Watching Rainbows

"Watching Rainbows" is an unreleased song by the Beatles recorded on 14 January 1969 during the massive Get Back sessions at Twickenham Studios. It features John Lennon on lead vocal and electric piano, Paul McCartney on lead guitar, and Ringo Starr on drums; bass guitar is absent from the song because Paul McCartney is playing the absent George Harrison's usual role as lead electric guitar. George Harrison had temporarily left the group at this stage of the sessions. The song is played in two chords and has since been compared to "I Am the Walrus" and "I've Got a Feeling" for the similarities in the song's lyrics and structure.

"Watching Rainbows"
Song by the Beatles
ReleasedUnreleased
Recorded14 January 1969
StudioTwickenham Studios
Length4:08
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

Composition and background

"Watching Rainbows" is an improvised song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was never released and can only be heard on bootlegs. The track was recorded at Twickenham Studios on 14 January 1969 by producer George Martin during the Get Back sessions.[1] "Mean Mr. Mustard" and the unreleased song "Madman", which the Beatles ultimately abandoned after a few run-throughs were also recorded during the January session.[2][3] The song features Paul McCartney on lead guitar because George Harrison had temporarily left the group at this stage of the sessions.[4] The song has a two chord riff.[5] "Watching Rainbows" is very often associated with two other songs by the Beatles. The first song associated with it is the structurally similar McCartney tune "I've Got a Feeling", which the Beatles eventually released on their final album Let It Be on 8 May 1970.[5] The second one is the single, "I Am the Walrus", which was released on 24 November 1967, as the B-side to the hit single "Hello Goodbye". "I Am the Walrus" was later released on their EP Magical Mystery Tour on 8 December 1967. One of the most intelligible pieces of lyric in the whole song is the oft-repeated line "Standing in the garden, waiting for the sun to shine," which is reminiscent of a line from the earlier Beatles tune, which contains the line "Sitting in an English garden, waiting for the sun."[1] Because of this slight similarity, the song is often interpreted as being derived or loosely inspired by "I Am the Walrus".[5][4] The song also features the words "shoot me", which Lennon would later reuse on his hit single "Come Together".[5][4] It begins with McCartney playing the lead guitar part from "I've Got a Feeling", while Lennon joins in and improvises three verses from "I Am the Walrus". It leads into a chorus, but then evolves to a jam. Lyrically, the song is about man suffering from poverty and wants not only to dream of a rainbow, but also to dream of having his own power. There is also a part singing the feelings for the mother, which is common with Lennon's song "Mother", which he would later release in 1970.[6]

Reception

In a negative review, author Richie Unterbeger commented that "Watching Rainbows" is "uninteresting" and "chunky" and furthermore calling the track a "throw-away".[5] In a positive review, David Marchese of Vulture called the song "another playful, jammy track from the Let It Be sessions".[7]

Personnel

According to Kenneth Womack[1]

References
  1. Womack, Kenneth (2014). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four. ABC-CLIO. p. 975. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. Sulpy, Doug; Schweighardt, Ray (1999). Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of the Beatles' 'Let It Be' Disaster. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 201–2. ISBN 978-0-312-19981-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Unterberger, Richie (2006). Unreleased Beatles Music and Film. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 232, 247–8. ISBN 978-0-87930-892-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. Womack, Kenneth (2014). Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four. Greenwood. p. 259. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  5. Unterberger, Richie (2006). The Unreleased Beatles. Backbeat Books. p. 259. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  6. Sulpy, Doug (1999). Get Back The Unauthorized Chronicle of the Beatles' " Let It Be" Disaster. St. Martin's Press. p. 201. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  7. Marchese, David (14 November 2016). "The 15 Best Unreleased Beatles Songs That You Can Listen to Now". Vulture. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
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