The Beatles cover a vast and varied soundscape in the first ten songs of their monumental album, Abbey Road, which left the last six (or seven, technically) songs to be short, little ditties and ideas that weren’t quite fleshed out enough for a full three-minute track. Even under two minutes, these songs are distinct and enduring: “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight.”But one song was too flippant even for Paul McCartney, who was the medley mastermind. He told the tape operator to cut it. And on July 30, 1969, that tape operator defied McCartney’s wishes and created one of the most memorable moments of the album, saving the quick tune—literally—from the cutting room floor.
Two Music Engineers Saved This “Throwaway” Beatles Track
The Beatles closed the B-side to Abbey Road with a medley nicknamed “The Long One,” which started with “You Never Give Me Your Money.” That song transitioned into “Sun King,” then “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Her Majesty,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and, appropriately, “The End.” The band and crew mixed and cross-faded the song fragments in this general structure, eventually listening to the final product on July 30, 1969.
Tape operator John Kurlander recalled Paul McCartney’s reaction in Mark Lewisohn’s The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. “He said, ‘I don’t like “Her Majesty.” Throw it away.’ So, I cut it out. But I accidentally left in the last note. He said, ‘It’s only a rough mix, it doesn’t matter.’ In other words, don’t bother about making a clean edit because it’s only a rough mix. I said to Paul, ‘What shall I do with it?’ ‘Throw it away,’ he replied.”
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