Hey Jude Lyrics (Lennon/McCartney)




Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

Hey Jude, don't be afraid.
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better.

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain,
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders.
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.

Hey Jude, don't let me down.
You have found her, now go and get her.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin,
You're waiting for someone to perform with.
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do,
The movement you need is on your shoulder.

Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin,
Then you'll begin to make it
Better better better better better better, oh.

Na Na Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na, hey Jude...

 
Lead Singer: Paul

Recording: 7/29/68, 7/30/68, 7/31/68, 8/1/68, 8/2/68
Mixing: 7/30/68, 8/2/68, 8/6/68, 8/8/68
Length: 7:06
Take: 1

Anomalies

0:06
Centre - someone picks up a tambourine.
0:21-0:22
Strange vocal noises during singing, almost like swallowing while singing (clever!) * NEW * This has been picked up as "more tambourine rattling". True, there is more tambourine rattling just after "start", which wasn't listed. But the vocal anomaly above is during "make it".
2:17
Right - high voice (female?) talking - sounds like "Love You" - on the words "Just You"
2:58
The Lewisohn reference to an "undeleted expletive":
Having listened to this some more, I think I've got it (finally) right
As Paul/John sing "Remember to let her under your skin", John shouts "Got the wrong CHORD", not just "Ohhh" - the last word sticks out more than the previous 3. If you count 1-2-3-4 through this section, you get:
  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1  
P/J: skin       Then You Be gi in
J: Got the Wrong Choooorr d     F**king Hell

Michael Patrick observes that George lets out an unchoreographed "aah" at this point, this may be the word "chord". However, just after "begin" there is some form of edit, which causes a noticeable brightening of the left channel. Maybe there is a mistake in the instrumental here too, which was hidden by the edit?. Expletive also heard as "Need some help","Ok Now","Take it out"
3:12-3:58, Right * NEW *
Lots of shouting from Paul, all gone off microphone for quite a while before it is mixed in to the centre at full volume. "Make it better",lines about "making it, not breaking it" poke through, but all quite hard to hear.
4:30
Non-anomaly - often being reported as "Don't f**k about Jude". This is really "Don't make it bad Jude"
5:37
Similarly, this is not "What the f**k Jude" or "Hey look at that you idiot!" but "The pain won't come back Jude"
* NEW *
The full text of Paul's amazing shoutings from where it comes in clearly at 3:58 is approximately :- "Jude Judy Judy Judy Judy Judy.. ow, wahow!"
"Ow hoo, my my my"
"Jude Jude Jude Jude Joooo ..."
"Na na na na na, yeh yeh yeh"
"Yeah you know you can make it, yeah Jude, you not gotta break it"
"Don't make it bad Jude"
"Take a sad song and make it better"
"Oh Jude, Jude, Hey Jude, woooow"
"Ooo, Joooode"
"Yeah"
"Hey, hey, hey-yay"
"Hey, hey, hey"
"Now Jude Jude Jude Jude Jude Jude, yeah yeah yeah yeah"
"Woh yeah yeah"
"Ah nanananananana cause I wanna "
"Nanananana ... nanalalal ow ow ow"
"Oh God"
"The pain won't come back Jude"

"Yeah, eh hehe heh"
"Make it through"
"Yeyeye Yeah .. yeah y-yeah ... yeah-hahahaha ...."
"Goodeveningladiesandgentlemen mymymymy mahhhh"
"oooo"
"Woooh"
"Well then a na-nanan"
Paul McCartney wrote this as "Hey Jules," a song meant to comfort John Lennon's son Julian as his parents were getting a divorce. The change to "Jude" was inspired by the character "Jud" in the musical Oklahoma!. McCartney loves show tunes.
This was the Beatles longest single, running 7:11. It was the first long song to get a lot of airplay, as radio stations still preferred short ones so they could play more of them. When this became a hit, stations learned that listeners would stick around if they liked the song, which paved the way for long songs like "American Pie" and "Layla." Disc jockeys were the real winners here, as they could finally take a reasonable bathroom break.
This was the first song released on Apple Records, The record label owned by The Beatles.
This was recorded over 2 days with a 36 piece orchestra. Orchestra members clapped and sang on the fadeout. They earned double their normal rate for their efforts.
McCartney didn't like the initial lyrics, especially the line "The movement you need is on your shoulder." Lennon convinced him to keep them.
This is the most commercially successful Beatles song. It was #1 in at least 12 countries.
Lennon: "I always heard it as a song to me."
This was going to be the B-side to "Revolution," but it ended up the other way around. It is a testament to this song that it pushed "Revolution" to the other side of the record.
George Harrison wanted to play a guitar riff after the vocal phrases, but Paul wouldn't let him. Things got tense between them around this time as McCartney got very particular about how Harrison played on songs he wrote.
Ringo was in the toilet when recording started. He made it to his drums just before his cue.
The Beatles performed this, along with "Revolution," on The David Frost Show in 1968. It was their first performance in 2 years.
This starts with one instrument, ends with 50.
The fadeout takes 4 minutes.
Sesame Street did a parody of this (and tribute to healthy eating) called "Hey Food."
Wilson Picket recorded this shortly after The Beatles did. His version hit #16 UK and #23 US and provided the name for his album. Duane Allman played on it and got a huge career boost when the song became a hit. He spent the next year as a session guitarist for many famous singers and then formed The Allman Brothers, who are considered the greatest Southern Rock band of all time.
A video of the rehearsal for Hey Jude Here...


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