Dig It

Written by: Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey
Recorded: 24, 26, 28, 29 January 1969
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Glyn Johns

Released: 8 May 1970 (UK), 18 May 1970 (US)

John Lennon: vocals
Paul McCartney: piano
George Harrison: lead guitar
Ringo Starr: drums
Billy Preston: Hammond organ
George Martin: shaker

Available on:
Let It Be

The Beatles' second all-group composition, after Magical Mystery Tour's Flying, Dig It was improvised during two studio jams in January 1969.

...Like a rolling stone
Like a rolling stone
Like the FBI, and the CIA
And the BBC, BB King
And Doris Day, Matt Busby
Dig it, dig it, dig it, dig it...

John Lennon led the jams, based upon a sequence of I-IV-V chords, onto which he free-associated a set of mostly nonsensical lyrics.

The Beatles recorded Dig It on four occasions. An extract from the second was used on Let It Be, followed by the spoken words "That was Can You Dig It by Georgie Wood, and now we'd like to do Hark The Angels Come", which were taken from the first version.

In the studio

Although just 49 seconds of Dig It found their way onto Let It Be, the song was originally much longer. The first version, lasting nearly seven minutes, was recorded on 24 January at Apple Studios.

The Beatles returned to Dig It on 26 January, taping a second version lasting 12'25". A segment, from 8'52" to 9'41", was used on the Let It Be album, with a slightly longer version appearing in the film.

Again, Lennon dominated the song, singing lyrics from Twist And Shout and Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone along with his own improvisations. During the middle of the jam Paul McCartney repeatedly sang a refrain based around the words "Dig it up".

The second version of Dig It featured Billy Preston on organ and George Martin on percussion. Linda McCartney's six-year-old daughter Heather also made an impromptu vocal contribution early on in the song.

The Beatles returned to Dig It on 28 and 29, although nothing from these performances was released. The former version saw Lennon singing the titles of songs recorded by the group during the Let It Be sessions.

Come on and dig it... dig it every night and day... dig it any time of day. You can dig it for breakfast, dig it for your tea. You can dig it in the morning, dig it for dinner, any day... Don't Let Me Down, Get Back, I've Got A Feeling, Two Of Us, All I Want Is You, Teddy Boy, One After 909, All Things Must Pass, Dig It, Let It Be, The Long And Winding Road, For You Blue, Maxwell's Silver Hammer...

Related articles:

• Mixing: Dig It
• Get Back/Let It Be sessions: day 12
• Dig A Pony
• Don't Let Me Down
• Recording: I Want You (She's So Heavy)