Tomorrow Never Knows Lyrics



Lennon/McCartney


Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream,
It is not dying, it is not dying

Lay down al thoughts, surrender to the void,
It is shining, it is shining.

Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being

Love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing, it is knowing

And ignorance and hate mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing

But listen to the colour of your dreams
It is not leaving, it is not leaving

So play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning

 
Lead Singer: John

Recording: 4/6/66, 4/7/66, 4/22/66
Mixing: 4/27/66, 6/6/66, 6/22/66
Length: 2:55
Take: 3

Anomalies

0:52
ADT drops out early, leaving "It is being, It is" in the right ear. At the same moment the organ sound stops.

* NEW * Ugo Coppola points out :-

I know Lewisohn and others emphasize this track as the first-ever Beatles track using ADT, but are you really sure it is ADT? When I listen to "that you may see the meaning of within",especially "meaning of whi", what I hear is the good old natural double tracking, so fine in early Beatles songs,a bit less in this... :)

I think he has a point. The double tracking is a little too free to be ADT. Any further comments?

1:28
Feedback from Leslie speaker. (Right, during "Love is all and love is")

Mike Dickson says :-
"This is also deliberate (as I understand it) since it marks the exact central position of the song, its running length being 2:56"


The title came from an expression Ringo used. They chose it to take the edge off the heavy philosophical lyrics.
John Lennon: "My first psychedelic song."
This was inspired by Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert's book The Psychedelic Experience, which Lennon would read while tripping on LSD.
Lennon recorded himself reading from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, played it back while tripping on LSD, and wrote the song.
Each Beatle created strange sounds which were mixed in throughout the recording, often backward and in different speeds. McCartney had the idea for using tape loops to create effects.
This was the first track recorded for the album yet the last on record.
This used 16 tape loops. Several people remember standing around the room holding pencils for the tape to loop around and back into the recording machine as the various sound effects and instrumentation were faded in and out.
The vocals were forced through a Leslie (revolving) speaker. Lennon desired the effect that the listener could hear the words but not hear him, like a group of Tibetan monks chanting on a mountain top. (thanks, Mike - The Darkside of the Moon, for above 3)
Working titles were "Mark I" and "The Void."
There are 2 guitar solos on this - both were heavily processed.
Lennon asked producer George Martin to make his vocal sound like the Dali Lama.
Phil Collins covered this on his debut solo album. Like The Beatles did on Revolver, Collins used it to close the album. (thanks, Adrian - Wilmington, DE)
Oasis gives a tribute to this in their song "Morning Glory" with the line "Walking to the sound of my favorite tune Tomorrow Never Knows what it doesn't know too soon." Oasis is well know for their similarity to the Beatles. (thanks, Dominic - Pittsburgh, PA)

 
Revolver Lyrics   

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