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For No One
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Wikipedia article
"'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 LennonMcCartney. A blend of baroque pop. 'Pasadena Star-News'. 29 November 2012. and chamber music, the song is about the end of a relationship, and was one of McCartney's most mature and poignant works upon its release. Mostly performed by the composer, the track is distinguished by its French horn solo, performed by Alan Civil and used as counterpoint in the final verse.
Writing and recording
McCartney recalls writing "For No One" in the bathroom of a ski resort in the Swiss Alps while on holiday with his then girlfriend Jane Asher. He said, "I suspect it was about another argument." The lyrics end enigmatically with the line "A love that should have lasted years". The song's working title was "Why Did It Die?" The composition is built on a descending scale progression with a refrain that modulates to the supertonic minor.
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. Neither John Lennon nor George Harrison contributed to the recording.
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". 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". Civil said that the song was "recorded in rather bad musical style, in that it was 'in the cracks', neither B-flat nor B-major. This posed a certain difficulty in tuning my instrument." Civil is one of the only session musicians to receive credit on a Beatles' LP.
Reception
In her contemporaneous review of 'Revolver', for 'The Evening Standard', Maureen Cleave highlighted "For No One" among McCartney's contributions to the album and deemed it "as moving as 'Yesterday'". Available at [https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-irevolveri-parlophone-pmc-7009 Rock's Backpages] (subscription required).
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". Ward praises McCartney's vocal performance and calls the song's melody "one of the most inspired of the singer's whole career". 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".
Rob Sheffield of 'Rolling Stone' writes that McCartney's songs on 'Revolver' "have a new caustic realism". He calls "For No One" the "ultimate 'you stay home, she goes out' break-up song". Lennon said of the song: "One of my favourites of his a nice piece of work."
Personnel
According to Ian MacDonald, except where noted:
'The Beatles'
*Paul McCartney vocals, bass, piano, clavichord
*Ringo Starr drums, tambourine, maracas
'Additional musician'
*Alan Civil French horn
Notes
References
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