The Beatles Bible

The Beatles' songs, albums, photos, places and much more, including a day-by-day guide to their career from 1957 to 1970 and beyond, plus profiles of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and many others.
The Beatles' songs, albums, photos, places and much more, including a day-by-day guide to their career from 1957 to 1970 and beyond, plus profiles of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and many others.
The Beatles Bible
The Beatles Bible
Share this page:
  • email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • MySpace
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Netvibes
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Live
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • Add to favorites
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Home
  • History
  • Songs
  • Albums
  • Discography
  • People
  • Features
  • Books
  • Map
  • Gallery
  • Fab forum
  • Store
  • Subscribe:
  • RSS icon RSS feed
  • Email envelope icon By email
  • Twitter icon Twitter updates
You are here: Home » The Beatles' songs » Revolution 9

Revolution 9

  • Page 1 of 2
  • « Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • Next »

The Beatles (White Album) album cover artwork Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 30 May; 6, 10, 11, 20, 21 June 1968
Producers: George Martin, John Lennon
Engineer: Geoff Emerick

John Lennon: vocals, tape loops, effects, samples
George Harrison: vocals, samples
Yoko Ono: vocals, effects, samples

Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)

Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)

Dividing audiences since late 1968, John Lennon's sound collage Revolution 9 was an exercise in musique concrète influenced heavily by Yoko Ono and the avant-garde art world.

Buy from Amazon

The White Album (Remastered)

The Beatles. EMI 2009, Audio CD, $16.71

4.5

The recording emerged from Revolution 1, the final six minutes of which formed a lengthy, mostly instrumental jam. Lennon took the recording and added a range of vocals, tape loops and sound effects, creating Revolution 9, the longest track released during The Beatles' career.

The slow version of Revolution on the album went on and on and on and I took the fade-out part, which is what they sometimes do with disco records now, and just layered all this stuff over it. It was the basic rhythm of the original Revolution going on with some 20 loops we put on, things from the archives of EMI. We were cutting up classical music and making different-size loops, and then I got and engineer tape on which some test engineer was saying, 'Number nine'.
John Lennon
Playboy, 1980

Although he made no direct contribution to Revolution 9, being in New York at the time, Paul McCartney had made a similar sound collage, the unreleased 14-minute Carnival Of Light, 18 months previously.

Revolution 9 was quite similar to some stuff I'd been doing myself for fun. I didn't think that mine was suitable for release, but John always encouraged me.
Paul McCartney
Anthology

The other Beatles and George Martin are said to have persuaded Lennon not to include Revolution 9 on the White Album, to no avail. Although McCartney had long been interested in musique concrète, particularly Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge, it is likely that he was concerned at the effect Revolution 9 would have on the group's public perception.

I don't know what influence Revolution 9 had on the teenybopper fans, but most of them didn't dig it. So what am I supposed to do?
John Lennon, 1969
Anthology

It wasn't only the group's teenage fans who were confused by Revolution 9. Charles Manson found a wealth of symbolism in the track's loops and effects, and thought that Lennon's shouts of 'Right!' were, in fact, a call to 'rise' up in revolt.

Manson drew a parallel between Revolution 9 and the Bible's book of Revelation. He thought The Beatles were variously four angels sent to kill a third of mankind, or four locusts mentioned in Revelation 9, which he equated with beetles.

Revolution 9 was an unconscious picture of what I actually think will happen when it happens; just like a drawing of a revolution. All the thing was made with loops. I had about 30 loops going, fed them onto one basic track. I was getting classical tapes, going upstairs and chopping them up, making it backwards and things like that, to get the sound effects. One thing was an engineer's testing voice saying, 'This is EMI test series number nine'. I just cut up whatever he said and I'd number nine it. Nine turned out to be my birthday and my lucky number and everything. I didn't realise it: it was just so funny the voice saying, 'number nine'; it was like a joke, bringing number nine into it all the time, that's all it was.
John Lennon
Rolling Stone, 1970

Revolution 9 also featured in the 'Paul is dead' myth, after it was discovered that the 'number nine' motif, when played backwards, sounded like 'Turn me on, dead man'. A number of other elements of the recording featured in the myth, including the sound of a car crashing followed by an explosion.

  • Page 1 of 2
  • « Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • Next »
Related articles:

  • Unreleased 11-minute mix of Revolution 1 surfaces
  • Revolution 1
  • John Lennon and the number nine
  • Recording: Tomorrow Never Knows, Got To Get You Into My Life
  • Revolution

20 responses to “Revolution 9”

  1. mark says:
    Friday 20 February 2009 at 9.46pm

    according to karl heinz stockahausen's official website, lennon was inspired by stockhausen's "hymnen" in recording revolution 9.
    is that correct?

    Reply to this comment
    • Ian says:
      Tuesday 14 July 2009 at 5.04am

      The recording of "Hymnen" was first released after "Revolution 9" was recorded, so Lennon would have had to have access to a pre-release version.

      Reply to this comment
  2. Timothy says:
    Sunday 26 April 2009 at 10.45pm

    What part of Revolution 9 does George Harrison and John Lennon whisper the phrase 'There ain't no rule for the company freaks' six times??? I've listened for it many times, but couldn't hear it. Is it audible at all???

    Reply to this comment
    • Joe says:
      Monday 27 April 2009 at 11.17am

      As far as I know it's on the four-track tape, but wasn't used in the final mix. Mark Lewisohn mentioned it, but I've never heard it myself. Possibly it's buried deep in the mix somewhere, though.

      Reply to this comment
  3. Richard says:
    Monday 3 August 2009 at 8.10am

    "Revolution 9" : was so far ahead of it's time I was amazed alot of people didn't like it simply for the absolute genius of it? When I bought the 'White Album', I always felt the album would be incomplete without it, being every song has it's genre it represents! This song is the 'Beatles', the creativity, invention and total mystery of it's existence? 'Abstract Expressionism' hanging upon the walls and 'Revolution 9, playing unending! Sometime in the future, folks play the song 9 times in a row, as I did, you'll be amazed how it actually 'sounds' like an actual musical song, exsisting in the Beatles popular catalogue of songs and it's why the 'White Album' is so important to the history of recorded music!

    Reply to this comment
    • Max says:
      Sunday 20 December 2009 at 3.24pm

      I do agree it becomes a song, after all these years I actually expect every hidden sound of it; and when the Ipod plays it randomly I will let it play to the end. (but please: its genre, its existence, it's why. Its and it's are not the same)

      Reply to this comment
  4. Lutfi says:
    Saturday 29 August 2009 at 12.09am

    The singing voice from 7:05 till 7:25 is sung in Arabic, and most probably it's by Egyptian singer Mohammad Abdel Wahab.

    Reply to this comment
  5. RichardZ says:
    Monday 14 September 2009 at 6.40am

    I love this piece but I believe the main inspiration is "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" by Frank Zappa on the Freak Out! album

    Reply to this comment
  6. Arno says:
    Thursday 15 October 2009 at 2.38am

    I hear some "War of the Worlds" battle scene sounds in there around 5:30...
    This "song" (collage) never ceases to fascinate me. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall while Lennon and his mates going through all those EMI tapes.

    Reply to this comment
  7. Norman Therun says:
    Saturday 12 December 2009 at 5.30am

    Revolution#9, Wild Honey Pie, You Know My Name (Look Up The Number), When I'm 64, Being For The Benefit of Mr.Kite, Lovely Rita, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, I Am The Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day in the Life, Maxwell Silver Hammer, Good Night, Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey, I Want You/She's So Heavy, Because, Helter Skelter, Sexy Sadie, Yer Blues, Long Long Long, Savoy Truffle, Don't Bother Me, Octopus's Garden, Why Don't We Do It In The Road, Rocky Racoon and so many many more are why I love The Beatles. They are so diverse, so talented, so catchy, so deep, so fun and all of them are so unforgettable

    Reply to this comment
  8. Astrubi says:
    Thursday 24 December 2009 at 7.35pm

    This song doesn't appear in the track list of your US Discography. Is it a mistake, or was it removed in the US version?

    Reply to this comment
    • Joe says:
      Sunday 27 December 2009 at 2.39pm

      No, it was released on the US White Album. I missed it out of the discography due to a cut and paste error (more cut than paste), but thanks for letting me know about it - I've amended the discog.

      Reply to this comment
  9. SgtPepper1909 says:
    Tuesday 19 January 2010 at 2.02am

    This song is so darn comical.

    "So the wife called me and we'd better go to see a surgeon
    Or whatever to price it....yellow underclothers
    So, any road, we went to see the dentist instead
    Who gave her a pair of teeth which wasn't any good at all
    So I said I'd marry, join the f?!%$#g navy and went to sea"

    What the heck? Not only does he constantly change person, his lyrics are as collaged as the music...There are passages that are slightly related in their subjects, but it is all a big acid trip--sort of fascinating, but also scary---very tense, like it's all about to blow apart in your face.

    I'd heard that above phrase said about the Who, but this is entirely different instance.

    Reply to this comment
  10. Anandgyan says:
    Thursday 28 January 2010 at 10.52pm

    You know, that was the good thing with a L.P., you sure could spin it backward, and darn, I sure did hear "Turn me on dead man, turn me on dead man, turn me on dead man" when, what was heard forward, was "Number nine, number nine, number nine...". Sure can't do that with a CD!

    Reply to this comment
  11. Marcelo says:
    Saturday 13 February 2010 at 6.06pm

    Music is made for create an emotional response in people. "Revolution 9" amazes me and gives me the creeps every time I hear it.

    I also agree that it is a "song".

    Reply to this comment
  12. Steve says:
    Thursday 25 February 2010 at 5.34am

    I remember seeing years ago on TV a live performance of this track where the band (can't recall the name) played an impressive percentage of the sounds live, the rest sampled from the CD...

    Reply to this comment
  13. McLerristarr says:
    Monday 22 March 2010 at 8.34am

    John saying the Number 9 part was taken from an engineer saying "This is EMI test series number nine" clashes with the claim it was "culled from examination tapes from the Royal Academy of Music". Which is correct?

    Reply to this comment
    • Joe says:
      Monday 22 March 2010 at 7.58pm

      The Royal Academy information came from tape operator Richard Lush, who worked on the sessions. I suspect the tapes were made for the Academy at Abbey Road, so both could have been true. I don't know for sure. Apparently the tapes no longer exist, and the identity of the person isn't known.

      Reply to this comment
  14. Gustavo Solórzano Alfaro says:
    Wednesday 14 April 2010 at 4.19pm

    George Martin didn't produce this track. The de facto producer was Lennon, who also played mellotron. And Ringo Starr didn't participate.

    Reply to this comment
    • Joe says:
      Friday 16 April 2010 at 7.37am

      You're right that John was the de facto producer, although George Martin was listed as producer on the studio documentation. I've listed them both.

      As for Ringo's participation, I'm not sure why I wrote that. I've removed the credit now. Thanks for the suggestions.

      Reply to this comment

Leave a reply

Click here to cancel reply.


  • Latest posts

    • Paul McCartney live at Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh
    • Paul McCartney live at Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh
    • Paul McCartney live at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
    • Paul McCartney live at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
    • Paul McCartney live at Bell Centre, Montreal
    • Paul McCartney live at Air Canada Centre, Toronto
    • Paul McCartney live at Air Canada Centre, Toronto
    • Apple Records announces best-of compilation and bonus material
    • Paul McCartney live at Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte
    • Paul McCartney live at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
  • On this day in Beatles history

    • 1968: Ringo Starr rejoins The Beatles
    • 1964: Live: State Fair Coliseum, Indianapolis
    • 1963: Radio: Pop Go The Beatles

    Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.

  • Twitter updates

  • Things we said today

    • vonbontee on Raymond Jones interview
    • Julian on I Want To Hold Your Hand
    • Joe on Raymond Jones interview
    • Joe on Raymond Jones interview
    • Joe on UK LP: Rubber Soul
  • From the forum

    • What does Paul say at the end of "Cry Baby Cry?"

      posted in forum The songs  by paulsbass

    • Bass: Paul v. George

      posted in forum Recording and musicology  by paulsbass

    • Raymond Jones.

      posted in forum Yesterday... and today  by mithveaen

    • About my name...

      posted in forum All together now  by mithveaen

    • Most played song in iTunes (or a similar program)

      posted in forum The songs  by DrRobert9

  • In the gallery

    That'll Be The Day disc Limited edition Beatles iPod Meet The Beatles! cover artwork George Harrison, 1963
  • Buy on Amazon

    • The Beatles Stereo Box Set

      The Beatles. EMI 2009, Audio CD, $174.99

      4.5

    • Signature Box

      John Lennon. Capitol 2010, Audio CD, $151.99

  • Top Ten Club

    • The Beatles' songs
    • Welcome to the Beatles Bible!
    • Fab forum
    • Beatles photo gallery
    • The Beatles' albums
    • The 'Paul is dead' myth
    • Day after day: the Beatles' history
    • The Beatles (White Album)
    • The Beatles and drugs
    • United Kingdom discography
  • Can buy me love

    The Beatles Bible is run for the love of anything and everything to do with The Beatles. If you've learned something new about the band and wish to show your appreciation, why not make a small donation via PayPal? It'll help with server costs, Beatles books etc...
  • Thinking of linking

    • thebeatles.com
    • johnlennon.com
    • paulmccartney.com
    • twitter.com/paulmccartney
    • georgeharrison.com
    • ringostarr.com
    • applerecords.com
  • Translator

  • Come together

    This fan site is in no way associated with or endorsed by The Beatles, Apple Corps Ltd, associated organisations or any members of The Beatles or their representatives. It is intended as a tribute to the greatest group of all time, to try - in a small way - to help introduce their music to new generations of fans.

© 2008-2010 The Beatles Bible. All rights reserved. | Contact us | About this site | Sitemap | Privacy policy | Word count: 713,906

Top of page