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"Flying" is an instrumental song by The Beatles which first appeared on the late-1967 Magical Mystery Tour release (two EP discs in the UK, an LP in the US).
A rare Beatles instrumental (the first since "Cry For A Shadow" in 1961), although wordless chanting is heard at the end, it was the first song to be credited as being written by all four members of the band, with the writing credits of "Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey" (the other being "Dig It" off of Let It Be. It was recorded on September 8, 1967 with mellotron, guitar, maracas, and tape loops overdubbed September 28.
"Flying" was originally titled "Aerial Tour Instrumental". The end of the recording orginally included a fast-paced traditional New Orleans jazz-influenced coda, but this was removed and replaced with an ending featuring tape loops created by John and Ringo during the September 28th session. The track is likely to have originally started simply as a jam session - it is in simple 12-bar blues form in a straight-forward 4/4 time and the key of C major. The original recording is believed to have been some nine and a half minutes in length, though this was drastically reduced to 2'17" for the official release.
On the track as recorded and officially released, John Lennon plays the main theme on mellotron, accompanied by Paul McCartney and George Harrison (both on guitars) and Ringo Starr (on maracas and drums). All four Beatles added the chanting, and the track fades in an assortment of tape effects created by Lennon and Starr. This released version is identical to that heard on the soundtrack of Magical Mystery Tour (accompanying colour-altered images of landscape in Iceland taken from an aeroplane).
A different version can be found on some Beatles bootleg albums (such as Back-track 1), and features added hammond organ and strange whistling noises in the early parts of the track. The jazz-influenced ending is also present on this version, which is slightly shorter, clocking in at around 2'08".
Flying's influence on music by other artists
In 1994 Oasis released their second top-40 single from debut album, "Definitely Maybe." The song was entitled, "Shakermaker". In structure, the chord changes and tempo are literally "flying." Essentially the Noel Gallagher penned track merely added lyrics to "Flying", creating one of the biggest early hits for the Gallagher brothers.
In 1977, The Residents, on their "The Beatles Play the Residents and the Residents Play the Beatles" single release cover "Flying" on the "Residents Play the Beatles" side of the single. Reportedly, the only reason they chose "Flying" was because it was the only track they could find that was credited to all of The Beatles as composers. The track is now fairly difficult to obtain, although it can be found on the discontinued CD release of "The Third Reich and Roll" as a bonus track.
External links
"Flying (song)"