There are quite a few songs from The Beatles’ discography that were never performed by the band live. “Every Little Thing”, “I Need You”, and “Martha My Dear” are a few examples. However, one particularly huge hit by the band was never actually performed live, to the surprise of many newer Beatles fans.
The song in question is “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” from The Beatles’ famed 1969 album Abbey Road.
Videos by American Songwriter
The lack of live airtime is surprising, as “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is a truly iconic song from The Beatles’ discography. Written by Lennon, the song was one of the last songs to be finished for Abbey Road. It also happened to be the last song to be mixed on August 20, 1969. That marked the very last time that each of the Fab Four was in a studio together.
Why The Beatles Never Performed “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” Live
The simple answer to why the band never performed this track live is that The Beatles had stopped touring by the time the song was released. They stopped touring and retired from performing live at the end of 1966. However, John Lennon did make a few one-off performances in which he performed The Beatles’ music.
Lennon never really toured as a solo musician. However, he brought out a few hits during those few and far-between performances. He performed songs older than “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, particularly “Yer Blues” from the band’s famed 1968 White Album. He performed “Come Together” for Live In New York City as well. And we can’t forget tracks like “Well Well Well” and “It’s So Hard”.
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” would have been perfect for that particular performance in NYC. It’s a little puzzling that it was never tacked onto the setlist.
[See Paul McCartney Live In Concert]
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” was allegedly written about Lennon’s love for Yoko Ono. The track is known for its use of blues scales, aggressive bass-playing, white noise, and multi-tracked guitars. It’s a unique song for The Beatles, and some have even described it as proto-metal. Not only do the lyrics describe the symbolic heaviness (or intensity) of the object of Lennon’s love, but the song is musically quite heavy for its time.
While it’s sad that we’ll never hear “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” get a proper performance from The Beatles, we can at least enjoy it for what it is.
Photo by David Magnus/Shutterstock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Most Viewed
-
Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show -
American singer and guitarist Slim Whitman (1923-2013) playing a Gretsch custom acoustic guitar during a press conference at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, 18th February 1956. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) -
British guitarist, singer and songwriter Mark Knopfler (left) plays a Schecter Stratocaster as his band, Dire Straits, including Hal Lindes (right), performs live in concert at Wembley Arena in London, England, July 1985. Dire Straits played twelve dates (between 4th July and 16th July) at the venue as part of their 'Brothers in Arms' Tour. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images) -
1990 MTV Video Music Awards (L-R) American musicians Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer, of the American rock band Aerosmith, pose with their Moonman award backstage during the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California, September 6, 1990. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images) -
Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple, who recorded a classic rock album any dad would love to have. -
Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone in Rhinestone -
Queen – Freddie Mercury, Queen – Freddie Mercury (Photo by Brian Rasic/Getty Images) -
(Photo by John Lynn Kirk/Redferns/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)