You Won’t See Me, plus Nowhere Man and their incredible recording process advancements revealed.

Although their recording session the previous day lasted until 4:00 in the morning, The Beatles knew that this day, November 11th, 1965, was the absolute deadline to complete their album “Rubber Soul.”  Therefore, they entered EMI Studio Two at 6 pm for what turned out to be a thirteen-hour session to finish the album.  Approximately the first five hours, from 6 to 11 pm, was used for fully recording Paul’s latest composition “You Won’t See Me,” the writing of which most likely seemed completed just before the session began.

Only two takes of the rhythm track were needed to get a complete recording of the song ready for overdubs.  The rhythm track consisted of Paul on piano, George on guitar, Ringo on drums and John on tambourine.  Even though the track noticeably slows down during its duration (from 119 to 113 beats per minute), take two was deemed “best.”

A good number of overdubs then occupied the remaining time, including Paul’s main vocals, which he then double-tracked, slipping into harmony in strategic spots.  Paul also overdubbed his intricate bass guitar part, as well as John and George’s background harmonies throughout the song, which included their falsetto “ooh, la, la, la” lines (not unlike the background vocals to the recently recorded “Nowhere Man”), as well as finishing off the verses with ascending “you won’t see me” harmonies and ending the bridges with two “no I wouldn’t” phrases.

Two more overdubs were also added to complete the picture.  Ringo added a three-beat hi-hat accent towards the end of every measure of the verses except the final four (when the title of the song is repeated four times).  When the bridges came around, he changed it up to add a five-beat hi-hat accent in the middle of each measure.  Roadie Man Evans also plays a Hammond Organ overdub on the track, which actually consists of a single note (“A”) held throughout the last verse and until the song fades out.  This note blends very well with the background harmonies so that it isn’t all that noticeable (Mark Lewisohn claims that “no such sound is detectable” in his book “The Beatles Recording Sessions”) but can easily be heard in the final four measures of the final verse on the left channel in the stereo mix.  So proud were The Beatles that their roadie had contributed musically to the track that he was credited as “’Organ’ Evans” on the back cover of the album.

After the song was complete, they started and finished John's new contribution "Girl" as well as finished the previously started recordings "Wait" and "I'm Looking Through You."  By 7 o'clock the next morning, they finally stumbled home knowing their last album was complete. 

Both the mono and stereo mixes were hurriedly performed on November 15th, 1965 in the control room of EMI Studio One by producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Richard Lush.  They manually faded both mixes at the end of the song, the mono mix being slightly longer than the stereo.  A faintly heard cough is detected from one of the vocal tracks on both mixes just before Paul’s first words “when I call…”  While this could have easily been eliminated from the mixes by turning down that track until the vocals kicked in, the quick need for these mixes meant it was good enough.

Apart from a quick mix of the unused song “12-Bar Original” that was made five days later, this mixing session was the last task engineer Norman Smith would perform for The Beatles.  While he was their official engineer for almost every Beatles session since June 6th, 1962, we went on to bigger-and-better things as a producer (most notably for Pink Floyd) and performer (most notably for his #3 US smash hit “Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?” under the pseudonym “Hurricane Smith”).

A further mix of the song was made in 1986 by George Martin in preparation for the “Rubber Soul” album being released on compact disc for the first time.  While the mix is superior in many ways, the cough at the beginning of the song is still present, even after the album was re-mastered for its 2009 re-release.

Song Structure and Style

“You Won’t See Me” follows a very familiar structure within The Beatles songbook, namely the ‘verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse/ bridge/ verse’ format (or aababa).  A short intro and conclusion round out the standard structure.  No solo or instrumental section is needed due to the quite lengthy, but structurally appropriate, verses.

A quick two-measure introduction is first heard which is actually a fore glimpse of the final two measures of each verse minus the vocals.  With crashing cymbals and accented syncopation of the other main instruments, this is quite a startling beginning to the song.  The melodic phrase used for the title of the song is actually heard in this introduction, the first two crashing chords representing the words “you won’t” and John’s tambourine hits representing “see me.”  Afterwards, Ringo taps out a simple snare and tom beat (with a simple descending bass line from Paul) to usher in the first verse.

Actually, we hear the first three words of the first verse (“when I call”) before the first verse begins.  In fact, nearly every phrase Paul sings in every verse comes in before the downbeat, the exception being when the title of the song is heard.

When the first verse begins, we become accustomed to the instrumentation that we will hear throughout the entire song, which is Paul on piano and bass, George on syncopated guitar chops, Ringo on drums with overdubbed hi-hat accents and John on tambourine low in the mix.  Paul’s vocals are double-tracked and sung in unison throughout with the exception of when the title of the song is emphasized twice at the end.

All of the verses are an unusual eighteen-measures long, with two extra measures added at the end of what would be a uniform sixteen measures in order to emphasize the title phrase a second time.  Therefore, the last four measures are a two-times repeat of what we’ve heard in the introduction with the addition of vocals.  Paul’s double-tracked vocals slip into harmony on the title phrase while John and George harmonize an ascending repeat of the same title phrase.

Another interesting observation about the verses, as well as the entire song, is that the chords change with almost every measure.  The only exception here is to emphasize the song’s title, where the chord changes back to “A,” which is the key of the song, comes in on a syncopated beat just before the halfway mark of that measure.  It’s obvious that McCartney desperately wanted the title of the song to stand out.

A structurally identical second verse is next, but with the addition of background “ooh, la, la, la” falsetto vocals sung in unison by John and George repeatedly throughout the first fourteen measures.  After this, the first eight-measure bridge is heard which has Paul harmonizing with himself throughout except for his arching final phrase “knew what I was missing.”  This phrase, which is accompanied by John and George’s unison background lines “no I wouldn’t, no I wouldn’t,” acts as a perfect segue into the next verse and becomes the focal high point of the entire track.

The third structurally identical verse comes next, which has a whole new set of lyrics, unlike their sometimes-common practice of simply repeating an earlier verse, such as on “Ticket To Ride” and “Eight Days A Week.”  Another vocal element is added at this point, being a high “A” harmony on John’s “ooh, la, la, la” background vocals that are held throughout all the chord changes of the verse.

After an identical repeat of the bridge, the final verse is repeated but with one more additional element.  Mal Evans puts in the above-mentioned Hammond organ note that stretches out until the song fades away.  Two unique but hardly-noticeable flubs occur in this verse, one being an unintentional voice being heard at the end of the second measure and the other being a missed tambourine hit by John in the fifteenth verse where the word “see” is heard.

A conclusion then occurs, which is actually the beginning of another verse with almost all of the existing elements continuing as before.  The effect is as this was an ad-libbed ending that should have been faded out but unintentionally was left in.  Paul’s excited “hey…c’mon…oh, yeah” vocal lines and handclaps from one of the vocal tracks, along with Ringo’s overdubbed hi-hat accents being missing at the beginning of this conclusion, adds to the argument that we really shouldn’t have been hearing this ending.  Whether it should have been there or not, it becomes quite apparent with this ending that they all were having a good time recording this song.  It does fade rather quickly, though, and by the sixth measure the song is over.  It makes you want to hear more, but the track probably broke down just after the sixth measure anyway.

Paul’s vocals are very suitable to the sentiment of the lyrics and his harmonies are impeccable as usual.  His piano work is also very proficient and is the driving rhythmic component of the proceedings, showing how comfortable he is becoming as a pianist within the band.  We surely will be hearing him as the dominant keyboardist in the group as the next few years attest to.

Paul’s bass work, though overdubbed, was hardly an afterthought.  “To me it was very Motown-flavored,” Paul remembers.  “It’s got a James Jamerson feel.  He was the Motown bass player, he was fabulous, they guy who did all those great melodic bass lines.  It was him, me, and Brian Wilson who were doing melodic bass lines at that time, all from completely different angles, LA, Detroit and London, all picking up on what each other did.”  Although somewhat low in the mix, Paul’s bass lines are very diverse and imaginative, which suit the song nicely when your bass EQ is set high.

George keeps busy with guitar chops on the off-beats as well as some nice harmonies and background vocals.  John plays a mean tambourine and is quite happy providing some proficient background harmonies.  Ringo plays a much more important role than metronome on this track.  He doesn’t hold back from adding a good amount of drum fills throughout the song, mostly at the end of every other measure.  One would think that the hi-hat accents were played during his initial rhythm track if it weren’t for hearing his drum fills being played at the same time.  Unless Ringo has another set of arms that we don’t know about, the hi-hat accents must have been overdubbed later.

This being the third in Paul’s recent series of troubled relationship songs (see “We Can Work It Out” and “I’m Looking Through You”), he now emphasizes his frustration at not being able to contact his girl on the phone.  Since her “line’s engaged,” he starts out the song by expressing anger, even including the childish cutting remark “act your age.”  He throws guilt into the mix by saying, because of both of their tight schedules, “we have lost the time that was so hard to find” and then exaggerates his rage by saying “I will lose my mind if you won’t see me.”

The second verse finds Paul sincerely questioning why she doesn’t answer, saying “I don’t know why you should want to hide.”  Ever the clever lyricist, he throws a double meaning into the last phrase, namely “I can turn away and you won’t see me.”  (Some hear this line as “I get turned away” and, if this is the true lyric, I guess it’s not so clever after all!)

The lyrics in the bridge reveal how his curiosity about her activities are getting the best of him, namely “I wouldn’t mind if I knew what I was missing.”  And by the time the last verse rolls around, Paul regresses into pity.  His days are “filled with tears” and he views the relationship as over, saying “since I lost you it feels like years.”  His sorrow is even depicted in the mournful tone of his final line “I just can’t go on if you won’t see me.”  So, from mean-spirited words to self-pity, Paul expresses all the emotions of a love gone wrong.

Next song – Nowhere Man:

As October 21st, 1965 turned into mid-afternoon, as well as the sixth day of recording sessions for the “Rubber Soul” album, The Beatles entered EMI Studio Two at 2:30 pm to remake their song “Norwegian Wood.”  At 7 pm the song was complete and they turned their attention to the newly written “Nowhere Man.”

After rehearsing the song for a while, they started recording the rhythm track, although it didn’t get very far.  The first take was an immediate false start but the second progressed quite far into the song.  It began with, as Mark Lewisohn describes in his book “The Beatles Recording Sessions,” “an elaborate – and later discarded – idea to introduce the song with high register three-part harmony work by John, Paul and George.”  The rest of this second take consisted only of an electric rhythm guitar.  By midnight, the session was over but it was apparent that they needed to re-think the arrangement and start from scratch on another day.  Therefore, nothing from this session made it onto the finished master.

The next day, October 22nd, 1965, they were back in EMI Studio Two at 2:30 to begin a nine-hour session to work on “Nowhere Man.”  The first four-and-a-half hours (until 7 pm) concentrated on rehearsals and nailing down the rhythm track.  Three takes were put down, takes 3 through 5, with John on acoustic rhythm guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums.  Since only one acoustic guitar is apparent, George appears to have sat out altogether on the rhythm track.  Take four was deemed best and ready for overdubs.

At 7 pm these overdubs began, which focused first of all on John, Paul and George’s vocal harmonies throughout the song.  No doubt with the help of George Martin’s arranging skills, these were perfected on this evening.  Having decided to scrap the previous days’ “high register” harmonies at the beginning, a decision was made to sing in their normal vocal ranges a cappella for the introduction.  John, Paul and George all double-tracked their vocals afterwards to add some further depth, since the vocals turn out to be the primary focus of the song.  George also overdubbed electric lead guitar phrases at the end of each verse and bridge.

Then it was time for the guitar solo overdub.  Guitarist Earl Slick received some firsthand insight from John Lennon himself regarding the recording of this solo during the sessions for the classic album “Double Fantasy.”  “John was pulling little Beatle tricks out of a hat,” explained Slick as quoted in Ken Sharp’s book “Starting Over,” continuing, “Apparently, he and George (Harrison) played a solo together on ‘Nowhere Man’ through two small amps and there was a microphone sitting between the amps.  So that’s what we did.”  Following John’s suggestion, Slick and fellow guitarist Hugh McCracken recorded the guitar solo for John’s “I’m Losing You” in this same way.

As for “Nowhere Man,” the guitar solo was performed by both John and George in unison on their identical Sonic Blue Fender Stratocasters.  In the 1995 book “The Story Of The Fender Stratocaster,” Harrison corroborates Earl Slick’s story by explaining, “I decided I’d get a Strat, and John decided he’d get one too.  So, we sent out our roadie, Mal Evans, said go and get us two Strats.  And he came back with two of them, pale blue ones.  Straight away we used them on the album we were making at the time, which was ‘Rubber Soul.’  I played it a lot on that album, (most noticeably) the solo on ‘Nowhere Man’ which John and I both played in unison.”  George then added the final touch to the solo by adding a harmonic to ring out into the next verse.

Being in an experimental mood in the studio, always wanting to try new things, they suggested having a more brash sound for the guitar solo.  In “The Beatles Recording Sessions,” Paul explained:  “I remember we wanted very treble-y guitars – which they are – they’re among the most treble-y guitars I’ve ever heard on record.  The engineer said, ‘Alright, I’ll put full treble on it,’ and we said, ‘That’s not enough,’ and he said, ‘That’s all I’ve got, I’ve only got one pot and that’s it!’  And we replied, ‘Well, put that through another lot of faders and put full treble up on that.  And if that’s not enough we’ll go through another lot of faders and…’ so we were always doing that, forcing them.  They said, ‘We don’t do that,’ and we would say, ‘Try it.  Just try it for us.  If it sounds crappy, OK, we’ll lose it, but it just might sound good.’  I always wanted things to be different because we knew that people, generally, always want to move on, and if we hadn’t pushed them the guys would have stuck by the rule books and still been wearing ties.  Anyway you’d then find, ‘Oh, it worked!,’ and they were secretly glad because they had been the engineer who put three times the allowed value of treble on a song.  I think they were quietly proud of those things.”

By 11:30 pm the song was complete and added to the other five songs they had ready for the album, not to mention both sides of their next single.  Another masterpiece was created in one day.

The mono mix was made on October 25th, 1965 in the control room of EMI Studio Two by George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Ken Scott.  A slight touch of reverb is added for good measure.

The first stereo mix was created on October 26th, 1965 while the band was busy receiving their MBE’s at Buckingham Palace.  George Martin, Norman Smith and 2nd engineer Ron Pender entered the control room of EMI Studio Two to make the mix, which drastically divided the sounds between the two channels.  The rhythm track was entirely on the left channel and all the overdubs (vocals and guitar solo) are on the right channel.  With a little reverb added here as well, this was a very straightforward mix that was made very quickly and with not much thought.  After all, not too many record buyers were going to hear this anyway, right?

In 1986, after many millions of stereo copies of this album worldwide having been sold, George Martin embarrassingly decides to dig out the master tapes of the entire British “Rubber Soul” album to create more suitable stereo mixes for the upcoming compact disc release of the album.  He adds a substantial amount of extra reverb to the vocals in the a cappella introduction (which cut down drastically after the words “doesn’t have a point of view”) and pans the harmony vocals a little more to the left so that it’s not just heard in the right channel as the 1965 stereo mix has it.  The lead vocal overdub from John, however, remains fully to the right channel so John’s vocals in the bridges of the song appear single tracked if you listen to the left channel by itself.  The rhythm track is now slightly panned to the right but George’s overdubbed guitar phrases at the end of each verse and bridge is still fully on the left channel.  John and George’s guitar solo is still fully in the right channel as it was before.

Sometime in 1999, a further improvement was made to the stereo mix in EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) by engineers Peter Cobbin, Paul Hicks, Mirek Stiles and Allan Rouse.  This mix, created for the re-release of the “Yellow Submarine” film and subsequent CD release, is noteworthy for the separation of the double-tracked vocals:  one set of lead and harmony vocals on the left channel and the other set on the right channel.  The rhythm track is centered in the mix while all of the lead guitar work is panned mostly in the right channel.  The stereo mixes keep getting better and better.

Song Structure and Style

A good degree of the riveting appeal that “Nowhere Man” exudes can be found in its simplicity.  The structure itself is a prime example, basically being a juggling back and forth of verses and bridges.  This ends up comprising a ‘verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse (solo)/ verse/ bridge/ verse/ bridge/ verse’ format (or aabaababa).  The vocal melody line is also quite simple, focusing primarily on quarter notes sung in beat as its backbone while using their usual syncopation a little more sparingly.

However, there are many noteworthy unique elements in this song as well, such as the three-times-repeated bridge.  While “I’ll Be Back” from the previous year also had three bridges, the second of them was actually a totally different bridge with a new chord pattern and melody line.  On “Nowhere Man,” the complete structure of these bridges is all identical except for a different set of lyrics in its second occurrence.

Another unique characteristic is found in its introduction, which starts immediately on the downbeat of the first measure and features three-part harmony (actually four voices if you count John’s double-tracked overdub) being sung a cappella.  Not one or two, but four full measures are sung in this way to instantly engulf your attention.  The rhythm track, consisting of acoustic guitar, bass and drums, kicks in on the fifth measure (actually the upstroke of John’s acoustic guitar comes in just before the fifth measure) to finish off the verse.  The vocals are found to be just slightly off-key when the emergence of the instruments come in, which shows that it is very likely that they were singing off of a strummed guitar chord (or such) to get the pitch, rather than an instrumental track being present during the a cappella performance as a guide that was omitted in the mixing stage.  George’s electric guitar flourish fills in the gap after the lyrics conclude as a nice segue into the second verse that follows.

The melody line of the verses has a downward spiral that encapsulates a full octave, not unlike heard in the verses of the recently recorded “Norwegian Wood.”  This works suitably well with the despondent lyrics that depict the unfortunate existence of this man “living in his nowhere land.”  The syncopated guitar riff that follows these lyrics also spiral downward to continue the mood.

The second verse continues the exact same pattern except for the inclusion of a subtle but full-measure drum roll from Ringo to introduce the first bridge.  The bridge is also eight measures long but, while all the vocals thus far are sung in three-part harmony, John takes center stage as lead vocalist of the song while Paul and George alter their role to background harmonies singing phrases that include “la, la, la” as also heard in the soon to be recorded “You Won’t See Me.”  As this first bridge winds down, Ringo speeds up his usual rock beat to double time in the eighth measure and then performs a simple drum fill to bring in the instrumental segment of the song.

This solo section is actually an instrumental version of the verse highlighted by John and George’s unison guitar work.  Almost every phrase of this solo starts with a guitar chord followed by a few notes that etch out an irresistibly memorable melody line.  While this instrumental melody is similar to the sung melody of the verses in that it spirals its way down a full octave finishing with an open E string (the lowest note they can play on a guitar), it is unique to the entire song and, as a beautiful touch, George ends it with a high E harmonic that rings into the following verse.

It’s interesting to note that this solo has an unusual appearance this early in the song.  In The Beatles catalog thus far, as also in pop music in general, the instrumental section in a vocal song usually surfaces after the entire content of the lyrics, therefore the whole message of the song, has been heard (witness “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “A Hard Day’s Night” as prime examples).  Afterwards, a repeat of previously heard lyrics, such as a bridge and verse, is heard to round out the arrangement.  Not so with “Nowhere Man.”  We find ourselves intrigued by the story being conveyed but are just getting to know the subject matter when, with just over a minute of the song complete, we’ve already heard the musical interlude.  In this case, we now need to sit back while The Beatles paint the rest of this interesting imagery for us.

The third verse, which contains another new set of lyrics, then appears with the identical musical arrangement.  This ends with another Ringo drum roll which appears to be the pattern whenever a bridge follows a verse.  This bridge has a new set of lyrics, something that is unusual for The Beatles up to this point although not unheard of (surprisingly heard in songs as early as “Little Child” and “Misery”).

With an identical repeat of the second verse at this point, the lyrical story begins to recoil, or go backwards.  No doubt with the intention of main points sticking in our minds, important key phrases are heard again, such as “isn’t he a bit like you and me” and, in the following identical repeat of the first bridge, “the world is at your command.”

This then brings us back to where we first started, a repeat of the first verse introducing us to the subject under discussion for the entire song.  Although it does not have an a cappella first half, it continues the instrumental pattern of the entire song but is extended into a sixteen-measure verse that acts as the story’s conclusion.  The final phrase, “making all his nowhere plans for nobody,” is repeated three times for emphasis, following the pattern heard many times in their catalog (such as “Please Please Me” and “Eight Days A Week”).

Notable features of this ending include Ringo’s drum roll in the eighth measure as if to introduce a bridge that doesn’t exist.  Also, George’s guitar phrase is purposefully altered in the eighth measure and then extended by single climbing notes as cross-over for the phrase to be repeated two more times.  Finally, Paul’s higher harmony grabs the spotlight to accentuate the third time repeated final phrase “making all his nowhere plans for nobody” so the impact of the song’s message can send shivers down your spine (for me, at least).  The final down-turned notes of George’s guitar phrase emphasize the sad existence of this pitied person, leaving many with the final image of the crying “Jeremy Hilary Boob” in the animated “Nowhere Man” sequence in the “Yellow Submarine” movie playing in their minds.

John plays up the singer/songwriter role perfectly in this “folk rock” depiction, strumming acoustic guitar as the song’s rhythm instrument.  His vocal work portrays the loneliness and downcast nature of the lyrics to a tee, while his unison lead guitar work with George in the solo is performed unerringly.

Paul’s bass work is quite busy but impressive, noticeable only when listened for.  It appears in the mix as to not detract from the simple impact the message of the song calls for.  His higher harmonies throughout are perfectly delivered and are the intrinsic element that add to the irresistible sheen of the harmonies in the song as a whole.

George’s lower harmonies also add to the flavor of the vocal arrangement and were delivered faultlessly.  His guitar phrases also suited the despondent yet optimistic message of the song very well.  Ringo’s simple drum pattern works well in this setting, adding the necessary frills where needed, such as the drum rolls before the bridges and the fills and cymbal crashes that he appropriately sprinkles throughout the recording.

It’s quite unfortunate that many listeners and authors seem only to focus on the negative or weary weight of the subject matter conveyed in “Nowhere Man.”  While the final repeated phrase does emphasize the futility of the “nowhere plans” of this fictional character, the overall thrust appears to be one of optimism and encouragement rather than despair.  In fact, one can see the general message of the ancient Chinese writing, the “Tao Te Ching,” embedded in these lines.  While probably not studied in this work, Lennon appears to pre-date George Harrison’s composition “The Inner Light,” which was admittedly inspired by this 2,500-year-old writing, by about two-and-a-half years.

While John admits in interviews that the song is “probably about myself,” he takes the position of identifying the “nowhere man” as a definite individual that he is describing to us in the song’s verses, interpreted by many as distinguishing general mankind today as a whole.  They are said to be not having “a point of view” about what’s going on in the world, not even knowing their own destination.  Including himself and us in the mix, he sadly adds the thought that we’re not that much different ourselves.

The bridges of the song, however, show him actually addressing the “nowhere man,” telling him “you don’t know what you’re missing” and, if he would only realize, he could summon “the world” to give him what he needs to achieve a fulfilling life beyond his wildest imagination.  But, unfortunately, John continues to describe him to us as just seeing “what he wants to see.”  John interrupts the flow to address the man personally again, asking “do you see me at all?”  Encouragingly, John continues with “take your time, don’t hurry,” insisting that others are more than willing to ‘lend him a hand’ if he would only see that they were there for him.

John’s insistence to “please listen,” insinuates that he is knowledgeable of something that can help this fictional character which, many feel, signifies mankind.  As the “Tao Te Ching” advises in an interpretation of the 70th verse: “My teachings are very easy to understand and very easy to practice; yet so few in this world understand, and so few are able to practice.”  An interpretation of the 72nd verse states: “Do not limit the view of yourself…Do not resist the natural course of your life.  In this way you will never weary of this world.”

While not trying to immortalize John Lennon as a sage of divine wisdom, the above paragraph emphasizes how the evidence suggests that the lyrics of “Nowhere Man” is much more inspirational than downcast, a precursor to his thoughts and desires of a peaceful world that became his dominant focus in future years.

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