Martha My Dear

Paul was easily the most accomplished keyboard player among the Beatles, yet he has admitted that even he was usually limited to just playing chords and/or a melody line.  The one time that he pushed himself beyond his capabilities was on Martha My Dear, playing a neat little two-handed exercise that he had composed.  And, though many believe that Paul was the only member of the Beatles to appear on the track, George is clearly visible in the photo above, taken at the original session at Trident Studios on October 4th, 1968.

Some rehearsal must have preceded the recording, because Paul, George and Ringo needed only one take to nail the basic track.  While George and Ringo merely added brief, simple contributions to the middle of the song, Paul turned in an impressive performance on piano, getting through the entire number on the first real attempt.  The 50th anniversary deluxe edition of the "White Album" presents this basic track along with a lead vocal and handclaps.

Paul must have given a demo of his composition to producer George Martin days earlier, because this was a rare instance when a score was prepared in advance for two groups of studio musicians, working in shifts.  The six brass players pictured above recorded their parts first, then made way for eight string players.  All of this was accomplished so efficiently that Paul stayed on afterwards to re-record his lead vocal, then double-track it with handclaps.

All that was required on October 5th was for Paul to overdub his bass part, although records indicate that an additional guitar part was recorded, as well.  This could have been played by either Paul or George, who was also present at Trident Studios on this date.

Though Martha was the name of McCartney's sheepdog, the song seems to be addressed more to his longtime girlfriend and fiancee, actress Jane Asher.  The engagement had been broken off for some time at this point, but the lyrics suggest looking back fondly at their former relationship.

But the words take a backseat to the music on this delightful song.  Martin incorporates McCartney's melody beautifully throughout his elegant score.  The song is the opening track of side two on the sprawling double album.  Like every song on that album, it stands in stark contrast to the one that follows, which in this case is Lennon's I'm So Tired, though Paul's falling bass line at the end of Martha My Dear segues perfectly into the rising guitar part at the top of that next song.  This was obviously done by design during the marathon 24-hour session on October 16th and 17th when Martin, Lennon and McCartney painstakingly laid out the sequence of the album's four sides.