Come Together
Song by The Beatles • Lennon
Abbey Road (1969) — Mature, melodic, valedictory.
Background
Come Together is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon and led on vocal by John Lennon. Originally a Tim Leary campaign jingle; Paul's electric-piano hook, swamp groove. Within the catalogue, its opener thread connects it to It Won't Be Long, No Reply, Drive My Car.
What's distinctive
At 4:19 it's among the very longest tracks in the canon (≥96th percentile). One of 101 UK songs led primarily by John. Recorded approximately 11 of 17 into the Abbey Road (1969) sessions. Carries the unique tag 'timothy-leary-campaign' — no other UK song shares it.Opening line — "Here come ol' flat-top…" (brief identification excerpt; full lyrics © Sony Music Publishing — see Genius link in References.)
Recording
The session work falls within the band's Abbey Road (1969) period, recorded 21 Jul 1969 at EMI Studios. George Martin produced; Geoff Emerick (returned), Phil McDonald, Glyn Johns engineered. The track was committed to Studer J37 8-track (1969 upgrade), TG12345 console under construction via the EMI TG12345 transistor console (debuted on Abbey Road); some sessions on REDD.51, with the era's standard signal chain — EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, compression on every channel (TG). Likely instrumental setup followed the era's working kit: Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Lucy' (Harrison), Fender Rosewood Telecaster (Harrison), Epiphone Casino, Moog Series III synthesizer, amplified through Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Bassman, Vox UL730, Leslie. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.181 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below).
| Studio | EMI Studios — Studio Two & Three (last Beatles LP recorded as a band) |
|---|---|
| Tape machine | Studer J37 8-track (1969 upgrade), TG12345 console under construction |
| Console | EMI TG12345 transistor console (debuted on Abbey Road); some sessions on REDD.51 |
| Microphones | U47, U67, AKG C12, AKG D19/D20 (drums), STC 4038 |
| Outboard / effects | EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, compression on every channel (TG) |
| Guitars | Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Lucy' (Harrison), Fender Rosewood Telecaster (Harrison), Epiphone Casino, Moog Series III synthesizer |
| Amplifiers | Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Bassman, Vox UL730, Leslie |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Engineer / 2nd | Geoff Emerick (returned), Phil McDonald, Glyn Johns • Alan Parsons, John Kurlander (2nd) |
Pattern analysis
Legacy & release history
In the UK canonical discography it appears on the LP Abbey Road; on the single Something / Come Together. Documented alternate versions include Anthology 3 (1996), 2009 Stereo Remasters, Abbey Road 50th Anniversary (2019). Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below.
Mono & stereo
- Stereo only on UK release — the band's last three LPs were mixed for stereo; no UK mono LPs were issued.
Documented alternate versions
- Anthology 3 (1996) — alternate take or demo
- 2009 Stereo Remasters — Allan Rouse / Guy Massey remaster
- Abbey Road 50th Anniversary (2019) — Giles Martin stereo remix
Released on
- Abbey Road — LP, 26 September 1969
- Something / Come Together — Single, 31 October 1969
Cross-references
Other songs sharing themes (timothy-leary-campaign, swamp-groove, opener, paul-electric-piano)
Other songs led by the same vocalist
Other songs from this era
timothy-leary-campaignswamp-grooveopenerpaul-electric-piano