The Word (song)


"The Word" is a song by English rock group the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded with Lennon on lead vocals. It was first released on their 1965 album Rubber Soul.

Composition

The song was co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. According to Lennon, it was written together but it was "mainly mine". They wrote it after smoking marijuana, something they had not done before in a composing session, which from McCartney's perspective, "got in the way of songwriting". McCartney on the subject:
We smoked a bit of pot, then we wrote out a multicoloured lyric sheet, the first time we'd ever done that. We normally didn't smoke when we were working. It got in the way of songwriting because it would just cloud your mind up – "Oh, shit, what are we doing?" It's better to be straight. But we did this multicolour thing.

Music

Musically, the song is founded on a driving funk beat, with few chord changes and a simple melody in the key of D major.
Paul McCartney said of this song, "John and I would like to do songs with just one note like 'Long Tall Sally'. We get near it in 'The Word'".
George Martin plays the harmonium solo in the track. McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison sing the song in three-part harmony. Lennon sings the middle eight by himself.
Samples from this song are also included on Love released in November 2006, in the track "Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing".
John Lennon gave Yoko Ono the original sheets to the song just before their relationship began.

Reception

In his review for the 50th anniversary of Rubber Soul, Jacob Albano of Classic Rock Review writes that "The Word" is the first song on its parent album not to be "absolutely excellent," calling the harmonies "a bit too forced." However, Albano still considered the song "entertaining", and complimented the "piano backdrop" and Starr's drum performance.
In 2018, the music staff of Time Out London ranked "The Word" at number 33 on their list of the best Beatles songs.

Live performances

Paul McCartney has played a medley version of "The Word"/"All You Need Is Love" on his On the Run Tour.

Personnel