Performed by: The Beatles
Written by: John Winston Lennon; Paul James Mccartney
Credits: Lennon, John Winston (Songwriter); Mccartney, Paul James (Songwriter); SONY BEATLES LTD (Publisher); SONY/ATV TUNES LLC (Publisher)
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
| Lyrics: Maxwell's Silver Hammer |
| Wikipedia: Maxwell's Silver Hammer |
| "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Album | Abbey Road | |
| Released | 26 September 1969 | |
| Recorded | 9 July-11 July, 6 August 1969 | |
| Genre | Pop rock | |
| Length | 3:27 | |
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Writer | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| Abbey Road track listing | ||
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"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is a song by The Beatles, from the Abbey Road album, with Paul McCartney singing lead. It was written by McCartney, though the songwriting credit is Lennon/McCartney.
Contents |
Structure
The vaudevillian-style song is about medical student Maxwell Edison, who uses his silver hammer to murder his girlfriend Joan, then his teacher, and finally the judge during his murder trial. Despite the grim subject matter, the song is bouncy and upbeat (a "Happy song about murder"). The "Silver Hammer Man" coda seems to be a deliberate pastiche of Mason Williams' 1968 song "Long Time Blues"; the arrangement and performance of this coda echo the arrangement and performance of the titular line in Williams' song nearly perfectly. Additionally, the coda appears after the song has already resolved to a nice conclusion, which invites speculation regarding whether the "Silver Hammer Man" coda was perhaps a nod to (or a tease on) Williams.[1]
In the film Let It Be, McCartney attempts to teach the song to the rest of the band, who are clearly less than enthusiastic. McCartney can be heard sniggering at 1:21 as he sings the line "... writing fifty times I must not be so ..." on the studio recording. This is sometimes rumoured to be because as McCartney sang the line "so he waits behind," Lennon mooned McCartney from the control room.[2]
The Beatles began recording Maxwell's Silver Hammer at Abbey Road Studios on 9 July 1969. McCartney, Harrison and Starr taped 16 takes of the rhythm track, followed by a series of guitar overdubs. The unused fifth take can be heard on Anthology 3.
The following two days the group overdubbed vocals, piano, Hammond organ, anvil and guitar. The song was completed on 6 August, when McCartney recorded a solo on a Moog synthesizer.[3]
Meaning
Although thought by many fans to be a thinly-veiled allegory on the Charles Manson murders, this is impossible, because the Tate-La Bianca murders occurred on 8-9 August 1969, after the song was recorded. However, a homicidal cult is believed to have used this name in the 1970s, and claimed the lives of five campers in Santa Barbara, California. This is mentioned by the Manson family.[4]
The song may also be a warning about the dangers of dabbling with the powers of 'Pataphysics.[5]
McCartney said in 1994 that it merely epitomises the downfalls of life:
- "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does, as I was beginning to find out at that time in my life. I wanted something symbolic of that, so to me it was some fictitious character called Maxwell with a silver hammer. I don't know why it was silver, it just sounded better than Maxwell's hammer. It was needed for scanning. We still use that expression now when something unexpected happens."
McCartney referred to the song when talking about his 2005 album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard:
- "In the past I may have written tongue-in-cheek, like 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer', and dealt with matters of fate in a kind of comical, parody manner. It just so happens in this batch of songs I would look at these subjects and thought it was good for writing. If it's good enough to take to your psychiatrist, it's good enough to make a song of."
Comedian Patton Oswalt refers to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as a euphemism for a hypodermic needle used for injecting the perfect amount of heroin.[6]
The rest of The Beatles
The song took three days of overdubbing because McCartney imagined that it could be a future single. John Lennon later recalled, "he did everything to make it into a single, and it never was and it never could have been."[7] According to Lennon, the band spent more money on that song than any other on Abbey Road, and he derided the song at the time as a prime example of McCartney's "granny-style" writing.
George Harrison described it in 1969 as "one of those instant whistle-along tunes which some people hate, and other people really like. It's a fun song, but it's kind of a drag because Maxwell keeps on destroying everyone like his girlfriend then the school teacher, and then, finally, the judge." In 1977, Harrison would be less charitable, stating "I mean, my God, 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' was so fruity."[8]
Even Ringo Starr recalled in an interview in early 2008: "The worst session ever was 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer.' It was the worst track we ever had to record. It went on for fucking weeks. I thought it was mad."[citation needed]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocal; overdubbed guitar; piano and Moog IIIp
- John Lennon – Absent.
- George Harrison – backing vocal, guitar and bass.
- Ringo Starr – backing vocal, drums, anvil
- George Martin – Organ. [12]
- Credits per Ian MacDonald[9], Andy Babiuk[10] and Mark Lewisohn[11]
Cover versions
In the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the song is performed by comedian Steve Martin, who portrays the character Maxwell Edison. Frankie Laine also covered the song, as part of the musical documentary All This and World War II, which featured stock and newsreel footage of the Second World War, set to performances of music by The Beatles. Child star Jack Wild recorded a version of this song for his first studio album "The Jack Wild Album".
Cultural references
 |
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (April 2009) |
- A silver hammer was traditionally used to tap a dead Pope of the Roman Catholic Church on the head three times to be sure he is dead before electing a new Pope.
- The online game Kingdom of Loathing includes a melee weapon named Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
- In the popular computer game Deus Ex, a datacube found in the MJ12 sewer base is addressed to one "Lt. Maxwell Hammer".
- In the cartoon series Gargoyles, at a Quarryman meeting (note: the Quarrymen were a precursor to The Beatles), the chairman recommends that Maxwell be awarded a silver hammer.
- Maxwell's full name according to the song is "Maxwell Edison", surnames of a mathematician/physicist and inventor respectively.
- In the 2007 film, Across The Universe, in which most characters are named after lyrics in Beatles songs, a principal character named Max is a Princeton student (although not necessarily majoring in medicine), is repeatedly described as mentally unstable and in one scene is noisily battering a fan with a hammer. At the family Thanksgiving dinner, Max is called Maxwell by his Uncle Teddy. Maxwell and Lucy's surname in the film is Carrigan. When Maxwell and Jude meet Sadie (Dana Fuchs) for the first time, she says, "You look clean cut, but then again you could have murdered your granny with a hammer."
- In the Beta version of Mythos, a free to play online RPG, there is an item called "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".
- Robyn Hitchcock released a song called "Brenda's Iron Sledge" on his debut solo album Black Snake Diamond Role.
- Comedian Patton Oswalt uses the phrase "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" in his "Dr. Pepper" routine to refer to shooting up with heroin.
- In the Ed, Edd n Eddy episode, "Once Upon an Ed", Jonny says, "Plank and I want a real story with stuff like octopus's garden, silver hammers, and Mr. Kite!" All of these refer to Beatles songs, respectively, "Octopus's Garden", this song, and "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"
- The song is referenced in the movie Let's Go To Prison when one of the characters threatens to kill another with "Maxwell's silver hammer".
- The song is referenced in the TV show Celebrity Deathmatch, as Paul McCartney uses Maxwell's Silver Hammer to kill Ringo Starr and George Harrison.
Notes
- ^ Amazon.com: The Mason Williams Phonograph Record: Music: Mason Williams
- ^ Steve's Beatles Page - Songs - Maxwell's Silver Hammer
- ^ "The Beatles Bible: Maxwell's Silver Hammer". http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/maxwells-silver-hammer/. Retrieved on 2008-10-23.
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Michael Newton, ISBN 0-8160-3979-8
- ^ Barnes, Mike (2008-04-25), "That Ubu that you do", The Guardian, http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2275779,00.html.
- ^ Patton Oswalt, Feelin' Kinda Patton (United Musicians 2004) (CD)
- ^ Bill Harry. The Paul McCartney Encyclopedia
- ^ "George Harrison Interview". Crawdaddy Magazine. 1977-02. http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1977.0200.beatles.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-01.
- ^ a b MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). p. 357. ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- ^ a b Babiuk, Andy (2002). Beatles Gear: All The Fab Four's Instruments, from Stage to Studio (Second Revised ed.). London: BackBeat Books (Outline Press). p. 256. ISBN 0-87930-731-5.
- ^ a b Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. p. 179. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ^ For the studio version of the song, the anvil was played by Starr[9][10][11]; in the Beatles film Let It Be, however, Mal Evans is seen hitting the anvil as the Beatles play the track.
References
- The Beatles Ultimate Experience Database
- Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X
- Lewisohn, Mark. The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Hamlyn, 1988. ISBN 0-681-03189-1.
- Joe Orton Diaries Published 1986 - methuen
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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