The Beatles - Norwegian Wood Question

The real answer is neither. He just wrote it as a cover-up for Cynthia. I'm sure we all know that.

 

I can't remember for sure where I've read this...but one story has it during their (John and Cynthia's)stay at photographer Robert Freeman's house (during their house move or renovation), John had an affair with Freeman's wife...and this is who NW is about...maybe someone can clarify.

 

I have provisionally taken "So, I lit a fire" as opting to smoke a joint in the aftermath of the depicted episode. With perhaps "Norwegian Wood" as a euphemism for marijuana.

Far-fetched, perhaps.

 

I always heard it was Maureen Cleave.

 

Wouldn't that make it "Would Be Norwegian"?

 

I think that's from John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman.

 

Yeah I think it was her too, although she did say that Lennon made "no pass" at her. Philip Norman is not reliable and the whole thing about it being about Sonny Freeman seems made up. I trust Pete Shotton's account a lot more as he literally had no reason to lie about anything.

 

I believe both Johns on this one...

 

Zzz...

 

WAKE UP!!!

 

Fact remains, the writing credit is Lennon/McCartney.

 

"She showed me her room, isn't it good, Norwegian Wood." Maybe this is overly simplistic, but she doesn't show him that stack of logs next to the fireplace, or a nice wood table. She's shows him her room, and it's good, Norwegian Wood. The room is made of wood.

So at the end, "I lit a fire, isn't it good, Norwegian Wood", he has lit the room on fire. Paul-bashers won't take note but McCartney said himself in regards to the song: "Peter Asher had his room done out in wood, a lot of people were decorating their places in wood. Norwegian wood. It was pine really, cheap pine. But it's not as good a title, Cheap Pine, baby..." (In Many Years From Now.)

 

That was always my take on it too

Not so far fetched, at least to me.

Just an interpretation.

 

Often a contribution is whatever is audible on the record. McCartney probably came up with the upper harmony line in the bridge, just as Lennon's contribution to "You Won't See Me" was the little "No I Wouldn't" counter-melody that comes in at the end of the bridges.

 

Paul:
"I came in and he had this first stanza, which was brilliant: 'I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.' That was all he had, no title, no nothing. I said, 'Oh yes, well, ha, we're there.' And it wrote itself. Once you've got the great idea, they do tend to write themselves, providing you know how to write songs. So I picked it up at the second verse, it's a story. It's him trying to pull a bird, it was about an affair. John told Playboy that he hadn't the faintest idea where the title came from but I do. Peter Asher had his room done out in wood, a lot of people were decorating their places in wood. Norwegian wood. It was pine really, cheap pine. But it's not as good a title, Cheap Pine, baby...
So she makes him sleep in the bath and then finally in the last verse I had this idea to set the Norwegian wood on fire as revenge, so we did it very tongue in cheek. She led him on, then said, 'You'd better sleep in the bath'. In our world the guy had to have some sort of revenge. It could have meant I lit a fire to keep myself warm, and wasn't the decor of her house wonderful? But it didn't, it meant I burned the ****ing place down as an act of revenge, and then we left it there and went into the instrumental."
https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/norwegian-wood-this-bird-has-flown/

 

Yeah, I can believe the burning down the house story. It's just a tongue in cheek twist at the end of the song.

 

The sitar work by George is what first hooked me. Good discussion!

 

I want to know what John's wife thought about it?

 

Wow! Is this a serious statement, or are you just having some fun with us?

 

John tends to give credit where it's due so his account is almost certainly the correct one IMO. So 95% John. Paul may have come up with the idea of lighting a fire and contributed musically here and there, like they all did on each others songs.

I tend to agree the last line is a reference to burning down the house or at least doing some serious damage!

 

Just messing with you.

 

How many times did it happen that (after his death) Lennon was acknowledged by McCartney for a significant help with a song traditionally perceived as written by McCartney? Somehow I get the impression that after his death McCartney has started to remember how Lennon songs were actually written with his own significant help. Does it happen the other way round too?

 

It's a Lennon-McCartney song, yo.

 

If you are not so subtly suggesting that one of the two key songwriters of a band that we are discussing in detail daily on these forums is a self-aggrandizing liar, than I'm not sure what the point of any Beatle discussion is for you. McCartney tends to tell the same few stories over and over, and a good amount of those stories involve how Lennon helped him or encouraged him on a song ("Getting Better", "Hey Jude", etc.)

 

In the same interview he was asked about the meaning of the name "“I don’t know how the hell I got to Norwegian wood,”

Paul does know what the name was about, he claims it was inspired by Peter Asher's room, the cheap pine he used to decorate his room and that Paul saw a lot of in young ladies rooms.


"Me. But Paul helped me on the lyric." - John on the same song in 1972 To add to John's confirmation about Paul's help in 1970.


Paul on the song says it is more John's than his

“It’s in waltz tempo, 3/4 time, it’s a quirky song, like an Irish folk song; John liked that, we liked that...It’s 60-40 to John because it’s John’s idea and John’s tune. But I filled out lyrically and had the idea to set the place on fire, so I take some sort of credit. And the middle was mine "

Basically it is primarily John's song, they are both in agreement on that, they are both in agreement that Paul helped. Why the controversy?