Your Mother Should Know

From BeatlesWiki

Your Mother Should Know is a song off The Beatles' 1967 album Magical Mystery Tour. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon/McCartney.

Writing

Paul took the title from the screenplay of A Taste Of Honey. Paul recalls, "I wrote it in Cavendish Avenue on the harmonium I have in the dining room there. My Aunty Jin and Uncle Harry and a couple of relatives were staying and they were in the living room just across the hall, so I just went to the dining room and spent a few hours with the door open with them listening. And I suppose because of the family atmosphere Your Mother Should Know came in. It's a very music-hall kind of thing, probably influenced by the fact that my Aunty Jin was in the house." It is speculated that the song was written with the intention of being on the "Our World" TV broadcast, which they instead played All You Need Is Love.

Recording

The song was recorded at Chapppel Studios in London instead of Abbey Road Studios, because other artists were booked there. The first eight takes were recorded on August 22, 1967. The next day, they recorded overdubs for the song. This would end up being Brian Epstein's last visit to a Beatles recording session, as he would die on August 27. They remade the song on September 16, when eleven takes were recorded. These takes included harmonium, piano, vocals and drums. The eighth take from this day was included on Anthology 2. This remake was not used, and instead, on September 29, John Lennon and Paul McCartney overdubbed organ and bass onto the August 22 tapes, finishing the song.

Recording Sessions

September 16, 1967: Recording and Mixing Session. Songs Recorded: Your Mother Should Know. Songs Mixed: Blue Jay Way. →

September 29, 1967: Recording and Mixing Session. Songs Mixed: I Am The Walrus and Your Mother Should Know. Songs Recorded: Your Mother Should Know. →

October 2, 1967: Recording Session. Songs Recorded: Hello, Goodbye. Songs Mixed: Your Mother Should Know. →

November 6, 1967: Mixing Session. Songs Mixed: Hello, Goodbye, I Am The Walrus, Your Mother Should Know, and Magical Mystery Tour. →

In The Film Magical Mystery Tour

In the film Magical Mystery Tour, this song is played while The Beatles, wearing white suits, danced down a large staircase and towards the camera while the Magical Mystery Tour passengers surrounded them. Paul remembered planning for this sequence. "The big prop was that great big staircase that we danced down, that was where all the money went: in that particular shot on that big staircase. I said, 'Sod it, you've got to have the Busby Berkeley ending,' and it is a good sequence. Just the fact of John dancing, which he did readily. You can see by the fun expression on his face that he wasn't forced into anything."