Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

I have had several different favorite songs by the Beatles at various points in my life, and, for one stretch of years, that song was Norwegian Wood.  The melancholy mood, the sublime melody and Paul's flair at finding the ideal harmony all combine to create a masterwork of grace and beauty.  How disconcerting, then, to learn that Lennon and McCartney originally conceived the composition as a comedy number.  Furthermore, McCartney takes credit for the line "So I lit a fire," claiming that it was actually about setting the flat on fire and not, as I took it, a reference to the singer having a reflective moment by a fireplace.  Setting these perverse intentions aside, I think most listeners hear the song in a way more closely aligned to what I have always experienced.

The song was first recorded under the title This Bird Has Flown on October 12th, 1965, which was the first day of sessions for the album Rubber Soul.  Only one take, including overdubs, was achieved on this day.  The basic rhythm track featured John and George on acoustic guitars, Paul on bass and Ringo tapping his cymbals.  John's lead vocal was then overdubbed, as well as Paul's harmony vocal, some double-tracking of John's lead, finger cymbals and maracas from Ringo, and the piece de resistance - George playing the sitar.

George had discovered the Indian instrument on the set of their film Help! back in the spring of that year.  He was fascinated by it and soon purchased one in a London shop.  While he had been tinkering with it over the intervening months, he had no formal training on it as yet.  Still, John felt confident enough in his bandmate's ability to introduce it on a pop recording for the very first time.  The playing on this take is a bit clumsy and falls in with the concept of the song as a comedy number, as you can hear on Anthology 2.  Some vocal lines are repeated by the sitar in the bridges, and the track ends with George playing a silly four-note phrase not unlike the old vaudeville bit "and that ain't all!"

By October 21st, a few different approaches were attempted on takes two, three and four, each altering the tone of the song in various ways.  Take four was the keeper we all know and love.  Once more, John and George played acoustic guitars and Paul played his bass.  Ringo, however, merely kept the beat on his bass drum on the basic track, later overdubbing a tambourine.  George's sitar part was played with noticeably more skill and subtlety.  Instead of answering phrases in the bridges, he substitutes droning chords, a technique more akin to the true Indian style that he would eventually learn.

Now known as Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), the song appeared in the second slot on both the UK and US versions of Rubber Soul.  In 1973, it was one of six songs from that album to appear on the Red Album.  And, in 1977, it was chosen for the compilation album Love Songs.