Flying

"Flying" is an instrumental song from The Beatles' 1967 television film and soundtrack Magical Mystery Tour, and the first song credited to all four members of the band.

In 1977 the track was covered by The Residents for the B-side of their single The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles.

History

Background

Recorded on September 8th 1967 under the working title "Aerial Tour Instrumental", "Flying" was the first instrumental written by The Beatles since "12-Bar Original" in 1965, and was the first song to be credited as being written by all four members of the band. It was intended as incidental music for the band's psychedelic TV movie, Magical Mystery Tour, which aired on BBC1 on December 26th 1967.

The original recording of the song ran almost ten minutes in length and featured a lengthy coda consisting of tape loops created by John Lennon and Ringo Starr when overdubbing the track on September 28th; it was cut down to only 2 minutes and 17 seconds for the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack EP, however parts of the coda can be heard as incidental music at various points throughout the TV movie.

The Residents' version

Outtake from The Beatles Play The Residents photo session, 1977

The Residents recorded a cover of "Flying" in May 1977, as the B-side to their single The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles. Despite being a relatively obscure track, "Flying" was chosen for the simple reason that it was the only Beatles song The Residents could find which was credited to all four members of the band.

The Residents' version of the song is notably more mournful and funereal than the original Beatles recording; although the wordless vocals are retained from The Beatles' version, The Residents add maniacal laughter, and the exhortation "Please, everybody! Please, if we didn't do everything we could have done, we tried!" - a spoken line from Paul McCartney on The Beatles' Third Christmas Record, which was sampled and looped in "Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life", the A-side of The Beatles Play The Residents.

Lyrics

Hahahahahahaha!

Haha! Hahahahahaha!

Please! Please, everybody! Please, 
If we didn't do everything we could have done,
We tried! We tried!
Hahahahaha!

F-L-Y-I-N-G
F-L-Y-I-N-G
F-L-Y-I-N-G
F-L-Y-I-N-G
G, G, G, G

F-L-Y-I-N-G
F-L-Y-I-N-G
F-L-Y-I-N-G
F-L-Y-I-N-G
G, G, G, G

List of releases

• The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles (1977)
• The Residents Radio Special (1977)
• The Third Reich 'n Roll Classic Series CD reissue (1987)
• In Memoriam Torso (1994)
• Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997)
• Eat Exuding Oinks! Ralph Records' 1977 Radio Special (2002)
• Documentation - Tunes In Danger Of Becoming Lost (2009)
• The Third Reich 'n Roll pREServed CD edition (2018)

See also

• The Beatles
• The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles
• "Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life"
• The Third Reich 'n Roll

Buy Or Die!

• "Flying" on Apple Music
• "Flying" (2002 remaster) on Spotify
• "Flying" (pREServed remaster) on Spotify
• "Flying" (pREServed remaster) on Apple Music

External links and references

• "Flying" at Wikipedia