Nowhere Man (Song)
“Nowhere Man” is a famous Beatles’ song from their 1965 album, “Rubber Soul.” However, in the United States and Canada, this was a single release too. The song came from John Lennon because of his isolation while he took time away from the chaos of Beatlemania. The song is also available on the Yellow Submarine Songtrack album.
In Detail
- Release Date: December 3, 1965
- Recorded: October 21–22, 1965
- Studio: EMI Studios, London
- Genre: Folk rock
- Track Duration: 2:44
- Record Label: Parlophone
- Songwriter: Lennon-McCartney
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Norman Smith
Performers And Instruments
- John Lennon: double-tracked vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar and lead guitar
- Paul McCartney: harmony vocal and bass guitar
- George Harrison: harmony vocal, also the lead guitar
- Ringo Starr: drums
Where To Find “Nowhere Man (Song)”
Nowhere Man: Background
John Lennon wrote this song in 1965 at his Weybridge home while he took time out from the hustle and bustle of Beatlemania.
“I’d spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then Nowhere Man came, words and music, the whole damn thing, as I lay down.”
John Lennon
Playboy Magazine
Beatlemania was at its height, and the band’s songs were mainly about romance and love, of course. However, this song differs in that it moves away from the norm. In fact, this was one of the first Beatles’ songs to do so. This was because Lennon was undergoing deep philosophical contemplation at the time.
“I was just sitting, trying to think of a song, and I thought of myself sitting there, doing nothing and going nowhere. Once I’d thought of that, it was easy. It all came out. No, I remember now; I’d actually stopped trying to think of something. Nothing would come. I was cheesed off and went for a lie-down, having given up. Then I thought of myself as Nowhere Man, sitting in his nowhere land.”
John Lennon
The Beatles, Hunter Davies
Even though this introspective song was not typical of The Beatles at the time, they still performed it onstage up to and including their tour of America in August 1966.
Recording Studio
The Beatles began recording “Nowhere Man” on October 21, 1965, in Studio Two of the EMI Studios in London during the 7.00 p.m.–12.00 p.m. sessions. The band recorded two takes that day, but neither was suitable.
In the same studio on the next day, the band recorded takes 3-5, with take 4 being suitable for the basic rhythm track. The guitar solo ends with a high, bell-sounding note achieved by using a string harmonic. They then overdubbed John Lennon’s double-tracked vocals to this take as well as various other tweaks to complete the song.
Single Release (Not UK)
“Nowhere Man” became a single release in America, with the B-side being “What Goes On” and it went to the top of the charts. It was also a single release in Canada and Australia, where it went to number one in the charts in both countries too. In Australia the B-side was “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).”
However, in the UK, it stayed firmly on the “Rubber Soul” album.
Because the song appears in the 1968 film “Yellow Submarine,” it is now included on the “Yellow Submarine Songtrack” album (1999). However, it doesn’t feature in the “Yellow Submarine Soundtrack” album from 1969. In the film, The Beatles sang it to Jeremy Hillary Boob, a creature living in the blank region, “Sea of Nothing.”
Take A Listen
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