Flying
From BeatlesWiki
Flying is a song off The Beatles' 1967 album Magical Mystery Tour. It is one of the few to be credited to Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey, all four Beatles. The only other is Suzy Parker, from the Get Back sessions, although it can be argued that Carnival Of Light was composed by all four. It is also one of the few group instrumentals. The only other legitimately-released instrumentals are Cayenne from 1960, Cry For A Shadow from 1961, and 12-Bar Original from 1965.
Contents |
AKA and Working Titles
- Aerial Tour Instrumental, working title
Writing
The song was originally intended to be theme music for the Magical Mystery Tour film, and though it did end up getting used in the film, it also appeared on the album, unlike most of the incidental music from the movie. It was originally recorded under the working title of "Aerial Tour Instrumental." Paul, in his authorized biography, Many Years From Now, recalls the writing and recording of the song, "Flying was an instrumental that we needed for Magical Mystery Tour so in the studio one night I suggested to the guys that we made something up. I said, 'We can keep it very very simple, we can make it a twelve-bar blues. We need a little bit of a theme and a little bit of a backing.' I wrote the melody. The only thing to warrant it as a song is basically the melody, otherwise it's just a nice twelve-bar backing thing. It's played on the Mellotron, on a trombone setting. It's credited to all four, which is how you would credit a non-song."
Recording
The song was recorded in six takes on September 8, 1967. During this session alone, it went through several changes. Originally, at the end of the song, it included a short jazz coda sampled from an unknown source. Take six had drums, organ, and guitar. After that, three organs were recorded, and then played backwards and overdubbed onto the song. Then, John recorded the main melody on the Mellotron. After this, all four Beatles recorded their backing vocals. On September 28, more Mellotron, guitar, and percussion were added, finishing the track. At this point, the song's length was 9:36 long, so it was trimmed down to two minutes to fit it on the soundtrack album. The long version appears on many bootlegs.
In The Film Magical Mystery Tour
In the film Magical Mystery Tour, unused aerial footage from the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" was used, with the footage being tinted in different, bright colors. The footage accompanying the song is actually taken in an airplane over Iceland. Originally, the bus was intended to fly in the movie during this sequence, but this idea was not used.
Available Versions
- Take six with jazz coda, September 8, 1967, (Bootlegs)
- Take Six unedited, September 8/September 28, 1967, (Bootlegs)
- Take Six plus overdubs, September 8/September 28, 1967, (Magical Mystery Tour)
- RM4, September 8, 1967, (Bootlegs)
Available On
- Magical Mystery Tour, 1967
Cover Versions
- Secret Machines
