There was another Wonderwall session in Bombay today, but I feel like I’ve pretty much exhausted that topic. What, I wonder, were the other three Beatles up to?
Evidence is scant, but looking forward, we can see that when the band returns to the studio in early February, Paul will bring “Lady Madonna” and John “Across the Universe.” So we can assume that they were working on these songs around this time.
“Lady Madonna,” says Paul, was inspired by an image:
I was looking through this African magazine and I saw this African lady with a baby. And underneath the picture it said “Mountain Madonna.” But I said, oh no – Lady Madonna – and I wrote the song.
As for “Across the Universe,” according to Steve Turner’s A Hard Day’s Write:
The words had come to [John] while in bed at Kenwood. He had been arguing with Cynthia and, as he lay there trying to sleep, the phrase “pools of sorrow, waves of joy” came to him and wouldn’t leave until he got out of bed and started writing the words down. “It drove me out of bed,” John said. “I didn’t want to write it. I was just slightly irritable and I couldn’t go to bed.”
Ringo remains mysterious and elusive as ever. But a Google search for January 1968 turned up this image, which is worth posting for the pimpin’ fur coat alone:
Go ahead, Ring — brush that dirt off your shoulder.
Which song would you rather hear right now? I go with Paul!
I’m partial to “Across the Universe,” especially on a rainy day.