Songwriting analysis The Beatles (Tomorrow Never Knows)

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This video is a song analysis of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" specifically for songwriters. We go over different songwriting techniques used in the song to explain the songwriting tips you can learn for your own music. We keep the music theory at the most basic level to help any songwriter easily understand how this song works. As an added bonus you will learn all the chords thanks to this songwriting tutorial in case you wish to learn how to play the song yourself.
Tomorrow Never Knows Lyrics:
Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream
It is not dying, it is not dying
Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining
That you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being
That love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing, it is knowing
That ignorance and hate may mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing
But listen to the colour of your dreams
It is not living, it is not living
Or play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:03 - The Beatles Band Background
3:24 - Song Structure
5:05 - Tempo and Metric
5:12 - Beat
6:14 - Chord Progression
6:58 - Vocal Melody
7:11 - Lyrical Content
8:45 - Song Dynamics
9:23 - Songwriting Tips
11:01 - Wrap up
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[@AudioSpringMusic]

Hi everyone! I got some great feedback from you guys on two points of this video, which I want to include here in the comments for future viewers. 1. (Corrected) The sounds of seagulls are the sound of a tape player as mentioned in the comment below. Also found some info on the internet saying it was samples of Paul laughing, but probably the tape player is the accurate one. 2. The synths are actually samples of a string orchestra.

[@joeparish4989]

No. The sounds of seagulls are the sound a tape player of that era made when fast forwarded or reversed.

[@23cla69]

This is why The Beatles are masters and the best of all time.

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you for watching! 🙏

[@user-kn8un4ru8p]

This is the most analysed song in history. It changed music forever. 50 years on, I still hear something new each time. A classic......

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Definitely way ahead of it’s time in so many ways and personally one of my favorite songs for sure

[@user-kn8un4ru8p]

When you consider the rest of the album is quite ordinary, Tomorrow Never Knows just finishes off side two with a view into the future. I always test peoples musical resolve with, how did you react to the first time you heard it? If they have never heard it, I play it and wait for the reaction. It is always one of shock and dismay. I once played it to someone without telling them who it was. They never guessed. When I told them who it was, they were shocked. The Beatles had produced a landmark in musical history.......without even knowing it. I played my album 20 minutes ago and the track still sends shivers down my spine. No amount of words can describe this track.

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Agreed, thank you for sharing!

[@nepesilva2284]

@@user-kn8un4ru8p The rest of Revolver is far from “ordinary”. Every song has something that was very unique for the time, which is what makes the album sound so fresh to this day.

[@user-kn8un4ru8p]

@@nepesilva2284 compared to Tomorrow Never Knows, every song of that time sounded ordinary. It was way ahead of it's time. The rest of the album is a good listen, even though I prefer Rubber Soul more. I wasn't being disrespectful to the other tracks on Revolver, I just remember hearing TNK for the first time and completely freaking out!!!!!!

[@maxout7306]

I think at the time this recording helped to demonstrate that now you could go anywhere in a song and you didn't have to feel bound by traditional rules. The walls were removed and nothing would be the same again. Thanks for uploading - Liked.

[@latenightlogic]

The synth b flat najor over c major that he mentions here, albeit briefly, is what makes this song what it is. It’s utterly goosebump inducing, like you’re floating in the clouds. No one ever mentions it’s importance enough, nice to see it’s mentioned here.

[@ClearTheRubble7]

It's strange--I've heard this song 9467 times since the early '70's, and I've always been aware of that note, but only subconsciously. Now that he pointed it out, I'm thinking, Wow that note alone makes the song seem transcendent and profound.

[@bkkersey93]

As someone else has even mentioned, it's not a synthesizer. It's a sound bit of an orchestra playing.

[@ConceptJunkie]

@@bkkersey93 Definitely, you can clearly hear the horn sounds.

[@joehinojosa24]

THAT Song is a MINDBENDER. Like coming back from a near death experience

[@quentinlargcoie]

Nowadays we could play it...but we couldn't write it.

[@TT-Rexx]

Great analysis. I first heard this song 50+ years ago. What this one chord, repetitive song has is something very unique to the Beatles, something I call a "wtf am I listening too" thing. Good Morning, Good Morning, Strawberry Fields, I Am the Walrus, A Day in the Life (much more complex of course), Hey Bulldog, She's So Heavy, Come Together, are some other examples. Your brain can't quite believe that the ears are hearing what they are hearing. There are others, but I've listed John Lennon songs; "sound as art" is what he was trying to achieve, I think. These song are so immensely interesting they still sound original today. I probably have listened to Tomorrow Never Knows hundreds (if not thousands) of times. I can't hear it enough, it's what a song would sound like if you could hear potato chips playing music. mmmmm tasty and one's not enough!

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you for watching! “Sound as art” i like that!

[@timkis64]

its common knowledge the beatle re-wrote the rules of music as their music progressed.their brilliance is still mind blowing to this day.to go from love me do,to i want you(shes so heavy) in 8 years is crazy.

[@OroborusFMA]

John was dropping a whole lot of acid circa 1966-1967. That's about all you need to know. And this was 1960s acid. It was stronger than today's LSD (don't ask me how I know this). John destroyed his ego - he was lucky he didn't end up like Syd Barrett - and it brought all his unresolved mother issues out and a certain woman moved in to fill that void. John referred to Yoko as "mother" right up until his death.

[@Dannykhc]

I remember first hearing Tomorrow Never Knows as a 14-15 year old lad when I bought the Revolver album in the mid 1980s. It felt really strange compared with the other songs, the strange sounds and completely unfamiliar song structure and the weird lyrics. But I got behind it. Now whenever I hear Revolver, it somehow feels incomplete without the song. Revolver was meant to have Tomorrow Never Knows on it.

[@fullcircle3357]

John was reading The tibeaten book of the dead which was an influence on the lyrics Proves you dont Imo need a chorus

[@kenshiloh]

The 'seagulls' are Paul laughing.

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

The first song by a western pop/rock band consisting almost exclusively of tapeloops (actual magnetic tape, not samples in the modern sense as such technology didn't exist). The start of psychedelic rock.

[@elzuzo]

Good analysis but there is something to observe: the B flat major chord is a sample of a string orchestra, not a synthesizer. The first synth sound used by the Beatles appeared in the "Abbey Road" álbum 3 years later.

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Awesome thanks for sharing!

[@markholland5393]

@@AudioSpringMusic Also, just wanted to point out that you said one of the samples is of a seagull when actually it is laughter (believed to be Paul) slowed down & reversed which resembles the sound of a seagull.Thanks, interesting video!

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

The samples are tapeloops, samplers in the modern sense were invented in the late 70s.

[@elzuzo]

@@hansvandermeulen5515 You´re right but I used the word "sample" in the old meaning, not a digital sample.....

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

@@elzuzo right, I know that word (in a musical context) mostly from hip-hop and the like.

[@gabriel38g]

The lyrics are not entirely based on psychedelic experience and Timothy Leary and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. They are also based on ideas of Transcendental Meditation as taught by the Marharishi that the Beatles studied with. T.M. involves repeating a 'mantra' over and over again (in the song it would be the same chord over and over) in order to clear the mind of daily stress and random thought in order to return awareness to one's self. The idea of acheiving such a state is sometimes called "The Void" and it is a state of being with yourself "Lay down all thought, surrender to the Void, it is shining, it is shining." "That you may see the meaning of within, it is being, it is being."

[@grievousangel09]

Sorry, but that’s incorrect. The Beatles did not practice T.M. until well into 1967. Not even George. Who only first visited India in September, 1966. Tomorrow Never Knows was written and recorded in April 1966 and John was very clear about how the song and lyrics were written. All four Beatles first met the Maharishi in August, 1967. It wasn’t until decades later that George questioned John’s understanding of the meaning of his own lyrics and attributed them to meditation.

[@gabriel38g]

@@grievousangel09 Meditation is not limited to or restricted by the borders of India or the Maharishi. It's very common for people to 'discover' meditation through other venues and then go seek a more experienced teacher later on. George was the most interested and studious, but John was easily the second most learned on the subject. George bought his first sitar in 1965, so he might have turned the rest of the Beatles onto the idea over the course of one year or so.

[@AnastasiaSaff]

Great video! thank you for the analysis:)

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you for your support Anastasia :)

[@markybgoode]

Excellent analysis! I like that u referred to BOOK OF THE DEAD. The loss of barrier between a person and the rest of the world as u described sums up the psychedelic experience. I appreciate that u gave the scale used in the tune: Mixolydian. I would have guessed Major Pentatonic by just copying the orchestra samples and transposing to guitar. TNK is such an amazing song and is a fantastic springboard for creative ideas. Thanks!

[@tyronewhitehead3123]

It’s one of my favourite songs of the Beatles all four are outstanding

[@fredkrissman6527]

Thanx for a really interesting analysis... Choosing a great Lennon song has convinced me to sub!

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you for checking it out!

[@Kos0818]

Lennon and McCartney’s baby

[@daveymorgan6822]

🔥 super insightful

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thanks Davey!

[@rominnamusic]

Great video!

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you!

[@partticle2222]

GreatSynopsis mann!🎼Love it! HypnoticTrance . . Shoegaze of its time..🧘‍♂️🌌

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you man! Appreciate you checking it out 🤙

[@juliereminiec4937]

Tomorrow never knows is a great song for listening to while meditating John Lennon said that he wrote the song after reading a copy of the Tibetan Book of the dead

[@Jivanmuktaintraining]

Sure, good luck meditating to that 😅

[@zzzyzzzyzzzyxxx]

8:10 - Oh, that makes total sense! Really well put.

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you for checking it out! 🙏

[@mikeervin3147]

I just absolutely was hypnotized by them

[@rajurasailyofficial]

Nice work

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you!

[@Froad]

These videos are well produced

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thank you!

[@IvorPresents]

It simply blows one's mind. Never heard Anything like that.

[@fabiorussello2914]

I hope this can help me for exam. Thanks!

[@juliereminiec4937]

The acid trip song to me is I am The Walrus

[@shanedpain7734]

Can see Noel's influence from this Beatle's track when making Let Forever Be, with The Chemical Brothers

[@Xardox17]

This song was the most influential single recording of the entire decade, which changed all of music forever.

[@jackbrowning511]

Very interesting,,, I was wondering why the tom drum was left out on your drum description,,, thank you!

[@kamran102]

Fantastic song while driving ;-)

[@kevinbaskin9489]

My favourite beatles song in joint number one with helter skelter

[@ConceptJunkie]

I would argue the polychord Bb/C counts as a chord change, because I've heard covers that leave it out, and it sounds very wrong, and the change to Bb/C and back to C sounds very much like a resolution.

[@Orielzolrak]

Hi i aprecciate your analisis, sorry by my bad english I try to practice not ude translator. For th song, for me isa an incredible change in the rock, iI really like because is not the same after that. Some musician writers say a lot of bands try to make music with that technology, andStudios began to transform that tiem where the musician make ways, and new discoveries. Do you think today makes songs withmore than 8 minutes? Best regards, and thank you for your lesson carlos

[@JoJoJoker]

Great analysis. Those aren’t sounds of seagulls. They’re recordings of Paul laughing.

[@jjmoura2689]

Beatles 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@utilars]

Man, I don't dig drugs, but thanks for this great explanation!!!

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Thanks for checkin it out 🤘

[@jre617]

I don't know about keeping it short. If I really like a song, I wish it would run about 4 minutes or so, including this song.

[@markybgoode]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@jre617]

You keep saying the lyrics are repetitive, but the main lines of each verse don't repeat at all. What you suggest might be considered the chorus is repeated once each, but the lyrics don't repeat an entire verse like most pop songs do.

[@jedidrummerjake]

No seagulls were harmed in the making of this video.

[@danyelaru489]

Lennons Masterpiece

[@vicbertfartingclack4559]

+ Strawberry Fields Forever, I am The Walrus, A Day in the Life, She Said She Said, Norwegian Wood, etc.

[@bobbybrooks4826]

What EVERY person who ANALYZES SONGS misses is MEANING TO CONTEMPORY LIFE AT THE TIME.... THIS IS WHY SONGS BECOME INTERESTING, THEY SPEAK TO THE TIME AND WHAT THE TIME DOESNT SAY ON ITS OWN....

[@jorgecallico9177]

The analysis is good except it does not mention the most obvious factor, The use of recorded instruments played sdrawkcab (backwards)

[@lundsweden]

The only way you could've played the song live would've been to play and sing live over a backing track. But they did'nt even perform live at all post 1965.

[@Larrymh07]

A commenter I heard stated that this was the song that let us Beatles fans know that the dudes on The Ed Sullivan Show & A Hard Day's Night were gone. For better or worse.

[@u.s.1974]

No mentioning of Ringo's wonderful drumplay?

[@buddyneher9359]

Someone may have already mentioned, there are no seagulls. The noises that sound like seagulls are Paul McCartney laughing, sampled and sped up.

[@peterbooth793]

John was basically reciting from the Tibetan book of death 💀 . The music is incredible.

[@jackoconnell6268]

A synthesizer???

[@shauncombee9927]

129 bpm? Or 126?

[@delfinastral]

the song is a KOAN...Congratulation For your analisis, this song is very important in the music...Brake the rules and your mind...and EGO....is a Great Koan...No Cualquiera lo entiende...

[@AudioSpringMusic]

No habia escuchado del termino koan antes, se aprenden cosas nuevas todos los dias, gracias por aportar!

[@stevehope6283]

I had 3 of Ravi Shankars ' first albums. I was 9-10 yo. I used it to center myself and stretch for flexibility and aided me in my Foray into martial arts.. sound samples? They were the FIRST to lay down 4 tracks!! Of course it's inspired by Indian music. George Harrisons experience with Hinduism and meeting the maharaji. And no psychedelics were involved.

[@Incredible14U]

If I remember this song came last on the album - pop. Hearing it the first time was - WTF? I was 12 years old. It is a masterpiece. After this came Sergeant Peppers?

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Yep Sergeant Peppers

[@RedArrow73]

Background music is too loud.

[@clevereduardosilva2346]

Interesting, but ngl I was a bit disappointed that so little was said about the lyrics.

[@philblane5752]

In those days, the Beatles could pound on a trash can and somehow make a hit song out of it.

[@clydekimsey7503]

As unconventional as it is, it still has more melody than 99% of post 1990 songs

[@kevinfarrell5100]

Sounds like someone is singing from the dead.

[@Dan-nt2yb]

Those ‘sounds of seagulls’ you mentioned were the result of Paul’s genius tape looping. This gem wouldn’t have materialized without his genius and you failed to mention his name once. I’ll vote for Sir Paul as the true genius of the Beatles.

[@hw343434]

Lol cmmon, this is John’s vision. Sure, Paul helped but I would say Geoff Emerick was even more instrumental as was George Harrison (for bringing in the Indian music influence to the Beatles without which this song would never come to be). All members are geniuses but it took John’s wildly original, and ingenious SONGWRITING to bring out the most unique boundary pushing creativity in Paul and the band

[@Kos0818]

@@hw343434 definitely Paul’s contribution that pushed this song to the next level.

[@stevehope6283]

You are fairly correct in your analysis but you TALK TO MUCH! Let it play and THEN and ONLY then give your analysis. You'd get more subs that way.✌️

[@johnrogers9481]

This comment is MUCH TOO LONG! Who’s MUCH?

[@happynappy]

It wasnt pop. It was psychedelic music.

[@AudioSpringMusic]

Hundred percent!

[@PartySpock]

The Beatles did not know this all. They did not matter this at all.This video is a little bit a snob video.

[@philmoore71]

i seem to be on my own but i reckon it is really boring song! but good analysis

[@peteowen3539]

Nah. It’s the most innovative track ever. Mind blowing.

[@johnrogers9481]

Check back when you are 65!

[@philmoore71]

@@johnrogers9481 past that :)

[@albrook1018]

today no one would have noticed these tracks ( an ex-fan of the Beatles from Russia ) most of the Lennon, Starr solo albums are merely horrible n who can show me at least one good track on the albums like Back to the Egg? Beatles is George Martin without whom the group would ave sounded just like their first foolish creations. This is the real author of white album or Abbey road...

[@county8815]

Unbelievable song incredible