For No One

"For No One" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was written by Paul McCartney, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. An early example of baroque pop[1][2][3] drawing on both baroque music and nineteenth-century art song,[4] it describes the end of a romantic relationship. Mostly performed by the composer, the track is distinguished by its French horn line performed by Alan Civil, played first as a solo and then as counterpoint in the final verse. It was considered one of McCartney's most mature compositions to date on its release.[5]

"For No One"
Cover of the Northern Songs sheet music (licensed to Sonora Musikförlag)
Song by the Beatles
from the album Revolver
Released5 August 1966
Recorded9, 16 and 19 May 1966
StudioEMI, London
GenreBaroque pop
Length2:01
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

Writing and recording

McCartney recalls writing "For No One" in the bathroom of a ski resort in the Swiss Alps[6] while on holiday with his then girlfriend Jane Asher; "I suspect it was about another argument," he later recalled.[7] The lyrics end enigmatically with the line "A love that should have lasted years". The song's working title was "Why Did It Die?"[8] The composition is built on a descending scale progression in B major with a refrain that modulates to C-sharp minor.[4]

The song was recorded on 9, 16 and 19 May 1966. McCartney sang and played clavichord (rented from George Martin's AIR company), piano and bass guitar, while Ringo Starr played drums, tambourine and maracas.[9][10] Neither John Lennon nor George Harrison contributed to the recording.[11]

The French horn solo was by Alan Civil, a British horn player described by recording engineer Geoff Emerick as the "best horn player in London".[12] During the session, McCartney pushed Civil to play a note that was beyond the usual range of the instrument. According to Emerick, the result was the "performance of his life".[12] Civil said that the song was "recorded in rather bad musical style, in that it was 'in the cracks' [not in concert pitch], neither B-flat nor B-major. This posed a certain difficulty in tuning my instrument."[13] Civil is one of the few session musicians to receive credit on a Beatles album.[14]

Reception

In her contemporaneous review of Revolver, for The Evening Standard, Maureen Cleave highlighted "For No One" among McCartney's contributions and deemed it "as moving as 'Yesterday'".[15]

Thomas Ward of AllMusic describes "For No One" as "one of Paul McCartney's great ballads with the Beatles", adding that it is "a simply beautiful song, full of idiosyncratic McCartney touches yet undeniably inspired".[16] Ward praises McCartney's vocal performance and calls the song's melody "one of the most inspired of the singer's whole career".[16] Ward also admires the bass line and French horn solo, and concludes his review by calling the song "one of the most delicate and fine ballads of the Beatles' entire canon".[16]

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone writes that McCartney's songs on Revolver "[had] a new caustic realism".[5] He calls "For No One" the "ultimate 'you stay home, she goes out' break-up song".[5] Lennon called the song "one of [his] favourites of [McCartney's]" and "a nice piece of work."[17]

Elvis Costello named it his favourite Beatles song, stating in an interview, "'For No One' is everything that's great about Paul McCartney in one song ... It's a really beautiful melody. He's like a fantastic movie actor who doesn't do anything. He doesn't over-dramatize." Costello went on to call it McCartney's best lyric and lauded the song's arrangement, concluding, "It's about as perfect a record as you could make."[18]

Personnel

According to Ian MacDonald,[19] except where noted:

The Beatles

Additional musician

Notes
  1. "Steve Smith: Wyman and Taylor join the Rolling Stones onstage; Coldplay takes a break". Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2016.. Pasadena Star-News. 29 November 2012.
  2. Parsons, Matthew (7 January 2016). "25 classical pieces with surprising Beatles connections". CBC Music. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-74320-169-8.
  4. "Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "For No One"". www.icce.rug.nl. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. Sheffield, Rob (5 August 2016). "Celebrating 'Revolver': Beatles' First On-Purpose Masterpiece". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  6. The Beatles 2000, p. 207.
  7. Miles 1997, p. 289.
  8. Dowlding 1989, p. 142.
  9. Everett, Walter (1999). The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512941-0.
  10. "For No One (song)". The Paul McCartney project. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  11. Lewisohn 1988, pp. 78–79.
  12. Emerick & Massey 2006, pp. 128–129.
  13. Lewisohn 1988, p. 79.
  14. Revolver (LP cover (back)). Parlophone Records. 1966. PCS7009.
  15. Cleave, Maureen (30 July 1966). "The Beatles: Revolver (Parlophone PMC 7009)". The Evening Standard. Available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required).
  16. Ward, Thomas. ""For No One" – The Beatles". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  17. The Beatles 2000, p. 209.
  18. "80 Artists Pick Their Favorite Paul McCartney Song For His 80th Birthday". Stereogum. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  19. MacDonald 2007, pp. 205–206.
  20. Guesdon & Margotin 2013, p. 342.

References
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