THE LONG ONE

Today we will take a deep dive into the long one. Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

“The Long One” (also known as The Abbey Road Medley) is on the second side of the Beatles‘ album Abbey Road.

The Beatles revealed that they created the medley to “use up” several previously incomplete songs. All the songs are in different keys and styles and all written by different composers to cover almost the entire B-side of Abbey Road.

See kids, the B-side was an actual thing once upon a time when we had albums as our main form of music that we owned. Since the record had 2 sides, the “B-side” was also called side 2, unless you played it first…..then this whole theory is shot….but…but…the radio hits were usually on side A, so most people started there.

Well, that being what it may, The Beatles final album, Abbey Road contains some of my favorite pop music of all time. Hardcore fans will note that Let It Be was the final album released, but Abbey Road was the last one that they recorded. That’s a whole long story and not for today….

So if you haven’t listened to the long medley (medley = a group of tunes all rolled into one longer piece without any breaks in sound) in a while, have it handy as we take a closer listen.

Just short of seventeen minutes of short musical pieces that never found a home, or were not worked on enough to be called a full song, the medley takes us through 10 snips of music, gives us the only drum solo in the band’s catalog, a wonderful catchy sing-a-long and a farewell statement…..that is not to be outdone by what I think is a nod to The Beatles humor….a 23 second ditty about the Queen.

Why do I love this music? It’s a mosaic.

It speaks to me. It’s funny (She Came in Through the Bathroom Window), it’s beautiful (the vocal harmonies on Sun King), it’s gentle (Golden Slumbers), and it’s final words hold a great message:

“And in the end….the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”

I used to have those words hanging in my classroom, but never told the kids who wrote them. Every now and then someone would realize that it was The Beatles and say something to me. I would simply nod, agree and say ‘well done.’ I didn’t analyze or comment further. I hoped that they realized that these words are a golden rule of existence.

Beyond that last bit, each part of the medley has something delicious. Here I go….in order of the record:

“You Never Give Me Your Money” – Begins with Paul’s piano ballad about financial and emotional disillusion, shifting through moods like a mini-suite. Sounds like he’s summarizing his feelings about John and the band in general at this point in time.

“Sun King” – A dreamy, vocal harmony piece that feels like what I would imagine the 60’s to feel like…sorry Gerry and company, I wasn’t born until 1972. Ouch.

“Mean Mr. Mustard” – A sharp, comic fragment from John about an angry dude. This is very John…when Paul sang “it’s getting better all the time” on Sgt. Pepper….John countered with “it can’t get any worse.” Paul always wrote the happy cheesy songs (Yellow Submarine, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer), while John gives us the edgier weird songs (I Am The Walrus, Tomorrow Never Knows…). When working together, we have multiple sides of how we all feel about life at different moments….their most impressive example of this to my ears is A Day in the Life from Sgt. Peppers. Take a listen with moods in mind and you will quickly learn which part Paul wrote and which part John composed.

“Polythene Pam” – Edgy, rocking, and sarcastic, flowing directly into the next track with no break. I think this is The Beatles joking around; they never took themselves too seriously. The music? Yes…themselves? No. We can all learn a lesson there. Don’t get too impressed with your own importance…

“She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” – Paul’s playful yet reflective story-song, bridging the comic to the serious. I read that this actually happened (more than once) during the touring years….Oh to be a fly on the wall.

“Golden Slumbers” – A soaring lullaby ballad from Paul, tender and symphonic. I love this part so much. Paul found a song sheet with the lyrics on it many years before, but he couldn’t read music so he stole the words and came up with the piano parts. Add in the drums and some strings and you have something that sticks in your ear for the rest of time.

“Carry That Weight” – Big, dramatic ensemble piece, with all four Beatles’ voices—feels like both burden and anthem. At this point, all four band members were not getting along at all. Listen to the vocals while you picture this. You can almost hear the anger.

“The End” – Ringo’s only drum solo in The Beatles recorded history, trading guitar solos between Paul, George, and John, and the final lyric message about the balance of love.

“Her Majesty” – A 23-second add on that humorously undercuts the grandeur, leaving the album on a wink. Brilliant.

Thank you for coming to my music class today. After whipping through some slides and conversation, the kids would listen to the medley as a class while drawing anything and everything that came into their minds. I let them use markers, crayons, pen, pencil, anything….I would encourage them to let the music past their ears and see what happened when they let it into their hearts. As this lesson was near the end of my unit on The Beatles, the kids were all familiar with their personalities, roles in the band, and career arc. This would also (if I timed things right) wrap up the school year.

Kids could share what they drew or thought, but were not required to do so. I encouraged them to keep their art, and try this exercise again when they were in high school, college, and in the working years.

I have always found that music hits differently at different times in our lives. To that end, if and when you listen to the Abbey Road medley, do it the old way…..sit and listen. Really listen…headphones are even better. What goes through your mind?

Take a LISTEN.

Golden slumbers fill your eyes…