What Goes On – The Beatles

I’ve always been partial to The Beatles’ obscure songs, even demo versions, rather than their bigger, over-saturated hits. What Goes On is one such example. I mean, check this out: the song reached number 81 on the US Billboard chart in 1966. Whoa!

Back to my leanings towards The Beatles’ less polished stuff. You see, back in primary school, we had some deranged, frothing-at-the-mouth Beatles fan for a PE teacher who put on Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and Yellow Submarine during our pre-class exercise ritual, every single school day.

To say that made me disheartened and uninspired towards The Beatles from the get-go would be putting it mildly. To give this context, you can’t grow up in the Western world without some Beatles mania injecting itself into your life at certain points. But I was never on board and always burrowed back into my Dylan crypt.

I’m not kidding when I say it’s taken me over 40 years to overcome that boyhood musical trauma and dig deeper into the Beatles catalogue without those slow-motion flashbacks of us in our crisp school uniforms, jumping to the f/cking Yellow Submarine for the 100th school day in a row, haunting the experience.

So, onto What Goes On… finally, I hear you say.

It surprised me to learn how often Ringo Starr took the lead vocals for The Beatles, singing on a total of 11 songs, including the aforementioned demented kiddies’ song, Yellow Submarine.

What I like about What Goes On, apart from its country twist, is its frivolity and playful sound. Ringo’s voice seems to give it a bit of a cheeky, bantering quality through his inflections and tone. It’s fun and upbeat, and musically a little different from what you’d typically expect from The Beatles.

Their occasional forays into country music remind me of Eric Clapton’s venture into the genre in the late 1970s. Lay Down Sally comes to mind when I hear this song. They both have that country shuffle and easygoing, rootsy sound.

Where was I going with this? That’s becoming a more frequent question I find myself asking of late…What goes on in your mind?

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From Wiki, Sicky, Picky, Ricky and Licky:

What Goes On was from The Beatles’ hard core Beatles fan favourite record – Rubber Soul and the B side US release of Nowwhere Man single.

John Lennon wrote the song in early 1959, likely at 251 Menlove Avenue. The early version of the song is heavily inspired by Buddy Holly, and differed substantially from the Rubber Soul version with only the chorus being the same.

The Beatles nearly recorded the song in March 1963, but ultimately did not do so until November 1965 for Rubber Soul. According to Lennon, “it was resurrected with a middle eight thrown in, probably with Paul [McCartney]’s help“.

Starr contributed to the lyrics, his first-ever composing credit on a Beatles song.When asked about his contribution Starr jokingly responded, “[I wrote] about five words to ‘What Goes On’ and I haven’t done a thing since.”

[Chorus]
What goes on in your heart?
What goes on in your mind?
You are tearin’ me apart
When you treat me so unkind
What goes on in your mind?

[Verse 1]
The other day I saw you (Ooh)
As I walked along the road (Ooh)
But when I saw him with you (Ooh)
I could feel my future fold (Ooh)
It’s so easy for a girl like you to lie (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
Tell me why

[Chorus]
What goes on in your heart?
What goes on in your mind?
You are tearin’ me apart
When you treat me so unkind
What goes on in your mind?

[Verse 2]
I met you in the morning (Ooh)
Waiting for the tides of time (Ooh)
But now the tide is turning (Ooh)
I can see that I was blind (Ooh)
It’s so easy for a girl like you to lie (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
Tell me why
What goes on in your heart?

[Verse 3]
I used to think of no one else (Ooh)
But you were just the same (Ooh)
You didn’t even think of me (Ooh)
As someone with a name (Ooh)
Did you mean to break my heart and watch me die? (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
Tell me why

[Chorus]

References:
1. What Goes On (Beatles song) – Wikipedia