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| "Julia" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles
from the album The Beatles |
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| Released | 22 November 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 13 October 1968 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 2:54 | |||
| Label | Apple Records | |||
| Writer | Lennon/McCartney | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| The Beatles track listing | ||||
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| "Julia" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by The Beatles | ||||
| A-side | "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" | |||
| Released | 8 November 1976 (US) | |||
| Format | vinyl record 7" | |||
| Label | Capitol 4347 | |||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
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"Julia" is a song by The Beatles. It is the final song on side two (disc one on CD) of the band's 1968 album, The Beatles (often called The White Album).
Contents |
Origins
"Julia" was written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and features Lennon on vocals and acoustic guitar. It was written during the Beatles' 1968 visit to Rishikesh in northern India, where they were studying under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was here Lennon learned the song's finger-picking guitar style (known as 'Travis-picking') from the Scottish musician Donovan. No other Beatle sings or plays on the recording. While Paul McCartney made several "solo" compositions attributed to the group, dating back to his famous song "Yesterday", this is the only time that Lennon played and sang unaccompanied on a Beatles recording.
"Julia" was written for John's mother Julia Lennon (1914–1958), who was knocked down and killed by a car driven by an off-duty police officer when John was 17 years old. It was also written for his future wife Yoko Ono, whose first name, which literally means "child of the sea" in Japanese, is echoed in lyrics such as "Oceanchild, calls me." An alternative theory suggests that the song was written for Julian Lennon, John's son.
Release
"Julia" was originally released as the final song on side two of The Beatles on 22 November 1968.[1] Eight years later it was released as the B-side of the "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" single.[2]
A portion of the song also appeared on the Love album mixed with "Eleanor Rigby".
Personnel
- John Lennon – vocals, acoustic guitar
Other versions
"Julia" has been covered by Ramsey Lewis, Bongwater, Chocolate Genius, Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood, and Sean Lennon. Sean Lennon performed the song live on 2 October 2001 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, as part of the Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music concert special.
On Danger Mouse's mashup album, The Grey Album, "Julia" is mixed with Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder".
External links
Notes
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 200–201.
- ^ Wallgren 1982, p. 109.
References
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- Wallgren, Mark (1982). The Beatles on Record. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-45682-2.
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