The Beatles – Come Together

About the song

Background

• Origin: John Lennon wrote “Come Together” initially as a campaign song for Timothy Leary, a psychologist and LSD advocate, who was running for governor of California against Ronald Reagan. Leary’s campaign slogan was “Come together, join the party.”
• Controversy: Leary’s campaign ended due to his arrest for marijuana possession, and Lennon reworked the lyrics. However, the song was sued by Morris Levy, who owned the rights to Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me.” The line in “Come Together,” “Here come old flattop / He come groovin’ up slowly,” was too similar to Berry’s lyric, “Here come up flattop / He was movin’ up with me.” Lennon settled the lawsuit, promising to record songs owned by Levy’s publishing company.
• The Sound: “Come Together” marked a change in the Beatles’ sound. Its swampy, blues-rock atmosphere and Lennon’s growly vocals set it apart from their previous work.

Lyrics

The lyrics to “Come Together” are intentionally nonsensical and playfully cryptic. Lennon took delight in the absurdity of lines like:

• “He got Ono sideboard, he got spinal cracker”
• “He got monkey finger, he shoot Coca-Cola”
• “He say ‘I know you, you know me’ / One thing I can tell you is you got to be free”

Themes

Despite the nonsensical nature of the words, a few threads run through the song:

• Identity and Self: Commentators analyze “Come Together” as a song about Lennon reflecting on his own image in the eyes of the public. References to different body parts and characteristics may be poking fun at the way people fixate on a celebrity’s physical attributes and image.
• Unity: Although originally conceived as a campaign song, the repeated chorus of “Come Together” can be seen as an invitation to come together, however you interpret that. Whether it’s a call for political unity, societal healing, or simply to enjoy the music.
• Liberation: The line “you got to be free” emphasizes a key tenet of the counterculture movement of the 1960s— the idea of personal liberation and casting off restrictions.

Legacy

“Come Together” remains one of the Beatles’ most popular and enduring songs. Its iconic opening riff and singalong chorus are instantly recognizable, and it’s been covered countless times by artists ranging from Aerosmith to Michael Jackson.

Video

Lyrics