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We Can Work It Out




  Cover Workdayjpg
  Artist The Beatles
  A-side " Day Tripper "
  Released December 3 1965 ( UK )<br/> December 6 1965 ( US )
  Format 7"
  Recorded 1965
  Genre Rock / Pop
  Length 2:15
  Label Parlophone (UK)<br/> Capitol (US)
  Writer Lennon/McCartney
  Producer George Martin
  Chart Position <nowiki></nowiki>
  Last Single " Help! " <br/>(1965, UK)
  This Single "We Can Work It Out" / " Day Tripper "<br/>(1965, UK)
  Next Single " Paperback Writer "<br/>(1966, UK)
  Misc {{Extra chronology
  Type singles
  Last Single " Yesterday " <br/> (1965, US)
  This Single "We Can Work It Out" / " Day Tripper "<br/>(1965, US)
  Next Single " Nowhere Man "<br/>(1966, US)




  Name We Can Work It Out
  Artist Stevie Wonder
  From Album Signed, Sealed, And Delivered
  B-side " Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer "
  Released 1971
  Genre R&B
  Length 3:19
  Label Tamla
  Writer Lennon/McCartney
  Producer Stevie Wonder
  Chart Position <li>#3 <small>(US R&B)</small></li> <li>#13 <small>( US )</small></li> <li>#27 <small>( UK )</small></li>
  Last Single " Heaven Help Us All "<br>(1970)
  This Single "We Can Work It Out" / "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"<br>(1971)
  Next Single " If You Really Love Me "<br>(1971)


"We Can Work It Out" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles as a " Double A-side d" 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 Soul '' sessions.1 The song is an example of Lennon-McCartney collaboration,2 at a depth that happened only rarely after they wrote the Hit Single s of 1963 . This song, and " A Day In The Life ", are among the notable exceptions.


COMPOSITION

McCartney wrote the words and music to the verses and bridges, with lyrics that "might have been personal" and thus a reference to his relationship with Jane Asher .3 McCartney then took the song to Lennon, and Lennon wrote the words and music to the middle eight.4

With its intimations of mortality, Lennon's sixteen-bar bridge contrasts typically with what Lennon saw as McCartney's cajoling optimism. As Lennon told '' that leads back to the verse, possibly meant to suggest tiresome struggle. Ian MacDonald said, " {Link without Title} 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 ''."


RECORDING AND RELEASE

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 .5 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. A promo film was also made.


COVER VERSIONS









CULTURAL REFERENCES


  • In 1989 , Bad Religion quoted the line "There is no time for fussing and fighting my friend" from "We Can Work It Out" in the song "You" on their album '' No Control ''.



  Before " The Carnival Is Over " by The Seekers
  Title UK Number One Single (The Beatles version)
  Years December 16 1965 (5 weeks)
  After " Keep On Running " by Spencer Davis Group


  Before " The Sound Of Silence " by Simon And Garfunkel
  Title Billboard Hot 100 Number One Single (The Beatles version)
  Years January 28 , 1966 <br> (3 weeks)
  After " My Love " by Petula Clark <!-- NOTE about succession boxes: these are designed to flow from one #1 article to the next regardless of songs dropping/returning to #1 - please do not create circular links or have the "preceding"/"succeeding" songs show the same thing -->



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