I'm Only Sleeping

The first draft of Lennon's lyrics for "I'm Only Sleeping", written on the back of a letter from 1966, suggests that he was writing about the joys of staying in bed rather than any drug euphoria sometimes read into the lyrics. While not on tour, Lennon would usually spend his time sleeping, reading, writing or watching television, often under the influence of drugs, and would have to be woken by McCartney for their songwriting sessions. In a London Evening Standard article published on 4 March 1966, Maureen Cleave, a friend of Lennon, wrote: "He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England. 'Physically lazy,' he said. 'I don't mind writing or reading or watching or speaking, but sex is the only physical thing I can be bothered with any more. ==Recording==

The recording of the song began at EMI Studios on 27 April 1966 with eleven takes of the rhythm track, comprising two acoustic guitars, bass and drums. Five further takes of the song were recorded but they were not used. Take 11 was chosen as the master and two days later Lennon added his lead vocals. On 5 May, George Harrison wrote and recorded the double guitar part. The next day the recording was completed by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison's backing vocals. The song features the then-unique sound of a reversed guitar duet played by Harrison in a five-hour late-night recording session with producer George Martin. Harrison perfected the part with the tape running backwards so that, when reversed, it would fit the dreamlike mood. One guitar was recorded with fuzz effects, the other without. Engineer Geoff Emerick described the meticulous process as "interminable". "I can still picture George hunched over his guitar for hours on end", Emerick wrote in 2006, "headphones clamped on, brows furrowed in concentration." During the break before the second bridge, the sound of a yawn can be heard, preceded by Lennon saying to McCartney, "Yawn, Paul." ==Release==

"I'm Only Sleeping" was first released on 20 June 1966 as the second track on the US album Yesterday and Today and on 5 August 1966 as the third track on Revolver, the album for which the song was originally intended. The US version of Revolver did not include the song as it had already been released: US Beatles releases frequently differed from the British versions. The mono and stereo versions of "I'm Only Sleeping" differ in the positioning and length of the backwards guitar parts: • US mono version (mixed on 12 May 1966): No backwards track during the second verse but a quick fragment is heard on the "time" in "taking my time" and "ceiling" in "lying there and staring at the ceiling". The track is fully intact during the instrumental break and continues into the words "please don't" in "please don't spoil my day". Near the end of the song the backwards track starts four beats after the last word "sleeping". It won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024. The music video includes an animation of 1,300 oil paintings by Cooper, cut into a smooth video that rehighlights moments from the band's career, dreamlike sequences, and concluding with live action video of the artist cleaning her workspace. ==Suggs version==

Madness singer Suggs released a cover version of the song in July 1995, produced by Sly & Robbie, as the first single of his solo career and the lead single from his debut solo album The Lone Ranger. The single reached Number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. The music video also featured fellow Madness members Mike Barson and Chas Smash, who also collaborated with him on other songs in the album. Charts Weekly charts ==Personnel==

According to Ian MacDonald: • John Lennon – lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitar • Paul McCartney – bass, harmony vocals, yawn • George Harrison – acoustic guitar, backwards lead guitars, harmony vocals • Ringo Starr – drums ==References==