Paul first brought "Golden Slumbers" to The Beatles during the filmed rehearsals in Twickenham Film Studios for the "Let It Be" project. He first performed a piano rendition of the song, along with its companion piece "Carry That Weight," on January 7th, 1969. He repeated the verse and refrain of the song three times during this rough rehearsal, yet sung as "Once there was a way to travel homeward" each time.
In his book “Many Years From Now,” Paul explains his intentions for his vocal performance on this song. “I remember trying to get a very strong vocal on it, because it was such a gentle theme, so I worked on the strength of the vocal on it and ended up quite pleased with it.” This first premier of the song on January 7th, 1969, shows Paul already experimenting with this forceful delivery.
Paul next runs through the song on piano at Twickenham Film Studios during their January 9th, 1969 rehearsal. The lyric “once there was a way to get back homeward” now in place, this impromptu rehearsal occurred while conversing with Ringo, Paul making comments in between lyric lines, such as “Should be ready for a 'Swing For Swinging Lovers' album' and 'It's an old English love song.” Paul then playfully suggests “I really should write a fairy tale,” and then changes the first line to “Once upon a time, there lived a king...”
Apparently, Paul didn't feel comfortable enough yet to include the song among those in consideration for the “Let It Be” project, so this second run-through was the last time he performed it in these January rehearsals. Therefore, he shelved it for the time being, along with other underdeveloped ideas like “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,” but thankfully resurrected at a later time.
It wasn't until the decision was made to make one final Beatles album that Paul dusted off “Golden Slumbers” and brought it to EMI Studio Two to record. It was the second session after that made decision, on July 2nd, 1969, that Paul, George, and Ringo laid down the rhythm track for the song, John stayed hospitalized at the time because of a road accident he took part in during a vacation in Scotland.
Paul entered the studio by himself earlier in the day and recorded his short song “Her Majesty” for consideration for the “Abbey Road” medley. Engineer Geoff Emerick, in his book “Here, There And Everywhere,” recounts the events of the rest of the day, starting at approximately 5 pm. “Later that same day, after Ringo and George Harrison arrived, the three Beatles recorded the backing track for 'Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight.' The two songs were joined together even at that early stage because Paul had already come up with the idea of linking up several short snippets into a medley of sorts. No one was sure how John would react, but we got on with the work anyway. There seemed to be an assumption that he would go along with it, and that this time around, in contrast to the 'White Album,' he wouldn't be calling all the shots.”
Fifteen takes of the rhythm track were recorded on this day, the instrumentation being Paul on piano and guide vocal, George on Fender Bass VI, and Ringo on drums. Interestingly, even though “Golden Slumbers” and “Carry That Weight” were stipulated as two individual songs on the finished album, the documentation at this point indicated that the title of this entire rhythm track was “Golden Slumbers.” The Beatles were satisfied with the rhythm track at this point, the session ending at 9:30 pm.
The following day, July 3rd, 1969, was devoted entirely to additional work to “Golden Slumbers.” As the session began at 3 pm in EMI Studio Two, the first order of business was editing together 'take 13' and 'take 15' to create a satisfactory rhythm track for overdubbing purposes. Once edited together, the result still called 'take 13,' Paul and George took to adding various elements (John still hospitalized). While Paul added a proper lead vocal to replace the guide vocal from the rhythm track, he and George recorded guitar parts for the "Carry That Weight" section of the recording. With this complete, all eight tracks of the tape were unfortunately full. Therefore, a reduction mix was needed to open up more tracks for further overdubbing. Two attempts of the reduction mix were made, documented as takes 16 and 17, 'take 17' deemed best. The session ended by 8:30 pm.
There was one unidentified overdub they recorded onto the newly reduced recording of “Golden Slumbers” on the following day, July 4th, 1969, although the identity of this overdub remains undocumented. This session ran from 2:45 to 5:30 pm in EMI Studio Two, but there was something more pressing on everyone's mind on this day. The Wimbledon Ladies' tennis match between Britain's Ann Jones and America's Billie-Jean King stood ready to broadcast on BBC Radio 2. Technical engineer Dave Harries explains in the book “The Beatles Recording Sessions” the events of this session: “We were sitting there listening to the final before The Beatles came in. We had it coming through the mixing console. Then they came in, and we thought, 'Oh blimey, that's it,' especially when they pulled faces and went 'Uggghhh.' But they said we could carry on listening for a while and then, a few minutes later, one of them asked how Ann Jones was getting on, so we put it through on the studio speakers so that they could listen too!” As it turned out a good portion of the tennis match was committed to tape in the studio on this day, Ann Jones winning the match!
“Golden Slumbers” was then shelved for about a month so that work on many other “Abbey Road” tracks could take center stage, and John recovered then released from the hospital during this time. Work did resume on the composite track, which was now documented as “Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight,” on July 30th, 1969 in EMI Studio Three. The Beatles entered the studio at 3:30 pm for overdubs on various “Abbey Road” tracks, Paul adding yet another vocal track to "Golden Slumbers," undoubtedly still trying to capture the gruff vocal texture he was aiming for properly.
With this accomplished, they moved into the control room of EMI Studio Two at 10:30 pm to put together a mock-up of what the long side-two medley would sound like, to see if all the song fragments could be edited together seamlessly. The first order of business, however, was to treat all of these recordings to a stereo mix, the “Golden Slumbers” segment mixed by George Martin and engineers Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald, and John Kurlander. All of these preliminary stereo mixes were then edited together and, with some discussion about tweaking between some of the other tracks, the medley showed a workable task. The proper mixing and editing would take place at a later time. This session then ended at 2:30 am the following morning.
The next day, July 31st, 1969, The Beatles entered EMI Studio Two at 2:30 pm for yet another overdub session. After working on “You Never Give Me Your Money,” attention turned back to “Golden Slumbers” with another vocal attempt from Paul and a drum overdub by Ringo. This ended the contributions The Beatles made to the song, however, an orchestra still needed a presence on the track recorded at a later date. This session ended at 1:15 am the next morning.
The orchestral overdub occurred on August 15th, 1969 in EMI Studio One, the session beginning at 2:30 pm. There was a snag regarding this session, however, as Geoff Emerick explains: “EMI had still not installed an eight-track tape recorder or large-scale console into the Studio One control room, so we were forced to set up a complicated system of audio tie-lines and closed-circuit television that allowed the musicians to be seated in the larger Studio One while we recorded them in the control room of Studio Two.”
This session focused on segments of the long medley that were primarily Paul's compositions, namely “Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight” and “The End.” Emerick continues: “Following the pattern that had been established for much of the album, the only Beatle at (this) session was Paul...(Engineer) Phil McDonald, however, was there with me – working in two studios at once really complicated things, and we needed the extra pair of hands. George Martin did the conducting while (Paul) essentially produced his own session. Thankfully, there were no major technical mishaps, and everything worked smoothly.” Engineer Alan Brown remembers, as interviewed for the book “The Beatles Recording Sessions”: “It was a mammoth session. We had a large number of lines linking the studios, and we were all walking around the building with walkie-talkies trying to communicate with each other...It cost a lot of money: all the musicians have to be paid, fed and watered; I screw every pound note out of it whenever I play the record!”
As mentioned above concerning John's opinions of the proceedings, he voiced them in a 1969 interview. Referring to Paul and his intentions for “Golden Slumbers,” he stated: “He laid the strings on after we had finished most of the basic tracks. I personally can't be bothered with strings and things. I like to do it with the group, or electronics, you know. I can't be bothered with the hassles of the musicians and all that bit, you know. It's such a drag trying to get them together, but Paul digs that. So, that's his scene, and it was up to him where he went with the violins, really, and what he did with them. I think he just wanted a straight kind of backing, you know, nothing freaky.”
This orchestral session, the actual musicians remain undocumented, ended the recording of “Golden Slumbers.” It only took a total of three hours to record the orchestra for both “Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight” and “The End,” George Martin's orchestral score easily followed to the tee by professional studio musicians. This afternoon session ended at 5:30 pm, all personnel leaving until 7 pm when the orchestral overdubs for George Harrison's “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun” was recorded for the evening session.
August 18th, 1969, was the date that the official stereo mix of “Golden Slumbers” took place. The session began at 2:30 pm in the control room of EMI Studio Two, two attempts at a stereo mix made by George Martin and engineers Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald, and Alan Parsons occurred. The second remix was deemed suitable, after which they turned their attention to the song “The End.” This session ended at 10:30 pm.
On the next day, August 19th, 1969, the same engineering team assembled in the control room of EMI Studio Two at 2 pm. Among the work done on this day was performing the cross-fade/edit between “Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight” and “The End.” After more stereo mixing and overdubbing was accomplished on other “Abbey Road” songs, this session ended at 4 pm.
On December 9th, 1989, Paul and his touring band recorded a live version of “Golden Slumbers,” along with “Carry That Weight” and “The End,” that he released on both his albums “Tripping The Live Fantastic” and “Tripping The Live Fantastic: Highlights!”
Song Structure and Style
The structure of "Golden Slumbers," being such a short section of the long "Abbey Road" medley, consists of 'verse/ refrain/ verse' (or aba). This, of course, leads into "Carry That Weight," which consists of various movements that flow into the final selection of the medley, "The End," which also consists of many changing segments.
A small single-measure introduction with Paul on piano sets the stage for the first ten-measure verse. All of these measures are in 4/4 time except for measure seven which is in 6/4 time, this measure containing the lyric “sleep little darling, do not cry.” Paul continues the piano figure as played in the introduction as the verse begins, coming in on the downbeat with the lyrics “once there was a way.” The downbeat of the second measure introduces George on bass, playing a resounding scooping note while the strings come in at the same time. Paul's piano and the orchestra continue into measures three and four, George adding another bass note on the downbeat of the fourth measure. Paul on piano and lead vocals, the orchestra and George's periodic gentle bass notes continue on to finish out the verse, Ringo coming in with a strident drum fill in the tenth measure to introduce the refrain that follows.
This refrain is nine-measures long and continues with the same instrumentation as in the first verse. With Ringo flailing away with drum fills and crashing cymbals for the first five measures, Paul delivers his vocals with masked intensity to contrast with the softness of the “lullaby” lyrics that follow in measures eight and nine. These final measures, six through nine, are actually a repeat of measures seven through ten of the first verse, measure six this time being the one in 6/4 time. Ringo drops off completely on the downbeat of the seventh measure, allowing the elements of the final measures to be a virtual repeat of the verse that preceded it.
Next comes a repeat of the first verse in its entirety, the only differences being Ringo's quiet accents on cymbals on the downbeats of measures one, three and five, before pounding out some drum beats in the 6/4 time signature seventh measure. George Martin's string arrangement adds a fluent melody line in measures three and four while George Harrison is continued to be trusted by Paul to contribute simple but effective bass notes to this final verse. Ringo once again adds a vibrant drum fill in the tenth measure to introduce the brash “Carry That Weight” that follows, thus ending “Golden Slumbers” in the process.
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