Talk:I Want You (She's So Heavy)

Guitar solos

According to [Abbey Road Lyrics], a contemporaneous quote of George Harrison stresses that it is John Lennon playing the lead guitar:

"It is very heavy. John plays lead guitar and sings, and it's basically just an old blues riff he's doing, but again, it's a very original John-type song as well... It's a very good chord sequence he used on this particular one."

John's contributions in this role were fairly common by then, like in Revolution, The Ballad of John and Yoko, Get Back, For You Blue, and I Want You, if not others.

Paul Version

Is there a reason for the information about the Paul version being deleted? I'm not sure specifically what text has that, but a link was provided to a website with that information. It seems like that would be an important part in the song's history, unless there is proof against the bootleg version being authentic McCartney/Beatles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.125.122.9 (talk) 01:57, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Number of different words

(according to previous poster)

1. I
2. Want
3. You
4. So
5. Bad
6. It's
7. Driving
8. Me
9. Mad
10. She's
11. Heavy
12. Babe
13. Yeah
14. Know

Shouldn't "is" be counted as a word as well, even though it is contracted into "it's" and "she's"?

--Georgepauljohnringo (talk) 10:39, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

number of words?

When in the song do they say "know"? --128.164.73.92 14:09, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

"You know I want you so bad / It's driving me mad" John Cardinal 18:17, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

2d and 3d?

Is the use of "2d generation" and "3d generation" deliberate? "2nd" and "3rd" are the usual English abbreviations, but I haven't changed them in case "2d" and "3d" are conventions in Beatles discussion. 86.132.142.2 00:27, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Cover?

Should this line be moved under the 'Covers' heading? Or is it a legit recording because George Harrison accompanied him? "This song was covered by Alvin Lee (formerly of Ten Years After) for his album "1994". George Harrison accompanied Alvin on slide guitar on this re-make."

Genre?

The article mentions the song's 'hard-rock sound' Why isn't it then creditied as hard rock and not just rock? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by TheHungryHun (talk • contribs) 05:15, 30 December 2006 (UTC).

Ending?

I was under the impression that the ending was not deliberate but they ran out of tape.

Yeah, it was. There's a quote by Paul McCartney somewhere about how the ending was a "complete accident-- typical Beatles". I'll have to find the source and add it in. 68.183.182.60 (talk) 21:13, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

The tape would have run out at 8:04, but Lennon deliberately chose the abrupt ending at 7:44. Perhaps he got the idea from the tape running out. Anyway, see Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. p. 191. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.

The story I always heard passed around is that they could not figure out how to end the song and an engineer fed up with the situation just cut the tape to end the argument. Until it is cited one way or another all is speculation. I removed the comment until a cited source could be found. LeilaniLad (talk) 15:58, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:I want you.ogg

Image:I want you.ogg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 23:19, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

synchronization

In the "I Want You" parts, the lead guitar is almost perfectly synchronized with the vocal... I know this probably isn't a big revelation, but it was just today while I was listening to it at work when I noticed just how synced they are. Before I gave it a good listen I just figured that it was a basic melody repeated over and over, so I didn't think of it as anything unusual, but today I noticed that even the little adlibs and variations are matched. So my question, if anyone knows, is this: which of the two was recorded first, and did John do a whole lot of repetative listening and practising of whichever came second in order to get it right? - ♥ harutake ♫ | talk 06:01, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

Harutake, I checked Geoff Emerick's memoirs (he was a longtime Beatles sound engineer), he mentions the recording of the song but alas no details as to what you are asking. Does anyone here have Lewisohn handy, this would be the place to look.

--Georgepauljohnringo (talk) 10:42, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

Rooftop Concert

I've read on some sites that they played a rehearsal of I Want You at the Rooftop Concert, and it's venue in TBRB is the Rooftop Concert.--Das Ansehnlisch (talk) 21:35, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

Inspiration

The article doesn't mention that John wrote it for Yoko, and when he was criticized by reviewers for the simple lyrics, he responded that he had nothing more to say. He then mentioned that if you're drowning, you don't use alot of words to ask for help.70.29.79.11 (talk) 00:15, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

heavy metal?

I removed "heavy metal" as one of the listed genres. The link provided for a reference[1] appears to be a blog entry, consisting of one author's opinion. While a lot of the entry has hard facts regarding things like chart performance and sales, statements like this are pure opinion:

“Helter Skelter” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” are considered two of the first heavy metal songs.

Considered by who? "Helter Skelter" and "Revolution" I can see, but not "I Want You". I'm willing to reconsider my position here, but not on such a weak reference. - ♥ harutake ♫ | talk 21:07, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

While I understand the need for a source, if this song isn't heavy metal, what else is? Huw Powell (talk) 09:30, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Order of cover songs?

Hi there, the songs in the cover section do not seem to be ordered; how about putting them in order, e.g., chronological or alphabetical? Is there a recommendation on this in the Wiki guidelines? --Georgepauljohnringo (talk) 20:03, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Update: Since no one seems to care strongly one way or the other, I ordered them alphabetically now (and did some streamlining and quality control along the way). It makes sense to me like this, after all the list starts by saying sth like "this is a list of artists who have covered the song". So it's a list of artists, the entries should start with the artist name and be ordered. Which is what I did.

Hope everyone's fine with that, otherwise let's discuss.

Peace!

--Georgepauljohnringo (talk) 14:12, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

Is there any way to comment on the segue?

Even back in the days of vinyl-only, the follow up to the abrupt ending of this song is the pretty sounds of Here Comes the Sun. Was this ever intended? Obviously, in the latter era of the CD, it is a direct segue. In the modern era of the MP3 there is no such thing, of course. Huw Powell (talk) 09:39, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Sir, from what I have read it was indeed intended. This song (I Want You) was the last one the Beatles worked on. It has a long history and ample scholarship, along with some theories that it contained hidden messages and paranormal frequencies.Jimsteele9999 (talk) 23:58, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

It's brilliant sequencing, for sure, but I'm not sure there's much to say about it in the encyclopaedic sense. I do miss the days when albums had to split into two or more sequences. --Ben Culture (talk) 20:37, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

Track length?

The info box lists the length as 7:47 while the text (in discussing the abrupt ending) says the track ended at the 7:44 mark. So which is it? 69.242.122.190 (talk) 07:11, 4 September 2013 (UTC)TF

Riff or Leitmotif?

Can anyone explain why the D-E-F-G-A-E, C-C♭-B♭, C-D-A, F-E is a "riff" and not a "leitmotif"? The terms seem almost interchangable. Is there a reason?

BTW, "riff" doesn't have its own article; it is a section of Ostinato.

→Ben Culture (talk) 20:33, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

Music video

Music video for "She's So Heavy" using album version (7:47), edited version, or video version itself? Thanks. Wisnu Aji (talk) 10:21, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

Genres

The genre doom metal has been repeatedly added to the infobox based on what appears to be a very loose interpretation of two sources which make passing references to doom metal or doom rock. The sources in question are quoted in their entirety below.

Guitar World (2015): "John Lennon’s rarely heard lead guitar shines in this bluesy rocker from Abbey Road. The “heavy” part kicks in at the 4:37 mark, then builds and builds into something a twisted disc jockey would play as the pillars of the earth are tumbling down around him. Also, this song might have inadvertently started doom metal."

Classic Rock (2014): "Eight minutes long, and constrained within an ominous repeated phrase, it was a giant leap from the buttoned-up cuteness of I Want To Hold Your Hand. Predating Black Sabbath’s creation of doom rock by several months, its intensity is alleviated a little by a Santana-like Latin blues section and some frothy Hammond breaks. By the end, the massed guitar build-up slathered in white noise and the jarringly abrupt edit add to the claustrophobia of a very weird, very grown-up love song."

The first source specifically calls the song a "bluesy rocker" and doesn't say that it is doom metal, only that it "might have" inadvertently started doom metal. The qualifier "might have" pretty much precludes this from being definitive or encyclopedic. The second source also does not say it is doom metal, only that it predates "Black Sabbath's creation of doom rock." If doom rock was created later, how could this song be doom metal? The source also refers to a "Santana-like Latin blues section and some frothy Hammond breaks" which suggests blues rock. It also refers to it as a "love song," not typical doom metal subject matter. Both sources seem to point more to blues rock, as the song is described by George Harrison in the article, than doom metal. Also, there has been debate in the past among editors doubting whether the song could even be considered heavy metal, let alone doom metal. I suggest removing doom metal unless a definitive reliable source can be cited. Piriczki (talk) 16:01, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

I agree, it's too much of a stretch beyond what's stated in the sources. I removed the genre. Sundayclose (talk) 18:43, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

Also agree. A couple of comments of this sort, about how one song can be seen as maybe prefiguring something else, do not suddenly place that song in a genre that would not exist, in most people's understanding, for years to come. It's kind of like describing Leonardo da Vinci, definitively, as a "helicopter designer". The editor in question is doing similar things elsewhere. N-HH talk/edits 21:23, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

Short description

The short description appears to say that this is a 2021 song. That is probably an error.

Wyatt Stanton (talk) 21:05, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

Stoner Rock?

Is Stoner Rock actually a legitimate genre classification for this song? Since according to its page, Stoner Rock's cultural origins weren't established until the 90's. And 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' is a song from the 60's. So I propose that the genre is removed. Unless there's a clear explanation as to why we should ignore the fact that the page contains a genre that wasn't established until more than two decades later. ― C.Syde (talk | contribs) 11:32, 2 November 2021 (UTC)