Glass Onion

John Lennon began writing Glass Onion in 1968 to both mock and confuse those who sought to find deep meaning in the lyrics of the Beatles' songs.  Of course, the group had opened themselves up to such scrutiny when they decided to print all of their lyrics on the back cover of the Sgt. Pepper album in 1967.  They continued the practice later that year by printing the lyrics of the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack tunes, including I Am the Walrus, an early attempt to befuddle fans which only succeeded in adding fuel to the fire.

Lennon chose not to be obscure the second time around, making direct references to his songs Strawberry Fields Forever, I Am the Walrus and, interestingly enough, three songs by Paul - Lady Madonna, The Fool on the Hill and Fixing a Hole.  Plus he throws in the deliberately misleading line, "Well, here's another clue for you all.  The walrus was Paul."

When the Beatles met at George's house in May of 1968 to record demo versions of the songs proposed for the "White Album," Lennon only had one verse written as can be heard on Anthology 3.  He plays it three times through, double-tracking his acoustic guitar and vocal, occasionally slipping into gibberish when he forgets his own words, and slowing down significantly in the middle of the verse the last time around.

At some point during the summer, he and Yoko stopped over at McCartney's house for some help in completing the song.  This had been the songwriting duo's process for a few years, though it was now happening much less frequently.  It is, in fact, surprising to learn that it was still going on at all at this late date, but Paul specifically recalls this visit, and claims to have made a few small contributions to the lyrics.

The Beatles did not begin work on the track until September 11th, during producer George Martin's extended holiday from the ongoing sessions for the album.  Young Chris Thomas sat in as producer in the interim.  With John on acoustic and George on electric guitars, plus Paul on bass and Ringo on drums, they recorded thirty-four takes of the basic track before settling on take thirty-three as the best.  The next evening, September 12th, John recorded his lead vocal and Ringo added tambourine.
More drums were overdubbed on the 13th, as well as a piano part played by Paul.  One tiny little detail was added during a session on the 16th by having Paul play a four-note phrase on recorder after the reference to The Fool on the Hill.

John returned to the song on September 26th and compiled tapes of sound effects on four separate tracks - a ringing telephone, breaking glass, a soccer announcer shouting, "It's a goal!" and an organ playing one note.  He inserted these sounds into the song at various points and ended it with the breaking glass and the soccer announcer repeating several times for the fadeout.  The mono mix made of this version can also be heard on Anthology 3.

Once George Martin returned from his holiday and heard the track, he suggested that he could write an arrangement that would serve the song better than the sound effects, and John actually agreed.  So, on October 10th, 1968, a string octet recorded Martin's score, which takes the track to an eerie place unlike the previous version, especially in its ominous fadeout.

We always hear stories of the group's disintegration beginning in earnest during the five-month long sessions for this album, but the basic track on this and many other songs from this period has all four Beatles playing together as well as ever.  John's acoustic guitar can barely be heard in the mix, but the sharp jabs of George's electric guitar and Ringo's drums are tight and precise.  And Paul's bass rarely sounded nastier.  All of this, combined with Lennon's acknowledgement of his partner's work in the lyrics, presented a unified effort on their most disjointed and most fascinating album.