Two of Us (song)
| "Two of Us" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The 1996 US jukebox single release of the song, as the B-side to "Across the Universe" | |||||||
| Song by the Beatles from the album Let It Be | |||||||
| Released | 8 May 1970 | ||||||
| Recorded | 31 January 1969, Apple Studios | ||||||
| Genre | Folk rock | ||||||
| Length | 3:33 | ||||||
| Label | Apple | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Lennon–McCartney | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Phil Spector | ||||||
| |||||||
"Two of Us" is a 1969 song by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney[1][2] (credited to Lennon–McCartney).
"Two of Us" was originally released on Let It Be and was later released on Anthology 3 and Let It Be... Naked. Its title was used for a film Two of Us, which depicted a fictionalised version of a 1976 reunion between McCartney and Lennon.[3]
History
The song was originally titled "On Our Way Home". McCartney claimed it was dedicated to his wife-to-be Linda Eastman, though the lyrics (e.g.: "you and I have memories/longer than the road that stretches out ahead" or "you and me chasing paper/getting nowhere") sounded to author Ian MacDonald like they were actually addressing Lennon.[4]
An early performance of the song, in a guitar-driven rock style, can be seen in the Let It Be film. Unsatisfied with this style, which McCartney described as "chunky", the band reworked the song around acoustic guitars. The Beatles performed a finished version of the song live at Apple Studios on 31 January 1969; this performance was included in both the Let It Be film and album. The clip was also broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show on 1 March 1970 as the final appearance by the Beatles on the program.
In May 1969, McCartney produced a recording of the song using this title by the group Mortimer, a New York City trio that briefly recorded for Apple, but this recording was never released.[5]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – lead vocal, lead acoustic guitar (Martin D-28)
- John Lennon – harmony vocal, whistling, rhythm acoustic guitar (Martin D-28)
- George Harrison – bassline on electric guitar (Fender Telecaster)
- Ringo Starr – drums
Covers
- Boney M. covered the song on their 1979 album Oceans of Fantasy.
- Aimee Mann and Michael Penn covered "Two of Us" as part of the soundtrack for the 2001 film, I Am Sam. On some releases of this soundtrack "Two of Us" appeared also in a version of Neil Finn, in a duet with his son Liam Finn.
- Guster covered "Two of Us" on their 2007 EP Satellite.
- Slovenian martial industrial group Laibach covered "Two of Us" on their 1988 album Let It Be, their cover of the Beatles' whole album of the same name.
- Kenny Loggins covered it on his 2009 album All Join In
- The April Maze covered the song on their 2012 album Two.
- Darren Criss covered the song with his brother, Charles "Chuck" Criss, on his 2013 "Listen Up" Tour.
In popular culture
- Two of Us is the title of a 2000 VH1 television drama which offers a fictionalised account of 24 April 1976, the day Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live offered the Beatles $3,000 to appear on the program, when by coincidence McCartney was visiting Lennon at his New York apartment and watching the program.
- The song was part of the soundtrack for the 2011 film Restless by Gus Van Sant.
- At D5 Conference in 2007, Steve Jobs got emotional with Bill Gates about their friendship. He described their friendship with the song: “You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.”[6]
Notes
- ↑ MacDonald 2003, p. 335.
- ↑ "Lennon-McCartney: Who Wrote What?". Beatlefan.Net. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- ↑ Erickson 2010.
- ↑ MacDonald 2003, p. 335; he quotes the actual lines from the lyrics..
- ↑ Dowdling 1989, p. 257.
- ↑ "TRANSCRIPT–Bill Gates and Steve Jobs at D5". AllThingsD.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
References
- Dowlding, William J. (1989). Beatlesongs. Simon & Schuster Inc. ISBN 0-671-68229-6.
- Erickson, Hal (2010). "Plot Synopsis of Two of Us". VH1. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- MacDonald, Ian (2003). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties. Pimlico. ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
- Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Let It Be |