32 Songs - Track 15

Come Together - The Beatles

He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football
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
Come together right now over me

Like most kids I found myself going through my parent's record collection in my early teens. There was a large number of stage musical soundtracks, a whack of odd classical stuff and the occasional Kenny Rodgers, Billy Joel, ABBA, Carol King, Cat Stevens, the Stones or Barbara Streisand (that white cover with Kenny and Babs haunts me to this day too). Frightening stuff really but lurking within it all was a smattering of Beatles albums.

Let's face it. Unless you grew up in Africa, Antarctica or the Middle East chances were you've heard a Beatles song at some point in your life and if you grew up in the UK, US or AUS then you've had them rammed down your throat for fourty years.

Oddly I can not remember my parents playing their Beatles records. Not once. In fact I have very little recollection of my parents playing music at all, except for the occasional musical soundtrack (and you've already seen what effect that had on me).

The Beatles that I knew did Hard Days Night, Help, Obla di, Obla Da, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, When I'm Sixty Four and were quite boring. Ho hum was perhaps the best description. Then I put Abbey Road on my parents old record player.

Up comes the bass line for Come Together and it's bye-bye first impressions of The Beatles. I think the bass line for Come Together kick started puberty for me. Definite rumblings in the lower trouser department. Dum Dum Da Da Daa Dum. Can't you feel it?

The first side of Abbey Road starts with Come Together and finishes with I Want You. And then side two opens with Here Come the Sun and then finishes with The End. To put it simply; Abbey Road dies a slow painful death on CD. Go out and buy the vinyl and listen to it as it should be.