I'm Only Sleeping (3:01)
1,141,463 plays (228,171 listeners)
“I’m Only Sleeping” is a song by The Beatles that appeared on their studio album Revolver (in the US on the Yesterday and Today album). Though the song-writing credit is Lennon-McCartney, it was written mostly by John Lennon. It is unique because it features a dual guitar solo by George Harrison played backwards and an electronically compressed rhythm guitar track. The solo is consistent with the rest of the song because Harrison took great pains to practice the entire melody of his solo backwards, so that when reversed and mixed in, it would fit the overall dreamlike mood of the rest of the song.
This hazy, disjointed mood on top of the lyrics suggest a drug-induced state rather than actual dreaming, and this is the most widely accepted interpretation of the song. However, the first draft of Lennon’s lyrics for “I’m Only Sleeping”, written on the back of a letter from 1966, suggest that he actually was writing about the joys of staying in bed rather than any drug euphoria. In fact, Lennon loved staying in bed or on a couch, and when he wasn’t sleeping, he would sit in it and read, write, or watch television. In a March 1966 interview with Maureen Cleave, the same interview in which Lennon made his “more popular than Jesus” remark, Cleave said, “He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England.”
This hazy, disjointed mood on top of the lyrics suggest a drug-induced state rather than actual dreaming, and this is the most widely accepted interpretation of the song. However, the first draft of Lennon’s lyrics for “I’m Only Sleeping”, written on the back of a letter from 1966, suggest that he actually was writing about the joys of staying in bed rather than any drug euphoria. In fact, Lennon loved staying in bed or on a couch, and when he wasn’t sleeping, he would sit in it and read, write, or watch television. In a March 1966 interview with Maureen Cleave, the same interview in which Lennon made his “more popular than Jesus” remark, Cleave said, “He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England.”
Video
Added by Patsik
Picture slide show with me playing "I'm only sleeping" on acoustic guitar.
Share Video
See 13 more
Related Tracks
-
Love You To
The Beatles -
Here, There and Everywhere
The Beatles -
Jealous Guy
John Lennon -
My Sweet Lord
George Harrison -
Imagine
John Lennon -
Wouldn't It Be Nice
The Beach Boys
Albums featuring this track
-
Revolver
The BeatlesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Revolver (MFCD Mono Remaster)
The BeatlesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Alternate Masters
The BeatlesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Best, Volume 9: 1966
The BeatlesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shouts
-
pablo_cerve wrote:
Best song in Revolver
-
jonodude wrote:
This song speaks to me! I'm such a sleepy person...
-
AsthrayHeart wrote:
i love this song so much.
-
geesegoose wrote:
ditto for me, friends. This what got me into the beatles as well.
-
Ackibear wrote:
I came to say a similar sort-of thing, and you beat me to it. This song is fantastic.
-
uninamer999 wrote:
this is the song that was responsible for me becoming a Beatles addict
-
CowboyFunk wrote:
I'm only an introvert
-
cumgum wrote:
that reversed solo is tripping me out. great stuff.
-
Beatnik_ wrote:
uma das melhores deles! :)
-
severalg wrote:
Well this song is just bloody lovely isn't it?
-
kvka wrote:
"Everybody seems to think I'm lazy. I don't mind. I think they're crazy. Running everywhere at such a speed till they find there's no need." Agreed, Mr. Lennon.
-
tine-x wrote:
I wake up to this song every morning from now on.. irony is wonderful.
-
Bldrk wrote:
♫ Thats my Song too. ♫
-
KittyBrokenDoll wrote:
Keeping an eye on the world going by my window. ♫ - Awesome!
-
DynatiaCydonia wrote:
This song was clearly written for me.
-
zzottt wrote:
One of the best pop songs ever recorded
-
Maraz160 wrote:
You can hear John say "Yawn, Paul" just before the yawn!
-
herodotus wrote:
So, so good. Oh, man. This is the most awesome song. LOVE.
-
Simon_FM wrote:
The best from Revolver
-
zlavek wrote:
Seriously, this is one of the best songs ever!
Listeners
-
homersteez
Listening now
-
NiftyJoe
Listening now
-
UnknownMary
Listening now
-
Constanza_88
Top Listener
-
ceek4truth
Top Listener
-
domciax
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
mava87 added I'm Only Sleeping to the playlist The Beatles - Revolver. 2 hours ago
-
mava87 added I'm Only Sleeping to mava87’s library. 2 hours ago
-
Mik3L33, vio_zel_pupz, gl00my_sunday and 1 other person loved The Beatles – I'm Only Sleeping. 3 hours ago
-
g0zztaf added I'm Only Sleeping to g0zztaf’s library. 14 hours ago
-
BRENTthewalrus, julianweisser, IAmTheWalrusNot and 4 other people loved The Beatles – I'm Only Sleeping. 14 hours ago
-
birtaharrison added I'm Only Sleeping to the playlist Bítlarnir. yesterday evening
-
Noillats, SilverBirch, TheCybermonkey and 8 other people loved The Beatles – I'm Only Sleeping. yesterday evening
-
Blakegt7 added I'm Only Sleeping to Blakegt7’s library. Sunday evening
-
Blakegt7 added I'm Only Sleeping to the playlist The Beatles. Sunday evening
-
heyowa_izku, xkasja and samcole loved The Beatles – I'm Only Sleeping. Sunday evening
Related Journals
-
Songs of The Beatles (Alphabetical order)
by Ninifar |
30 Oct 2009 | Add comment
-
iTunes Shuffle Survey :)
by reven4theradio |
16 Oct 2009 | Add comment
-
My Beatles top 25 songs.
by blackdovex |
5 Aug 2009 | 12 comments
