We Can Work It Out

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox song "We Can Work It Out" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It was first issued as a double A-side single with "Day Tripper" in December 1965. The song was recorded during the sessions for the band's Rubber Soul album. The single reached number one in Britain (where it won the Ivor Novello Award for the top-selling A-side of 1965),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the United States, Australia, Canada, and Ireland. In the UK, it was the seventh highest selling single of the 1960s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

"We Can Work It Out" is a comparatively rare example of a Lennon–McCartney collaboration from this period in the Beatles' career,Template:Sfn in that the two songwriters worked together as they had when writing the group's early hit singles of 1963. "A Day in the Life", "Baby, You're a Rich Man", and "I've Got a Feeling", are among the other notable exceptions to this trend from the group's later career.Template:Sfn

CompositionEdit

{{#invoke:Listen|main}} McCartney wrote the words and music to the verses and the chorus, with lyrics that "might have been personal", probably relating to his relationship with actress Jane Asher.Template:Sfn McCartney then presented the song to Lennon, who contributed the bridge:

I took it to John to finish it off, and we wrote the middle together. Which is nice: 'Life is very short. There's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.' Then it was George Harrison's idea to put the middle into Template:Music time, like a German waltz. That came on the session, it was one of the cases of the arrangement being done on the session.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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File:Jane Asher Bristol Old Vic US tour 1967.JPG

As with several of his songs over 1965–66, McCartney drew inspiration for "We Can Work It Out" from his relationship with actress Jane Asher (pictured performing during the Bristol Old Vic's 1967 US repertory tour).

With its intimations of mortality, Lennon's contribution to the twelve-bar bridge contrasts typically with what he saw as McCartney's cajoling optimism,Template:Sfn a contrast also seen in other collaborations by the pair, such as "Getting Better" and "I've Got a Feeling". As Lennon told Playboy in 1980:

In We Can Work It Out, Paul did the first half, I did the middle eight. But you've got Paul writing, 'We can work it out / We can work it out' – real optimistic, y'know, and me, impatient: 'Life is very short, and there's no time / For fussing and fighting, my friend.'Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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In author Ian MacDonald's view, some critics have overemphasised the extent of McCartney's optimism in the song and neglect the urgency in passages written by McCartney,Template:Sfn such as the line "Do I have to keep on talking until I can't go on?" Lennon's middle shifts focus from McCartney's concrete reality in D Mixolydian to a philosophical perspective in B minor. The waltz-like passage suggested by Harrison that leads back to the verseTemplate:Sfn is possibly meant to suggest tiresome struggle.Template:Sfn Rather than a formal change to Template:Music time, the waltz effect is created by the use of quarter note triplets within the regular Template:Music rhythm.Template:Sfn

MacDonald comments on the song:

[Lennon's] passages are so suited to his Salvation Army harmonium that it's hard to imagine them not being composed on it. The swell-pedal crescendos he adds to the verses are, on the other hand, textural washes added in the studio – the first of their kind on a Beatles record and signposts to the enriched sound-palette of Revolver.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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RecordingEdit

File:Mannborg Harmonium - 5.jpg

Lennon played a Mannborg harmonium on the recording.

The Beatles recorded "We Can Work It Out" at EMI Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 20 October 1965,Template:Sfn during the sessions for their Rubber Soul album. Along with Lennon's "Day Tripper", the song was earmarked for a non-album single that would accompany the release of the new LP.Template:Sfn The band taped a satisfactory basic track in just two takes.Template:Sfn With nearly eleven hours dedicated to the song, however, it was by far their longest expenditure of studio time up to that point.Template:Sfn A vocal overdubbing session took place on 29 October.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

No record exists of the band members' exact contributions to the recording, leading to uncertainty regarding the playing of some of the instruments.Template:Sfn Reduced to a single track in the final mix, where it was placed hard left in the stereo image, the group's initial performance consisted of acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine and drums.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn While musicologist Walter Everett credits these parts to Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr, respectively,Template:Sfn authors Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin suggest that McCartney, as the song's main composer, was the acoustic guitarist and Lennon instead played bass.Template:Sfn Two harmonium parts were overdubbed,Template:Sfn using EMI's Mannborg harmonium.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

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Promotional filmsEdit

For the first time for one of their singles, the Beatles filmed promotional clips for "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper". Subsequently, known as the "Intertel Promos", these clips were intended as a way to save the band having to appear in person on popular British television shows such as Ready Steady Go! and Top of the Pops,Template:Sfn and also ensured that the Beatles reached their large international audience.Template:Sfn

Filming took place at Twickenham Studios in Twickenham, London on 23 November 1965,Template:Sfn with Joe McGrath as director.Template:Sfn The Beatles made a total of ten black-and-white videos that day,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn filming clips for the new songs as well as for their previous hit singles "I Feel Fine", "Ticket to Ride" and "Help!"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Three of the films were mimed performances of "We Can Work It Out",Template:Sfn in all of which Lennon was seated at a harmonium.Template:Sfn

The most frequently broadcast of the three was a straightforward performance piece with the group wearing black suits. In the description of Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield: "At first, they're playing it all straight in their suits, until John sets out to make Paul crack up on camera. He makes it impossible for anyone else to keep a straight face – by the end, he's playing the organ with his feet."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Another clip shows the group wearing the stage suits from their Shea Stadium performance on 15 August.Template:Sfn The third clip opens with a still photograph of Lennon with a sunflowerTemplate:Sfn in front of his eye.Template:Sfn

One of the November 1965 promo films was included in the Beatles' 2015 video compilation 1, and the third promo clip was included in the three-disc versions of the compilation, titled 1+.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReleaseEdit

In a discussion about which of the two songs should be the A-side of the new single, Lennon had argued for "Day Tripper", differing with the majority view that "We Can Work It Out" was more commercial.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn On 15 November, EMI announced that the A-side would be "We Can Work It Out", only for Lennon to publicly contradict this two days later.Template:Sfn As a result, the single was marketed as a "double A-side".Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Lennon's championing of "Day Tripper", for which he was the principal writer, was based on his belief that the Beatles' rock sound should be favoured over the softer style of "We Can Work It Out".Template:Sfn Airplay and point-of-sale requests soon proved "We Can Work It Out" to be the more popular of the two sides.

The single was released on EMI's Parlophone label in Britain (as Parlophone R 5389) on 3 December 1965,Template:Sfn the same day as Rubber Soul.Template:Sfn The two releases coincided with speculation in the UK press that the Beatles' supremacy in the pop world since 1963 might be coming to an end, given the customary two or three years that most acts could expect to remain at the peak of their popularity.Template:Sfn "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" entered the UK Singles Chart (at the time, the Record Retailer chart)<ref name="OfficialChartsHistory">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> on 15 December, at number 2, before holding the top position for five consecutive weeks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The single also failed to top the national chart published by Melody Maker in its first week – marking the first occasion since December 1963 that a new Beatles single had not immediately entered at number 1.Template:Sfn Although the single was an immediate number 1 on the NMETemplate:'s chart, the Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers both published articles highlighting the apparent decline of the band's chart success.Template:Sfn

The record was the Beatles' ninth consecutive chart-topping single in the UKTemplate:Sfn and the band's fastest-selling single there since "Can't Buy Me Love", their previous McCartney-led A-side.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn At the following year's Ivor Novello Awards, "We Can Work It Out" was acknowledged as the best-selling single of 1965, ahead of "Help!"Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> By November 2012, it had sold 1.39 million copies in the UK, making it the group's fifth million-seller in that country.<ref name="guardian nov2012">Template:Cite news</ref> As of December 2018, the double A-side was the 54th best-selling single of all time in the UK – one of six Beatles songs included on the top sales rankings published by the Official Charts Company.<ref name="Myers/OCC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the United States, where the single was issued by Capitol Records on 6 December (as Capitol 5555),Template:Sfn both songs entered the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending 18 December.Template:Sfn Record World reviewed the single and said that "We Can Work It Out" "will fascinate teens with its change of pace 4/4-3/4 timing and potent lyric."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Cash Box called the song "a rhythmic, medium-paced affair about a determined fella who is sure that he can solve his romantic problems."<ref name=cb>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On 8 January 1966, "We Can Work It Out" hit number one on the chart, while "Day Tripper" entered the top ten at number 10.Template:Sfn "We Can Work It Out" spent three non-consecutive weeks at number 1, while "Day Tripper" peaked at number 5.Template:Sfn The song was the band's eleventh US number one, accomplished in just under two years since their debut on the Hot 100.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn It was their sixth consecutive number 1 single on the American charts,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn a record at the time.Template:Sfn Template:Refn The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for sales of 1 million or over, on 6 January 1966.Template:Sfn

Author Andrew Grant Jackson writes that the Beatles' six US chart-toppers over the year from January 1965 reflected the nation's changing mood with regard to the Vietnam War and youth-driven social upheaval. With "We Can Work It Out", he continues, the Beatles conveyed the "fussing and fighting" that had replaced the post-Kennedy rebirth of optimism from the start of the year.Template:Sfn The song was referenced by Cecil Kellaway's character in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which focused on the then-controversial issue of interracial relationships.Template:Sfn

The Beatles performed "We Can Work It Out" on their final UK tour,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn which took place on 3–12 December 1965.Template:Sfn In 1991, McCartney played an acoustic version of the song for his MTV Unplugged performance, later released on Unplugged (The Official Bootleg), and The Unplugged Collection, Volume One.

Cover versionsEdit

Deep PurpleEdit

Template:Infobox song Deep Purple covered "We Can Work It Out" on their 1968 album The Book of Taliesyn. The band drastically reworked it, as they always did with covers. The first three minutes of the song is a fast progressive rock instrumental incorporating themes from classical music (notably Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet) called "Exposition", which drifts over into the Beatles song.Template:Sfn

Deep Purple had followed the same structure on their covers on their debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, such as the Leaves' "Hey Joe". Reportedly, the band recorded their version of the song because McCartney had stated that he was impressed with their cover of "Help!".<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Stevie WonderEdit

Template:Infobox song In 1970, Stevie Wonder covered the song on his album Signed, Sealed & Delivered, and released it as a single in 1971. The single reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wonder's version earned him his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 1972, for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Cash Box described this version as a "spectacular dance track" which "returns Wonder to his earlier straight-ahead teen self complete with harmonica solo."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Wonder performed the song for McCartney when the latter was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. In 2010, when McCartney was awarded the Gershwin Prize by the Library of Congress, Wonder again performed his arrangement of "We Can Work It Out" at a White House ceremony held in McCartney's honour. Wonder performed it a third time in January 2014, at the 50th anniversary tribute of the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Other artistsEdit

In his discussion of the various cover versions of "We Can Work It Out", John Kruth describes Petula Clark's recording, released on her 1966 album My Love, as "too perky for its own good".Template:Sfn He highlights Humble Pie's blues version, from their 1975 album Street Rats, as a "bold" reading in which the band dispensed with the song's melody to fashion "a worried blues ... more Sonny Boy Williamson than Fab Four".Template:Sfn

In 1976, the song was the Four Seasons' contribution to the soundtrack of All This and World War II, a musical documentary that author Nicholas Schaffner described as "the most bizarre" of several film and television works that capitalised on EMI, now free of its contractual obligations to the Beatles, flooding the market with re-packaged Beatles singles.Template:Refn Schaffner included this heavily orchestrated version, produced by Lou Reizner, among the interpretations that "[succeed] in making Lennon–McCartney's greatest songs sound, at best, like the Beatles' rendition of 'Good Night'".Template:Sfn

Other artists who have covered the song include Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson, Melanie, Chaka Khan (on the album What Cha' Gonna Do for Me), Maxine Brown, Brass Construction, King Missile, Johnny Mathis, Judy Collins, Big Youth, Tesla, Plain White T's, Tom Jones, Heather Nova, Steel Pulse, and Rick Wakeman.<ref name="Fontenot/About">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

PersonnelEdit

According to Walter Everett, the line-up of musicians on the Beatles' recording was as follows:Template:Sfn

Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocal, bass guitar
John Lennon – harmony vocal, acoustic guitar, harmonium
George Harrison – tambourine
Ringo Starr – drums

In his personnel list for the song, MacDonald notes that some sources attribute the tambourine part to Harrison, yet he considers it more likely that Starr played the instrument.Template:Sfn Everett credits Harrison, citing the tambourine's placement in the stereo image with the three other instruments recorded as part of the basic track.Template:Sfn Guesdon and Margotin also credit Harrison.Template:Sfn

Charts and certificationsEdit

Beatles versionEdit

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2 Weekly charts

Chart (1965–66)	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	1
Template:Single chart
Template:Single chart
Finnish Suomen Virallinen Lista<ref name=Finland>Template:Cite book</ref>	1
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1
Italian Musica e Dischi Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "We can work it out".</ref>	5
Template:Single chart
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1
Rhodesian Lyons Maid Chart<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	1
South African Springbok Radio<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2
Swedish Kvällstoppen Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1
Swedish Tio i Topp Chart<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	1
UK Record Retailer Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1
US Cash Box Top 100<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	1
West German Musikmarkt Hit-Parade<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2

Template:Col-2

Year-end charts

Chart (1966)	Rank
US Billboard Year-End<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	16
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	11

Certifications Template:Certification Table Top Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Bottom

Template:Col-end

Stevie Wonder versionEdit

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2 Weekly charts

Chart (1971)	Peak position
Canadian RPM 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	49
UK Singles Chart<ref name="WonderUK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	27
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	13
US Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	3
US Cash Box Top 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	9

Template:Col-2

Year-end charts

Chart (1971)	Rank
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	96
US R&B/Soul (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	27

Template:Col-end

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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SourcesEdit

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External linksEdit

Template:The Beatles singles Template:Rubber Soul Template:UK Christmas No. 1s in the 1960s Template:Deep Purple Template:Stevie Wonder Template:Authority control