Won’t you open up your eyes?

Tell me which version of “Dear Prudence” you listen to and I will tell you what you are. - Ringo Brillat-Savarin

It is interesting to observe where the mind wanders in lockdown. Lately mine has been playing me tunes from high school, a syndrome I inadvertently worsened when I discovered online a complete and faithful live reproduction of The White Album by The Analogues, an accomplished Dutch group:

I thought I’d sit and listen for a while. It turns out that for me, “a while” is now about one hour and forty minutes. I’ve always enjoyed “Back in the USSR”, could even play it on the piano for a time. And as the jet sounds fade - at about the four minute mark - they started to play “Dear Prudence”, and I went into a dream.

In February 1968, the Beatles traveled to Rishikesh, India to study meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. They insisted on being treated like everyone else, and of course they were.

Up to a point.  Image source

Up to a point. Image source

As with all things Beatles-related, accounts diverge significantly. But it seems clear that the band did a lot of songwriting in Rishikesh. With no electrical equipment or drum kit, Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison had to keep it simple. They went about with acoustic guitars and worked up dozens of tunes, including “Dear Prudence”, a rare Lennon-Harrison team-up,

The estimable musicologist Alan Pollack describes the song as follows:

"Dear Prudence" has not only a static harmonic profile, but even a formally flat floor plan; a steady stream of harmonically identical verses interrupted only once at the formal mid-point by a simple bridge which, itself, is as harmonically single-minded as the rest of the song.

The impressive accomplishment is that such a satisfying build up of tension and its release is achieved In Spite Of All Stasis :-) The challenge is to create a sense of build up without relying much at all on either harmony or melody. Instead, the strategy is to carefully sustain an atmosphere within which texture and dynamic crescendo are developed over the long run.

Pollack also remarks ominously that “the piece is characterized by two ostinato patterns which, once heard, stay under your skin forever.” I don’t know about forever, but I first heard this around 1974, so it’s been under my skin for almost half a century now. The Beatles’ finished version, presented here in the AWESOME 2018 remix, is quite good. It’s like they really understand the song:


The lyrics refer to Prudence Farrow (Mia’s sister), who attended the retreat and reputedly stayed in her room for an extended period, completely focused on her meditation. According to Rolling Stone, Lennon said she “wouldn’t come out of the little hut we were living in… We got her out of the house — she’d been locked in for three weeks and wouldn’t come out. She was trying to find God quicker than anyone else. That was the competition in Maharishi’s camp: who was going to get cosmic first.”

The Buddhist teacher Joko Beck warned against this approach in her book Everyday Zen -

We all hope to change, to get somewhere! That in itself is the basic fallacy. But just contemplating this desire begins to clarify it, and the practice basis of our life alters as we do so. We begin to comprehend that our frantic desire to get better, to get "somewhere," is illusion itself, and the source of suffering.

“Dear Prudence” is with Joko on this. It is about being in the world, not escaping it; opening up instead of withdrawing.

The song walks the talk: it is barely there. Like many Beatles songs “Dear Prudence” has been widely covered - unlike many of them it has often been covered well. It is the kind of tune a creative person can use as a canvas.

This makes it an exception. Beatles songs are often quite difficult to play, and many covers inadvertently reveal the technical shortcomings of the performer. Find yourself a harpsicord and see if you can play this bit from “In My Life”.

You’ll probably have some trouble. You see, it’s actually not a harpsicord, it’s a piano that George Martin recorded at normal speed and then sped up. I’m not sure anyone can play the solo as we hear it.

“Dear Prudence” is sublime without such tricks, because it hits the right notes and no others. David Gilmour talked about the difficulty of this when asked about “Wish You Were Here”, another simple song that sticks around.

It’s one bit of riff from another bit of riff. There’s hundreds of different ways you can do something almost the same as that, but some work, and some have a little bit of magic to them…and some don’t. And the ones that do have that bit of magic to them, it’s obvious to people around. Even just that bit of music has an emotional pull to it. That’s what we’re struggling to find all the time.

Here is the Esher Demo for “Dear Prudence”. It already sounds fantastic. I might even prefer it to the finished version:


Snide remarks from Lennon and an endearing muff by Harrison included at no extra charge.

What happens when we manage to quiet our minds somewhat and take greater account of what is real? Do we encounter Platonic ideals or the Jungian subconscious? Do we encouner angels or fiends? Or (worse?) do we actually encounter ourselves? This is the fate of most who cover “Dear Prudence”. Uncannily, the song has a knack for taking on the personality of those who play it, and bringing out the best in them.

Here are the Five Stairsteps in 1970 bringing a fantastic gospel/funk vibe to it. The Beatles reportedly loved this version:


Here is the Jerry Garcia Band finding a groove with it in 1980. The bass (John Kahn) and drum (the brilliant Johnny d'Fonseca) lock in, and Jerry goes on a mesmerizing adventure:


Yeah, just listened again. No bad notes.

Garcia and his band seem mostly interested in the instrumental possibilities, but there’s plenty of opportunity to do great things with the vocals, too. I looked for a cover from a real soul singer, like maybe Van Morrison or Joe Cocker. I couldn’t find anything from them, but Australia’s Doug Parkinson has offered to step in, and I am well-pleased. Here he is back in the day:

And here he is about 40 years later, with less hair but plenty of gas in the tank:


As I work through these musical projects, I start asking myself questions. Did a Motown band try it? Is there a classical version? One I always ask is: “did Phish cover it?” Because when the answer’s yes, you usually get something beautiful. Here you go:

Also need to check Government Mule…oh good, it’s there and it’s awesome:

But sometimes you run across something really unusual, like this masterful performance by the Afghan Whigs, better known for ditties like “Crime Scene: Part 1” and “Bulletproof”:

Come to think of it, that is pretty bulletproof, so ok.

I think I’m going to skip Alanis Morrisette and Siouxsie and the Banshees

It occurred to me that there might be some jazz covers. There are, too many to count. Here are a few I enjoyed:

  • Brad Mehldau (2002) does a strong, luicid piano version with Keltner drumming (link)

  • Jeff Lorber (1997) does a smooth electronic waitwaitwait don’t give up, it’s got the right stuff (link)

  • I love Andy Sheppard’s free and beautiful version, YMMV depending on your bongo tolerance (link)

Ah, who gets the last word? I’ll pick Ramsey Lewis, who made a nice living in clubs playing swinging upbeat Beatles covers, usually building up to a fiery piano-pounding party-supportive climax. Here he gets into the studio with a whole orchestra and turns in a carefully orchestrated yet swinging upbeat cover, which builds up to a fiery piano-pounding party-supportive climax, and concludes with a perfect little coda and fade. I have been given a gift, and I’m grateful:


Ironically, the Beatle who probably got the most out of the India trip was the one that didn’t play on the song. The White Album sessions got so unpleasant that Ringo quit the band. McCartney had to fill in for him on “Dear Prudence”. But Ringo, now 80, has been sober 30 years and seems to be doing well. In a recent interview he said

I’d never meditated ‘til we went to India….and that was the first time for me. And the last time I meditated was this mornin’. Peace and love!

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  • Notes on “Dear Prudence” - Alan W. Pollack (link)

  • “Can You Take Me Back? The Beatles' Remixed and Reimagined White Album Reveals New Shades” - Billboard (link)

  • “The Beatles in India: 16 Things You Didn’t Know” - Rolling Stone (link)

  • “The Real ‘Dear Prudence’ on Meeting Beatles in India” - Rolling Stone (link)

  • Everyday Zen: Love and Work - Joko Beck (link)

  • “This single phrase from a Beatles song is precisely why George Martin was a genius” - Classic FM (link)

  • The First Time With Ringo Starr - Rolling Stone (link)

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