Happiness Is a Warm Gun 1701355 225902650 2008-07-15T22:59:59Z Wolfammo 7482650 /* Cover versions */ {{Song infobox| | Name = Happiness Is a Warm Gun | Artist = [[The Beatles]] | Album = [[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]] | Cover = The White Album.svg | Released = [[22 November]] [[1968]] | track_no = 8 of disc 1 | Recorded = [[Abbey Road Studios]] <br> [[24 September|24]]–[[25 September]] [[1968]] | Genre = [[Hard rock]], [[doo wop]] | Length = 2:43 | Writer = [[Lennon/McCartney]] | Label = [[Apple Records]] | Producer = [[George Martin]] | Tracks = '''Side one''' #"[[Back in the U.S.S.R.]]" #"[[Dear Prudence]]" #"[[Glass Onion]]" #"[[Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da]]" #"[[Wild Honey Pie]]" #"[[The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill]]" #"[[While My Guitar Gently Weeps]]" #"[[Happiness Is a Warm Gun]]" '''Side two''' #<li value=9>"[[Martha My Dear]]" #"[[I'm So Tired]]" #"[[Blackbird (song)|Blackbird]]" #"[[Piggies]]" #"[[Rocky Raccoon]]" #"[[Don't Pass Me By]]" #"[[Why Don't We Do It in the Road?]]" #"[[I Will (The Beatles song)|I Will]]" #"[[Julia (The Beatles song)|Julia]]" '''Side three''' #"[[Birthday (The Beatles song)|Birthday]]" #"[[Yer Blues]]" #"[[Mother Nature's Son]]" #"[[Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey]]" #"[[Sexy Sadie (song)|Sexy Sadie]]" #"[[Helter Skelter (song)|Helter Skelter]]" #"[[Long, Long, Long]]" '''Side four''' #<li value=8>"[[Revolution (song)#Revolution 1|Revolution 1]]" #"[[Honey Pie]]" #"[[Savoy Truffle]]" #"[[Cry Baby Cry]]" #"[[Revolution 9]]" #"[[Good Night (song)|Good Night]]" }} "'''Happiness Is a Warm Gun'''" is a song by [[The Beatles]] featured on the eponymous double-disc album ''[[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]]'' (also known as ''The White Album''). It is primarily a [[John Lennon]] composition, credited to [[Lennon/McCartney]]. The original, working title of the song was "Happiness Is a Warm Gun in Your Hand," which was inspired by a magazine containing the phrase, which in turn parodied "Happiness is a Warm Puppy," a [[Peanuts]] book written by [[Charles Schulz]] in 1962. ==Overview== Lennon once claimed the song was "sort of a history of [[rock and roll]]," as it features five different sections but is less than three minutes long. The song begins with a brief lilting section ("She's not a girl who misses much..."). Drums, bass and distorted guitar are introduced as this portion of the song proceeds. The surreal imagery from this section is allegedly taken from an [[LSD|acid]] trip that Lennon and Derek Taylor experienced, with Taylor contributing the opening lines.<ref>Hertsgaard, Mark (1995). "A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles". New York, New York: Delacorte Press. pg. 257</ref> After this, the song transitions into a Lennon song fragment called "I Need a Fix," built around an ominous-sounding guitar riff. This section drifts into the next section, a chorus of "Mother Superior jumped the gun". The final section is a [[doo-wop]] send up, with the back-up of vocals of "bang, bang, shoot shoot." The song's multiple sections would inspire [[Radiohead]]'s three part "[[Paranoid Android]]" on ''[[OK Computer]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenplastic.com/lyrics/paranoidandroid.php |title=Paranoid Android |accessdate=2007-09-21}}</ref> One of the most radical musical accomplishments of the song is its frequent shifts in meter. Beginning in 4/4 time, the song shifts to a 3/4 time for the guitar solo in the "I need a fix..." section. This gives way to 6/8, 3/4, and 4/4 measures in the "Mother Superior..." section before returning to 4/4 for the majority of the doo-wop style ending. During Lennon's spoken-word interlude, the song briefly switches into 6/4. The spoken word section has its roots in the song later on the album "[[I'm So Tired]]" because, exhibited in the song's home demo, is a spoken word section in 6/4 time that is almost exactly like the one in "Happiness is a Warm Gun." According to Lennon, the title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer [[George Martin]] showed him: "I think he showed me a cover of a magazine that said 'Happiness Is a Warm Gun.' It was a gun magazine. I just thought it was a fantastic, insane thing to say. A warm gun means you just shot something."<ref name="wenner1p114-115">{{cite book |first=Jann S |last=Wenner |title=Lennon Remembers (Full interview from Lennon's 1970 interview in [[Rolling Stone]] magazine) |year=2000 |pages=114-115 |publisher=Verso |location=London |isbn=1-85984-600-9}}</ref> "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is Paul McCartney's favorite song on the White Album. It was featured in the Michael Moore documentary ''[[Bowling for Columbine]]'' in a montage sequence and in the film ''[[Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe]]'' in which Maxwell is being injected with medicine. ==Credits== *[[John Lennon]] - lead vocals, electric guitar, piano *[[George Harrison]] - lead guitar, backing vocals *[[Paul McCartney]] - bass, backing vocals *[[Ringo Starr]] - drums ==Cover versions== * [[Tori Amos]], on the album ''[[Strange Little Girls]]'' * [[Phish]], on the album ''[[Live Phish Volume 13]]'' * [[U2]], as a B-side of the single "[[Last Night on Earth]]" * [[Jay-Z]] and [[Danger Mouse]], as a [[Mashup (music)|mashup]] on ''[[The Grey Album]]'' * [[Alanis Morissette]], during the 1995-1996 Can't Not Tour * [[Joe Anderson]] with [[Salma Hayek]], for the soundtrack of ''[[Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe]]'' * [[Guns N' Roses]] on the [[Use Your Illusion Tour]]. * [[The Breeders]], on the album [[Pod_(album) | Pod]] ==Notes== <references/> ==External links== *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445922/soundtrack Joe Anderson in Across the Universe] {{The Beatles}} [[Category:The Beatles songs]] [[Category:1968 songs]] [[Category:Songs produced by George Martin]] [[es:Happiness is a Warm Gun]] [[fr:Happiness Is a Warm Gun]] [[he:Happiness Is a Warm Gun]] [[ja:ハッピネス・イズ・ア・ウォーム・ガン]] [[pl:Happiness Is a Warm Gun]]