Listen
Finally, press the play button and analyse the song. Then, leave us your opinions below.
