"We Can Work It Out" is a song written by John Lennon and
Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles as a "double
A-sided" single with "Day Tripper", the first time both sides
of a single were so designated in an initial release. Both
songs were recorded during the
Rubber Soulsessions. The song is an example of
Lennon/McCartney collaboration at a depth that happened only
rarely after they wrote the hit singles of 1963. This song, "A
Day in the Life", and "I've Got A Feeling" are among the
notable exceptions.
McCartney wrote the words and music to the verses and the
chorus, with lyrics that "might have been personal" and thus a
reference to his relationship with Jane Asher. McCartney then
took the song to Lennon: "I took it to John to finish it off
and we wrote the middle together." According to Lennon, he "did
the middle eight."
With its intimations of mortality, Lennon's contribution to
the twelve-bar bridge contrasts typically with what Lennon saw
as McCartney's cajoling optimism. As Lennon told
Playboyin 1980, "You've got Paul writing, 'We can work
it out / We can work it out'—real optimistic, y'know, and me,
impatient: 'Life is very short, and there's no time / For
fussing and fighting, my friend.'" Based on those comments,
some critics overemphasized McCartney's optimism, neglecting
the toughness in passages written by McCartney, such as "Do I
have to keep on talking until I can't go on?". Lennon's middle
shifts focus from McCartney's concrete reality to a
philosophical perspective in B minor, illustrating this with a
waltz-time section suggested by George Harrison that leads back
to the verse, possibly meant to suggest tiresome struggle.
Music critic Ian MacDonald said, "[Lennon's] passages are so
suited to his Salvation Army harmonium that it's hard to
imagine them not being composed on it. The swell-pedal
crescendos he adds to the verses are, on the other hand,
textural washes added in the studio, the first of their kind on
a Beatles record and signposts to the enriched sound-palette of
Revolver." Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher described the
song as "the song that defines The Beatles".
The Beatles recorded "We Can Work It Out" on 20 October
1965, four days after its accompanying single track, with an
overdub session on 29 October. They spent nearly 11 hours on
the song, by far the longest expenditure of studio time up to
that point.
In a discussion about what song to release as a single,
Lennon argued "vociferously" for "Day Tripper", differing with
the majority view that "We Can Work It Out" was a more
commercial song. As a result, the single was marketed as the
first "double A-side," but airplay and point-of-sale requests
soon proved "We Can Work It Out" to be more popular, and it
reached No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, The Beatles'
fastest-selling single since "Can't Buy Me Love," their
previous McCartney-led A-side in the UK.
"We Can Work It Out" was the last of six number one singles
in a row on the American charts, a record at the time. It was
preceded by "I Feel Fine", "Eight Days a Week", "Ticket to
Ride", "Help!", and "Yesterday". The record was equaled by The
Bee Gees in the 1970s and surpassed by Whitney Houston in the
1980s.
The Beatles made 10 black-and-white promo films for
television broadcasters on 23 November 1965, at Twickenham Film
Studios in London, as they were often unable to make personal
appearances by that time. Three of the films were mimed
performances of "We Can Work It Out", in all of which Lennon
was seated at a harmonium. The most frequently-broadcast of the
three versions was a straightforward performance piece with the
group wearing black suits. Another had the group wearing the
stage suits from their Shea Stadium performance on 15 August;
the third opens with a shot of Lennon with a sunflower in front
of his eye.
In 1991, McCartney played an acoustic version of the song
for his MTV Unplugged performance, memorable for his flubbing
the first verse and his good-natured reaction, later released
on
Unplugged (The Official Bootleg).
MacDonald was not sure whether or not Harrison sang a
harmony vocal part. MacDonald praised the tambourine playing
and noted that some sources attribute it to Harrison, not
Starr.