Carry That Weight
From BeatlesWiki
Carry That Weight is a song off The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon/McCartney.
Contents |
[edit] Writing
Paul McCartney wrote Carry That Weight both about the business problems The Beatles were having with Allen Klein, but also about how they were struggling to stay together as a group. Paul commented, "I'm generally quite upbeat but at certain times things get to me so much that I just can't be upbeat any more and that was one of the times. We were taking so much acid and doing so much drugs and all this Klein shit was going on and getting crazier and crazier and crazier. Carry that weight a long time: like for ever! That's what I meant." The song included vocals from all four Beatles, which was unusual.
[edit] Recording
Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight were recorded as one song, and split into two for the album. Paul, George, and Ringo first recorded the song without John Lennon as he was recovering from a car crash he had gotten into in Golspie, Scotland. On July 2, 1969, fifteen takes were recorded of the basic track for Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight. This basic track included George on bass, Ringo on drums, and Paul on piano and singing guide vocals. The best takes were 13 and 15, which were edited together the next day. Also on July 3 and again on July 4, Paul added lead vocals and rhythm guitar. George then added a lead guitar part and all three sang the chorus. On July 30 and July 31, more vocals were recorded for the chorus, this time including John. Also on July 31, they added timpani and drums. The orchestra was recorded on August 15.
[edit] Recording Sessions
- July 4, 1969: Recording Sessions. Songs Recorded: Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight. →
- July 31, 1969: Recording Session. Songs Recorded: You Never Give Me Your Money and Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight. →
[edit] Personnel
[edit] The Beatles
- Lead Vocals: Paul McCartney
- Backing Vocals: Paul McCartney
- Piano: Paul McCartney
- Rythm Guitar: Paul McCartney
- Backing Vocals: John Lennon
- Backing Vocals: George Harrison
- Lead Guitar: George Harrison
- Bass: George Harrison
- Backing Vocals: Ringo Starr
- Drums: Ringo Starr
- Timpani: Ringo Starr
[edit] Guest Musicians
- Unknown musicians played 12 violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos, double bass, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, trombone, and a bass trombone.
[edit] Production
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Phil McDonald
- Engineer: Geoff Emerick
[edit] Available Versions
[edit] The Beatles
- Get Back session, January 6, 1969, (Bootlegs)
- Get Back session (in a medley with Golden Slumbers), January 7, 1969, (Bootlegs)
- Get Back session, January 7, 1969, (Bootlegs)
- Get Back session (in a medley with Golden Slumbers), January 9, 1969, (Bootlegs)
- Takes 13 and 15 without overdubs, July 2, 1969, (Bootlegs)
- Overdubs onto Take 13 and 15, July 3, 1969, (Bootlegs)
- SR2 mono dub (Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End), July 30, 1969, (Bootlegs)
- Takes 13 and 15 plus overdubs, July 2/July 3/July 4/July 30/July 31/August 15, 1969, (Abbey Road)
[edit] Paul McCartney
- Live in Stockholm, Sweden, September 9, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live Rehearsal in Elstree Studios, September 21, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Oslo, Norway, September 26, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Stockholm, Sweden, September 29, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Stockholm, Sweden, September 30, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Paris, France, October 10, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Dortmund, Germany, October 17, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Milan, Italy, October 26, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Milan, Italy, October 27, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Rotterdam, Holland, November 8, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Los Angeles, California, USA, November 23, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Los Angeles, California, USA, November 27, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Chicago, Illinois, USA, December 5, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Tornto, Ontario, Canada, December 7, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in New York City, New York, USA, December 12, 1989, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Wembley, UK, January 23, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, February 5, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, February 8, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, February 15, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Tokyo, Japan, March 7, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Berkeley, California, USA, April 1, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Rio, Brazil, April 21, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Glasgow, Scotland, June 23, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Liverpool, England, June 28, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Washington DC, USA, July 4, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, July 11, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, July 14, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, July 22, 1990, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Wembley, UK, March 16, 1993, (Bootlegs)
- Live in London, September 15, 1997, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Oakland, California, USA, April 1, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, April 5, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Chicago, Illinois, USA, April 10, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 13, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, April 16, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Washington DC, USA, April 24, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, April 29, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 13, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Tampa, Florida, USA, May 15, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Sunrise, Florida, USA, May 17, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, September 21, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, October 1, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Tokyo, Japan, November 11, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Tokyo, Japan, November 13, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Tokyo, Japan, November 14, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Osaka, Japan, November 17, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Osaka, Japan, November 18, 2002, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Paris, France, March 25, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Barcelona, Spain, March 28, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Barcelona, Spain, March 29, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Brmingham, UK, April 14, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in London, England, April 21, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Arnhem, Netherlands, April 25, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Cologne, Germany, April 27, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Cologne, Germany, April 28, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Stockholm, Sweden, May 5, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Rome, Italy, May 10, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Rome, Italy, May 11, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Moscow, Russia, May 24, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Dubin, Ireland, May 27, 2003, (Bootlegs)
- Live in Liverpool, England, June 1, 2003, (Bootlegs)
[edit] Available On
- Abbey Road, 1969.
