About This Track
John Lennon once claimed the song was “sort of a history of rock and roll,” as it features five different sections but is less than three minutes long. The song begins with a brief lilting section (“She’s not a girl who misses much…”). Drums, bass and distorted guitar are introduced as this portion of the song proceeds. The surreal imagery from this section is allegedly taken from an acid trip that Lennon and Derek Taylor experienced, with Taylor contributing the opening lines. After this, the song transitions into a Lennon song fragment called “I Need a Fix,” built around an ominous-sounding guitar riff.
This section drifts into the next section, a chorus of “Mother Superior jumped the gun”.
The final section is a doo-wop send up, with the back-up of vocals of “bang, bang, shoot shoot.”
One of the most radical musical accomplishments of the song is its frequent shifts in meter. Beginning in 4/4 time, the song shifts to a 3/4 time for the guitar solo in the “I need a fix…” section. This gives way to 6/8, 3/4, and 4/4 measures in the “Mother Superior…” section before returning to 4/4 for the majority of the doo-wop style ending. During Lennon’s spoken-word interlude, the song briefly switches into 6/4. The spoken word section has its roots in the song later on the album “I’m So Tired” because, exhibited in the song’s home demo, is a spoken word section in 6/4 time that is almost exactly like the one in “Happiness is a Warm Gun.”
According to Lennon, the title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed him: “I think he showed me a cover of a magazine that said ‘Happiness Is a Warm Gun.
The final section is a doo-wop send up, with the back-up of vocals of “bang, bang, shoot shoot.”
One of the most radical musical accomplishments of the song is its frequent shifts in meter. Beginning in 4/4 time, the song shifts to a 3/4 time for the guitar solo in the “I need a fix…” section. This gives way to 6/8, 3/4, and 4/4 measures in the “Mother Superior…” section before returning to 4/4 for the majority of the doo-wop style ending. During Lennon’s spoken-word interlude, the song briefly switches into 6/4. The spoken word section has its roots in the song later on the album “I’m So Tired” because, exhibited in the song’s home demo, is a spoken word section in 6/4 time that is almost exactly like the one in “Happiness is a Warm Gun.”
According to Lennon, the title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed him: “I think he showed me a cover of a magazine that said ‘Happiness Is a Warm Gun.
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Albums featuring this track
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The Beatles (The White Album)
The Beatles
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Shouts
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bobbehr wrote:
OMG never knew
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munted wrote:
epic mind explosion
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WSteven wrote:
my finger on your trigger
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WWOMENN wrote:
Idols!!!
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RbrtsWax88 wrote:
Ahhhh. The White Album.
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gilliananne wrote:
This is just about how I feel about my workplace. B*st*rds just told me I'm on the redundancy list. Good job I don't have any.
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ben12a wrote:
Nobody did it beter than John Lennon. Virtuoso musician and lyricist. "i'm going down to the place I left uptown." RIP
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oldiesfanjohn wrote:
happiness is a warm doob <3 <3<3
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SanitysRefuge wrote:
I don't know where these tracks with the studio mistakes are coming from but someone please tell me because I love hearing John mess up and say "Oh shit".
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theDecapitator wrote:
“bang, bang, shoot shoot.” Blasting a way towards happiness!
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Yunie58 wrote:
One of the best Lennon vocals on Beatles [2] Hell yeah ~
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ouliwen wrote:
bang bang shoot shoot
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martu12 wrote:
wonderfully subversive
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ViniciusStilt wrote:
One of the best Lennon vocals on Beatles...
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sarahbianeck wrote:
this song does not seem to be only 2:43 long when listening it, magical [3]
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rock2649 wrote:
felicidade é um chiclete de minhoca [2]
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Nakkinak wrote:
THAT FALSETTO
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GPX wrote:
If I ever do a Beatles Top10 this will be in it for sure.
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nsoares wrote:
yes it is
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irfanh23 wrote:
the 'mother superior' part should be lasts for 59785645312346457498789631535 minutes
Track Stats
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389,483 Listeners
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Recent Activity
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Solumin, simonramsey, hrachichka and 10 other people loved The Beatles – Happiness Is a Warm Gun. 1 hour ago
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vinastorr added Happiness Is a Warm Gun to vinastorr’s library. Saturday evening
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