Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey


"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" is a song by the English rock group the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.

Background

"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" was written about Lennon's future wife, Yoko Ono. Lennon said of the song:
Many listeners, including Paul McCartney, believed that the song was about heroin, as the term "monkey" is often associated with the drug. Although Lennon and Ono used the drug, McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr did not, with McCartney later saying, "It was a harder terminology, which the rest of us weren't into."

Recording

Lennon's working title for the composition was "Come on, Come on". An Esher Demo of the song, recorded in George Harrison's Esher home in May 1968, features all-acoustic instrumentation, and a vocal sung in a more Bob Dylan-like spoken word style than the released version.
"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" evolved from a jam session and was originally untitled. The final mix was sped up by mixing the tape running at 43 hertz instead of the usual 50. According to Harrison, the title came from one of the Maharishi's sayings.
The released version of the song was recorded at EMI Studios on 27 June 1968, and an overdub session on 1 July. Final stereo mixing was completed on 12 October.

Legacy

In 2018, the music staff of Time Out London ranked it at number 13 on their list of the best Beatles songs.
However, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of The Independent listed "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" at number 21 in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He wrote of the song: "With its jangly guitar riff, repetitive lyrics and frantic bass line, this song – borne from the growing unease with Yoko Ono's presence in the studio – grows more fun with each listen."

Personnel