fighting it out

We Can Work It Out

"We Can Work It Out" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles as a "double A-sided" single with "Day Tripper", the first time both sides of a single were so designated in an initial release. Both songs were recorded during the Rubber Soul sessions. The song is an example of Lennon-McCartney collaboration at a depth that happened only rarely after they wrote the hit singles of 1963. This song, and "A Day in the Life", are among the notable exceptions.

Composition

McCartney wrote the words and music to the verses and bridges, with lyrics that "might have been personal" and thus a reference to his relationship with Jane Asher. McCartney then took the song to Lennon: "I took it to John to finish it off and we wrote the middle together." According to Lennon, he "did the middle eight."

With its intimations of mortality, Lennon's contribution to the twelve-bar bridge contrasts typically with what Lennon saw as McCartney's cajoling optimism. As Lennon told Playboy in 1980, "You've got Paul writing, 'We can work it out / We can work it out'—real optimistic, y'know, and me, impatient: 'Life is very short, and there's no time / For fussing and fighting, my friend.'" Based on those comments, some critics overemphasized McCartney's optimism, neglecting the toughness in passages written by McCartney, such as "Do I have to keep on talking until I can't go on?". Lennon's middle shifts focus from McCartney's concrete reality to a philosophical perspective in B minor, illustrating this with a waltz-time section suggested by George Harrison that leads back to the verse, possibly meant to suggest tiresome struggle. Ian MacDonald said, "[Lennon's] passages are so suited to his Salvation Army harmonium that it's hard to imagine them not being composed on it. The swell-pedal crescendos he adds to the verses are, on the other hand, textural washes added in the studio, the first of their kind on a Beatles record and signposts to the enriched sound-palette of Revolver." Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher described the song as "the song that defines The Beatles".

Recording and release

The Beatles recorded "We Can Work It Out" on 20 October, 1965, four days after its accompanying single track, with an overdub session on 29 October. They spent nearly 11 hours on the song, by far the longest expenditure of studio time up to that point.

In a discussion about what song to release as a single, Lennon argued "vociferously" for "Day Tripper", differing with the majority view that "We Can Work It Out" was a more commercial song. As a result, the single was marketed as the first "double A-side," but airplay and point-of-sale requests soon proved "We Can Work It Out" to be more popular, and it reached No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, The Beatles' fastest-selling single since "Can't Buy Me Love," their previous McCartney-led A-side in the UK.

The Beatles made 10 black-and-white promo films for television broadcasters on 23 November 1965, at Twickenham Film Studiosin London, as they were often unable to make personal appearances by that time. Three of the films were mimed performances of We Can Work It Out, in all of which John Lennon was seated at a harmonium. The most frequently-broadcast of the three versions was a straightforward performance piece with the group wearing black suits. Another had the group wearing the stage suits from their Shea Stadium performance on 15 August; the third opens with a shot of Lennon with a sunflower in front of his eye.

Credits

John Lennon: harmony vocal, harmonium and acoustic guitar.
Paul McCartney: lead vocal and bass.
George Harrison: tambourine.
Ringo Starr: drums.

Cover versions

In 1968, Deep Purple recorded a cover version of the song on their album The Book of Taliesyn.

In 1970, Stevie Wonder covered the song on his album Signed, Sealed, and Delivered, and released it as a single in 1971. That single reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"We Can Work It Out" has been covered by Petula Clark, Chaka Khan, Valerie Simpson, and Maxine Brown.

In 1975, Humble Pie covered the song for their album, Street Rats.

In 1976, The Four Seasons did a cover version of the song for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.

In 1990, Tesla covered the song on their live album Five Man Acoustical Jam.

In 1991, McCartney played an acoustic version of the song for his MTV Unplugged performance, memorable for his flubbing the first verse and his good-natured reaction, later released on Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)

In 2001, Anthony Stewart Head & George Sarah recorded a cover version of the song on their album 'Music for Elevators'.

In 2002, Heather Nova recorded a version for the I Am Sam soundtrack, which contained many Beatles covers, only some of which were in the I Am Sam film (released in 2001).

In 2002, The Punkles recorded a cover version of the song on their second album 'Punk!'.

In 2008, Mad Mods and Englishman recorded a cover version of the song on their EP 'Volume Two'.

In 2008, David Archuleta performed We Can Work It Out for American Idol Season 7 - Top 12.

Cultural references

In 1998, during Van Halen's World Tour with Gary Cherone, the group used the line "We can work it out, we can work it out..Life is very short and there's no time" at the end of live performances of the Van Halen song Without You

The song is mentioned in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, starring Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier and Spencer Tracy.

In 1989, Bad Religion quoted the line "There is no time for fussing and fighting my friend" from "We Can Work It Out" in the song "You" on their album No Control.

The line "Life is very short so there is no time for fussing or fighting my friend" is quoted in the movie National Lampoons Loaded Weapon by Denis Leary to Tim Curry.