Mean Mr. Mustard
| "Mean Mr. Mustard" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the song's sheet music | |
| Songbythe Beatles | |
| from the albumAbbey Road | |
| Released | 26 September 1969 |
| Recorded | 24–29 July 1969 |
| Studio | EMI,London |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 1:06 |
| Label | Apple |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
"Mean Mr. Mustard"is a song by English rock bandthe Beatles,released on their 1969 studio albumAbbey Road.Written byJohn Lennon[1]and credited toLennon–McCartney,it is the third track of the album'smedley.It was recorded with "Sun King"in one continuous piece.[1]
Composition
[edit]The song was written during the Beatles'stay in India;Lennon said that it was inspired by a newspaper story about amiserwho concealed his cash wherever he could in order to prevent people from forcing him to spend it. On reflection, Lennon did not think highly of the composition, dismissing it inAnthologyas "a bit of crap I wrote in India."[2]
A demo version of the song was recorded in May 1968 atKinfauns,George Harrison's home inEsher.It appears onAnthology 3[3]and the2018 Deluxe EditionofThe Beatles.In this version, Mustard's sister is named Shirley.[4]Lennon changed it to Pam when he saw the opportunity to ease the segue into the song "Polythene Pam",which follows" Mean Mr. Mustard "on the album. According to Lennon," In 'Mean Mr. Mustard', I said 'his sister Pam'—originally it was 'his sister Shirley' in the lyric. I changed it to Pam to make it sound like it had something to do with it. "[4]
As eventually recorded, "Mustard" originally was to end in the chord of D major—this would have led into the next track in the climactic medley, "Her Majesty".However, since the latter song was moved to the end of the album," Mustard "instead hard-edits into"Polythene Pam",and thus the final note of" Mustard "would open" Her Majesty "as a stand-alone track at the album's conclusion. The complete version of" Mustard "(with its original clean ending) can be heard onThe Beatles: Rock Bandvideo game, as well asAbbey Road's 2019 Super Deluxe Edition.
Origin
[edit]A newspaper article from the 7 June 1967Daily Recordwith the headline "A Mean Husband Shaved in the Dark" features a man called John Mustard, who lived in Enfield, Middlesex. In 1980, Lennon said: "I’d read somewhere in the paper about this mean guy who was hiding £5 notes, not up his nose but somewhere else, and so I wrote about him."[5]
Personnel
[edit]- John Lennon– lead and harmony vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
- Paul McCartney– harmony vocals,fuzz bass
- George Harrison– lead guitar
- Ringo Starr– drums,tambourine,maracas[6]
Cover versions
[edit]- Booker T. & the MGson their 1970 albumMcLemore Avenue.
Notes
[edit]- ^abLewisohn 1988,p. 182.
- ^Turner 2005,p. 195.
- ^Lewisohn 1996,p. 7.
- ^abThe Beatles 2000,p. 337.
- ^Robertson, Craig (8 October 2019)."Beatles song from Abbey Road album inspired by miserly Scot who was cruel to wife".Daily Record.Retrieved11 January2022.
- ^Howlett, Kevin (2019).Abbey Road (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Version) (book).Apple Records.
References
[edit]- The Beatles(2000).The Beatles Anthology.San Francisco: Chronicle Books.ISBN0-8118-2684-8.
- Lewisohn, Mark(1988).The Beatles Recording Sessions.New York:Harmony Books.ISBN0-517-57066-1.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1996).Anthology 3(booklet).The Beatles.London:Apple Records.34451.
- Turner, Steve(2005).A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song(3rd ed.). New York:Harper Paperbacks.ISBN0-06-084409-4.
