The Beatles - Helter Skelter

When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide Where I stop and turn and I go for a ride Till I get to the bottom and I see you again Yeah, yeah, yeah Do you don't you want me to love you I'm coming down fast but I'm miles above you Tell me tell me come on tell me the answer and you may be a lover but you ain't no dancer Go helter skelter helter skelter helter skelter Yeah, hu, hu I will you won't you want me to make you I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you Tell me tell me tell me the answer You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer Look out Helter skelter helter skelter helter skelter Yeah, hu, hu Look out cause here she comes When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide Where I stop and turn and I go for a ride Till I get to the bottom and I see you again Yeah, yeah, yeah Well will you won't you want me to make you I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you Tell me tell me tell me the answer You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer Look out Helter skelter helter skelter helter skelter Yeah, hu, Helter Skelter She's coming down fast Yes she is Yes she is coming down fast McCartney was inspired to write the song after reading an interview of The Who's Pete Townshend where he described their latest single, "I Can See for Miles," as the loudest, rawest, dirtiest song the Who had ever recorded. McCartney then "wrote 'Helter Skelter' to be the most raucous vocal, the loudest drums, etcetera" and said he was "using the symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom?the rise and fall of the Roman Empire?and this was the fall, the demise."[1] (In British English, the term helter-skelter not only has its meanings of "confused" or "confusedly" but is the name of a spiralling amusement park slide.) McCartney has used this song as a response to critics who accuse him of only writing ballads.[7] John Lennon stated that that Helter Skelter is "Paul's completely ... It has nothing to do with anything, and least of all to do with me."[2] The Beatles recorded the song multiple times during the The White Album sessions. During the 18 July 1968 sessions, a version of the song lasting 27 minutes and 11 seconds was recorded, although this version is rather slow and hypnotic, differing greatly from the volume and rawness of the album version[citation needed]. Another recording from the same day was edited down to 4:37 for Anthology 3. On September 9, eighteen takes of approximately five minutes each were recorded, and the last one is featured on the original LP.[8] After the eighteenth take, Ringo Starr flung his sticks across the studio[9] and screamed, "I've got blisters on my fingers!"[1][8] The Beatles included Starr's shout on the stereo mix of the song (available on CD); the song completely fades out around 3:40, then gradually fades back in, fades back out partially, and quickly fades back in with three cymbal crashes and Ringo's scream. (Some sources erroneously credit the "blisters" line to Lennon; in fact, Lennon can be heard asking "How's that?" before the outburst.[10]) The mono version (on LP only) ends on the first fadeout without Ringo's outburst. The mono version was not initially available in the US as mono albums had already been phased out there. The mono version was later released in the American version of the Rarities album. According to Chris Thomas, who was present,[11] the 18 July session was especially spirited. "While Paul was doing his vocal, George Harrison had set fire to an ashtray and was running around the studio with it above his head, doing an Arthur Brown."[8] Starr's recollection is less detailed, but agrees in spirit: "'Helter Skelter' was a track we did in total madness and hysterics in the studio. Sometimes you just had to shake out the jams."7"