Happiness Is a Warm Gun (2:43)
1,405,377 plays (267,338 listeners)
Listening now: Rinciaq, ruuuwho
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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A Cover of Happiness Is A Warm Gun by the Beatles
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Albums featuring this track
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The White Album
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The Beatles (The White Album)
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The Beatles (The White Album) (disc 1)
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Anthology 3 (disc 1)
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Shouts
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shitology wrote:
so warm song !
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Scrivy86 wrote:
One of the greatest songs of all time.
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rinistiltskin wrote:
"and I feel my finger on YOUR trigger" Good job, Lennon. You've figured out where the clitoris is located.
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Nevermoreraven wrote:
best song on the album.
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osmark wrote:
sheer brilliance. one of my all time favs.
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RoomForSymmetry wrote:
As soon as I hear "I need a fix cause I'm goin down..." I am GLUED to this song and forget about whatever else is around me.
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EllSmiRip wrote:
white album...god
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jennica_med_c wrote:
Creatively brilliant. And best title ever?
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malchickiwick17 wrote:
Currently my favorite Beatles song.
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rjdough wrote:
favorite sooong of all time
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LydiaGrace wrote:
And I feel my finger on your trigger., I know nobody can do me no harm =)
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shinji03 wrote:
what a great song.....
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bowie_fan87 wrote:
<3
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broetbroet wrote:
bang bang, shoot shoot. [2]
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Nevermoreraven wrote:
Maybe their best.
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intoXicated0 wrote:
i need a fix
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Longinglolwut wrote:
Fav Beatles song of all time.
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Soyerz wrote:
Yup, White Album has so many unique and cretive songs that a band of today could never have anything like this.
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TheFeldster wrote:
Lennon at a creative peak, great song. The White Album rocks!
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Minueto wrote:
Bang, Bang, Shoot, Shoot!!
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Recent Activity
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binaryzeroone added Happiness Is a Warm Gun to their Loved Tracks. 2 hours ago
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h_nemuel added Happiness Is a Warm Gun to h_nemuel’s library. yesterday evening
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PhilDG tagged Happiness Is a Warm Gun with ‘classic rock’. yesterday evening
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Angie_Wilbury, jamesdark and deBlanck loved The Beatles – Happiness Is a Warm Gun. yesterday evening
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radioheadism added Happiness Is a Warm Gun to radioheadism’s library. yesterday morning
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radioheadism added Happiness Is a Warm Gun to a deleted playlist. yesterday morning
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shitology, EuroPimp, Nixi_Joon and 1 other person loved The Beatles – Happiness Is a Warm Gun. yesterday morning
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leapsandbounds added Happiness Is a Warm Gun to the playlist Bec114 2009. Friday evening
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Rumcays, ohpreston, Dead_Lufre and 1 other person loved The Beatles – Happiness Is a Warm Gun. Friday evening
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sydvicious6999 added Happiness Is a Warm Gun to a deleted playlist. Friday morning
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