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Golden Slumbers (1:31)

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“Golden Slumbers” is a song by The Beatles, part of the climactic medley on their 1969 album Abbey Road. The song begins the progression that leads to the end of the album and is followed by “Carry That Weight.” The two songs were recorded together as a single piece, and both were written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney).
“Golden Slumbers” is based on the poem ‘Cradle Song’ by Thomas Dekker and written in a lullaby style. McCartney saw the sheet music for Dekker’s lullaby at his father’s home in Liverpool, left on a piano by his stepsister Ruth McCartney. McCartney could not read music at the time and was unable to read the score, and so he created his own melody and arrangement.
The words originally come from a lullaby in The Pleasant Comodie of Patient Grissill written about 1603.
McCartney was the lead vocalist. He begins the song in a soft tone appropriate for a lullaby, with piano, bass guitar, and string section accompaniment. Beginning with the line “Golden slumbers fill your eyes”, the drums come in and McCartney switches to a stronger tone, both of which emphasize the switch to the refrain. McCartney said, “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.”[2]

The main recording session for “Golden Slumbers”/”Carry That Weight” was on 2 July 1969. John Lennon was not present. He was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Scotland on 1 July 1969, and was hospitalized there until 6 July.
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Me playing this piece of the Sun King Medley (AKA: Abbey Road Medley, among other names) from Abbey Road

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