Written by George Harrison for his wife Pattie, ‘For You Blue’ was a straightforward blues song recorded during the Let It Be sessions.
It’s a simple 12-bar song following all the normal 12-bar principles, except that it’s happy-go-lucky!
In the studio
‘For You Blue’ was recorded in six takes on 25 January 1969, with the working title ‘George’s Blues (Because You’re Sweet And Lonely)’. The last of these was selected for inclusion on the unreleased Get Back album and on Let It Be.
John Lennon played a lap steel guitar on the song; unusually, he used a cigarette lighter as a slide. During his solo, George Harrison encouraged Lennon with the words “Go, Johnny, go” and “Elmore James’ got nothing on this baby!”
There is no bass guitar on ‘For You Blue’, as Paul McCartney was playing piano. He treated the piano’s strings to change the sound of the instrument.
It’s a fuzzy, metallic sound, which he did by putting a piece of paper in the piano strings, causing them to vibrate against the paper when struck. You can hear on the session tape Paul’s fiddling around, trying to get the right sound.
Mix Online
‘For You Blue’ was remixed by Glyn Johns on 8 January 1970. Prior to this, Harrison re-recorded his lead vocals.
A new mix of take six was made in 2003 for Let It Be… Naked. An alternative take from the 25 January 1969 session was included on Anthology 3.
On 30 March 1970, Phil Spector made a 16-second loop using the song’s instrumental break, onto which he overlaid snippets of speech from the Let It Be film soundtrack. It was never used.
Several mixes were made in this fashion, utilising such cinéma vérité moments from the rooftop performance element of the film as the old woman’s “I just can’t see that it makes sense!”, the young girl’s “Yeah, I think it’s great… livens up the office hours, anyway”, the bowler-hatted vicar’s “Nice to have something for free in this country at the moment, isn’t it?”, the taxi driver’s “Is it their new record? Oh, great, I’m all in favour of it!” and the pompous businessman’s “This type of music is all right in its place, it’s quite enjoyable. But I think it’s a bit of an imposition to absolutely disrupt all the business in this area…”
In the end Spector used just one piece of dialogue from the Twickenham film sessions. Heard immediately prior to ‘For You Blue’ on Let It Be, it was Lennon’s “Queen says no to pot-smoking FBI members.”
‘For You Blue’ was the b-side to the US single ‘The Long And Winding Road’, released on 11 May 1970.
Not a favorite, and definitely not a stand out track from The Beatles career – but still… a very enjoyable little tune.
Little bloody tune my arse.George IS and was the Man.Stellar vocals,the only true lead player of the 4,and just the best human in music.I dig an SJ-200 w George plucking it.Cheers
Lol. Umm. Paul could play a mean lead too. Taxman. Out
It’s clearly a cigarette lighter not a shotgun cartridge. Apart from the likelihood of the two objects in a recording studio lighters were commonly used for playing slide. Suggest you change that statement
The words “pot smoking” were removed on the remastered “For You Blue.” John now reads the newspaper headline as “Queen says no to FBI memberd.”
Not on my copy he doesn’t – the word ‘pot’ is clearly in there. I don’t think the Abbey Road remastering engineers would have taken such a liberty with the recording.
I have a 2004 Japan vinyl Reissue of Apple TOJP-60143. Lennon’s intro comment is COMPLETELY edited out!
In-bloody-deed!
Harrison’s are some of my favorites. This one is no exception, i wish he was more involved in song writing.
I know what you mean. I love Harrison’s writing, even if he didn’t do a lot in The Beatles. This song is one of my favorites.
I don’t know why so many people say George didn’t do a lot of songs with the Beatles.
If my addition is correct George recorded 22 songs with the Beatles (original UK pressings plus the Past Masters 2).
Name me another third songwriter in any other successful group in the USA or the UK that had that many songs recorded.
Christine McVie.
You’re right.
That fact that All Things Must Pass is the greatest solo album of the four and George’s “Green album” is as good or bettah.My Son is a lefty but he inhales everything George has ever done.And,he plays an SJ-200,my 63 Fender Strat(lefty),a PRS Custom 24 10 top,1967 Rickenbacker 360/12,& a 67 Telecaster.Yet he’s a lead vocalist.I suppose he was listening to my CD’s of George,Marvin,Al Green,Jimi,Bob Cray Queen,etc. on our treks across the lovely provinces of Canada.Cheers
I don’t know if it is interesting for this article, but Lennon said this famous quote about ,,FBI members” on 8 January 1969. George re-recorded his lead vocal EXACTLY A YEAR LATER (8 January 1970).
Coincidence?
The Threetles(George, Paul and Ringo) worked on Let It Be and For You Blue on Jan 3-4 1970 NOT January 8 1970.
Julian was right though. George added a vocal part on 8 January 1970.
I stand corrected.
Just another fact to this song’s fans. The lap steel guitar played by John Lennon is actually in Brazil, with the musician Marcus Rampazzo.
Is there not an overdubbed bass part on this song?
There’s a climbing bass line that comes on during the “turn around” (the musical space between the end of a verse and the beginning of the next verse)
For me, it isn’t. Those notes, that you are talking about are off the slide guitar. It’s too punchy for a bass. And look, Paul played a piano.
Paul played with the strings on the piano to make em sound like the bass
Its paul on the piano. He played around with the strings of the piano and some paper and got a bass sound out of it. There is no bass on the song. Just paul playing the piano making it sound like a bass lol. Dont ask me why
John makes that “walking-note” moment each verse ending with his slide guitar. Just check it in headphones. The piano don’t have enough deep bass, but the slide guitar does.
Does anybody know what John’s guitar is tuned to? It’s an open chord tuning of some kind, I just don’t know what. Any info would be appreciated.
Its tuned to produce E7 (0 2 2 1 3 0) as an open chord
E, D, G#, E, B, E high to low works well..
The song is in the key of D major, and the slide guitar is tuned to open D7: D, A, D, F#, C, D (low to high)
Thanks so much, Luke. I’ll have to give that a try.
No problem. I looked it up some time ago, because I also needed to try it myself 🙂
Horrible track. The guitar is good, but someone still needs to tell me what the hell George is actually singing about, because it doesn’t seem to have a point or a decent vocal.
and you call yourself a beatle fan
George had some really fine songs during his later years with the Beatles. He brought numerous tunes into the Get Back/Let It Be sessions and quite a few of them were rehearsed by the full band. Shamefully though, only this song was approved for initial inclusion on the LP. They later added George’s fine I Me Mine (recorded without John) to give Harrison the “obligatory” 2 tracks per LP. George was right in noting his songs were not judged on their merits and that he was only being provided a “token showcase” for his music with the Beatles. All Things Must Pass, Here Me Lord, among others, would have been worthy Beatle album tracks. Fortunately, George did them himselves later on, but they were offered to the Fabs and should have been included on the last 2 albums. Oh well, obla di obla da, life goes on.
Listen closely George says ‘has got nothing on this failure’ not baby.
Yes, you’re correct about George saying “Elmore James got nothing on this failure” I always thought he was saying “baby” too. I listened to it several times after reading your comment. So thank you so much for that information.
A very Harrisonic/Pytonish remark, indeed …. GREAT
Very interesting, but wrong. You’re overhearing or overthinking or both ~ he’s saying “baby”, baby.
It’s “baby”. He’s chuckling while he says it and it’s slightly garbled because of that.
Crazy good track (like so many others).
George’s voice is sweet and slippery on this one. Reminds a bit of his vocals on “If Not For You.” And John’s guitar matches it perfectly. The song is a minor masterpiece of curiously integrating a playful and innocent sound with a semi-raunchy feel.
Somebody help me: in the Naked version the first part of the vocals, before the solos, are recorded from January 1969, but the “speech” and the rest of the vocals looks like the one recorded a year later.
So simple,pure and gracious. One of the best from Let It Be!
Reminds me of old blues stuff like Woody Guthrie and Sonny Terry. With some psichedelia added.
Where and what are the added acid references?
“Psichedelia” I don’t mean references to acid use in lyrics or something like that, but the way it sounds, the constant slides and specially the solo.
This one’s sweet. The song itself is, of course, derivative and simple, but the sound they produce is pure Beatle magic. Nothing – I repeat, nothing – else sounds like it. A lot of this has to do with John’s crazy slide playing and Paul’s wacky sounding piano!
Good call Bronx Boy Billy. It lightens up the album with a light-hearted dose of fun. Much of Let It Be is serious stuff. Even Magge May is dark…and I”m not sure what to make with “Dig It”. Not many rock groups at the time were making acoustic blues “roots” songs. Cream and Led Zep were re-introducing old blues tunes that were nearly unrecognizable due to the birthing pains of heavy metal.
Pretty sure I’ve read that Lennon was using Yoko’s lipstick tube as a slide. I’ve heard that multiple times, it may even be in the Anthology book but I would have to check again. This site is the first place I’ve EVER heard of him using a shotgun shell.
Its a lighter
There’s a close-up of John playing the guitar in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXEzFqWmCXA#t=90 – I can’t really tell what’s he using for a slide though. Maybe someone else will have more of a clue?
Looks like there are quite a few videos floating around on YouTube – from the Get Back sessions footage – that show them discussing, rehearsing and recording For You Blue – I suppose you can pick up various details about the song from the snippets of their conversations if you’re interested. I didn’t watch all of them, but in one of those I did watch, John can be heard explaining how old bluesmen used to use their wives’ lipstick tubes for a slide – from the way he tells it, it does sound like he himself was using something different.
I don’t think Yoko used lipstick (or any other cosmetics) at the time.
unless there is definitive evidence that John is using a shot gun shell, I always assumed he was using a cigarette lighter – my parents used a red round cigarette lighter that was from Europe at the very time that the Get Back sessions were bring recorded. Anyone else know of the lighter of which I speak?
Probably a BIC lighter. From the makers of BIC ballpoint pens.
Bic lighters weren’t around in Jan 1969. They came out in 1973.
I just had to go and listen to this, since it was song of the day today, and ’twas a treat. Full of Harrisonics! Then I listened to Dhani Harrison’s version, and I was flipped out by how much he sounds like his father. I mean, I knew already… but wow! His vocal timbre is so similar to George’s (which is very distinctive).
I’m sure you can rule out a shotgun shell. If you look close it’s Shiney on both ends. It could be a lip stick. Doubtful its a lighter. Awesome use of it out whatever it is
Its a lighter. He talks about it in a radio interview in the late 70’s
To get a decent tone on a slide guitar, the slide would have to
be hard, as not to mute the strings-
steel bar, cig lighter, metal lipstick cover, glass tube, bottle, et al.
A shotgun shell would not give the tone John was getting;
even if he used the the metal casing end (it could not barre all
the strings for the full sound)
just my opinion, based on some experience
The version in the Naked album helps to hear every instrument clearly. Frequently discussed in this web site Spector’s ruining of the Beatle sound, this song is one of those that makes you feel happy wherever you listen to it.
I agree with that completely. The whole naked album (except “…Universe”, this version of which I don’t like) sounds so much more like a Beatles’ album. The original was just the usual Spector muddled mess. Never liked his sound anyway.
I like the original LIB version over the Naked one. The acoustic guitar only sounds in the intro, then it disappears, and it makes it more misteryous IMHO. Anyway, both versions are great. A beautiful perfo by the four. Pure magic.
The acoustic is heard throughout and a descending line at the end of each verse, especially at the end of the second verse before John’s slide solo. Where it’s not heard well is on the original Spector version.
Like Young Fred, I prefer the Naked mix to the Spector mix. You can hear George digging in with his acoustic, which gives the song more oomph and urgency IMHO. The Spector version, with the acoustic mixed out except for the intro, feels flatter.
Glyn Johns’s original mixes were more like the Naked mix, with the acoustic audible the whole way through.
Calling this a 12-bar blues really minimizes it. The brilliance is in the sound they created. Just a slippery and beautiful piece.
A video of this 25 Jan 1969 For You Blue Session:
Fantastic–thanks Jam Fresh! It’s interesting to hear how the song developed, and interesting to hear how engaged John was the whole way through.
I’m interested in the debate about the ‘walking note’ part at the end of every verse. I’m pretty sure the article is correct in saying that it’s not a bass guitar–there seems to be no record of a bass overdub, and that part is present even in the Glyn Johns mix, which was made long before they started overdubbing on some of the tracks.
It sounds like it’s in the same position in the mix as John’s slide guitar part, so I’m thinking that it’s John. The idea that it could be a treated piano is interesting, but the tone is totally different from the rest of the piano, though I suppose he could have treated only some of the bass strings. I suppose it could also be the acoustic guitar, though again the tone is very different. So I think it’s most likely John.
I have to say, I think John’s playing is fantastic on this song–he often only sang backing vocals and maybe played some percussion on George’s songs, and sometimes didn’t play at all, but it’s an interesting example of his really adding significant contributions to a George song.
Is this the only occurrence of slide guitar on a Beatles track? Not surprising it’s on a George song, but perhaps surprising that it’s John playing it!
Definitely not. The slide guitar appeared in the Beatles track a few years earlier, in Drive My Car. Interestingly, Paul played the slide guitar then: http://www.beatlesebooks.com/drive-my-car
Except that Paul wasn’t using a slide. He’s simply sliding his finger up and down the strings. (BTW, the only way I can play “slide” 😉 )
John’s contributions to George’s songs tended to be more diverse than biographers realize, either out of ignorance, or perhaps they just want to exaggerate the unconvincing ‘John wasn’t interested in George’s songs or songwriting efforts’ narrative.
Now for the hard facts regarding John’s contributions to George’s songs:
* Don’t Bother Me – tremolo rhythm guitar, tambourine
* I Need You – snare drum, backing vocals (per George Martin’s handwritten notes)
* You Like Me Too Much – tambourine, electric piano, backing vocals (per George Martin’s handwritten notes)
* Think for Yourself – electric guitar, organ, backing vocals
* If I Needed Someone – electric guitar, backing vocals
* Taxman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (according to John C. Winn)
* I Want to Tell You – tambourine, backing vocals
* Blue Jay Way – organ, backing vocals
* The Inner Light – backing vocals
* While My Guitar Gently Weeps – organ, backing vocals (outro)
* Piggies – tape loops, backing vocals
* Only a Northern Song – organ, tape loops, glockenspiel, voices, other instruments?
* It’s All Too Much – electric guitar, guitar feedback, backing vocals
* Old Brown Shoe – electric guitar, organ, backing vocals (contrary to what Mark Lewisohn erroneously stated, John’s rhythm guitar was not fully erased and both he and George collaborated on the organ overdub, according to George Martin’s handwritten notes)
* Something – piano, possible backing vocals?
* For You Blue – lap steel guitar
* You Know What to Do – tambourine (this was a demo and they never got around to making a properly recorded version)
* Not Guilty – harpsichord
I didn’t include “Love You To” or “Within You Without You”, because they were mostly recorded with Indian musicians and this was of George’s own preference.
The fact that John clearly liked playing different instruments on George’s songs is ample proof that he was a very skilled musician and multi-instrumentalist in his own right, proficient on guitar, keyboards and other certain instruments.
It’s worth noting that George isn’t actually encouraging John with the “Go Johnny, go” remark. Lennon had already left the group by the time Harrison re-recorded his vocals in Jan. 1970, so the comment could be seen as an ironic jab at Lennon’s departure.
I’ve always heard “Go, Johnny, Go!” as just the kind of encouraging remark singers often interject during solos. The fact that it was recorded as part of an overdubbed vocal after Lennon had left doesn’t suggest historical irony to me – after all, it’s a great little solo so who wouldn’t praise it.