Maxwell

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is a song by The Beatles, on their album, Abbey Road, sung by Paul McCartney. It was written by McCartney, though credited to Lennon–McCartney.[1]
Contents [hide]
1Background
2 Recording
2.1 Personnel
3 Reception
4 Notable cover versions
5 Notes
6 References
[edit]Background

The song was written in October 1968, intended for the album The Beatles, butmissed off due to time constraints. It was rehearsed again three months later, in January 1969, at Twickenham film studios during the Get Back sessions but would not be recorded for another six months.[2]Beatles guitarist George Harrison described the song in 1969 as "one of those instant whistle-along tunes which some people hate, and other people really like. It's a fun song, but it's kind of adrag because Maxwell keeps on destroying everyone like his girlfriend then the school teacher, and then, finally, the judge."[cite this quote] Lennon derided it as "more of Paul's granny music".[3] In1994, McCartney said that the song merely epitomises the downfalls of life, being "my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does, as I was beginning to find out at thattime in my life. I wanted something symbolic of that, so to me it was some fictitious character called Maxwell with a silver hammer. I don't know why it was silver, it just sounded better thanMaxwell's hammer. It was needed for scanning. We still use that expression now when something unexpected happens."[4]
[edit]Recording

Recording began at Abbey Road Studios on 9 July 1969. John Lennon,who had been absent from recording sessions for the previous eight days after being injured in a car crash, arrived to work on the song, accompanied by his wife, Yoko Ono, who, more badly hurt in theaccident than Lennon, lay on a large double-bed in the studio.[5][6] Sixteen takes of the rhythm track were made, followed by a series of guitar overdubs.[6] The unused fifth take can be heard on...