Taxman
In April 1966, a report from the London accountancy firm Bryce, Hammer, Isherwood & Co. delivered a stark warning to the Beatles. The document stated that two band members were close to bankruptcy while the other two could soon follow suit. George Harrison wrote Taxman after learning that the group's earnings placed them in the top tax bracket of the United Kingdom. A 95 per cent supertax introduced by Harold Wilson's Labour government meant the musicians paid over 90 per cent of their income to the Treasury. Harrison later recalled in his 1980 autobiography I, Me, Mine that he realized they were giving most of their money away despite earning it. He voiced consternation that these vast sums funded the manufacture of military weapons during the Vietnam War era. The song became the group's first political statement and protested against the higher level of progressive tax imposed on them. John Lennon helped complete the lyrics because Paul McCartney would not have assisted him at that period. Harrison likened Prime Minister Wilson to the Robin Hood character known as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
The Beatles began recording Taxman on the 20th of April 1966 but left those initial results unused. Ten new takes followed on the 21st of April with Ringo Starr playing drums and Paul McCartney handling bass duties. Harrison contributed distorted rhythm guitar while overdubs included McCartney's lead guitar and backing vocals from both Lennon and McCartney. EMI engineer Geoff Emerick provided a critical account of Harrison's early solo attempts though McCartney and Harrison remembered the collaboration differently. McCartney discussed his idea for the solo with Harrison who invited him to play it on the final recording. Harrison stated he was happy to have the song recorded for Revolver and did not care who played the guitar solo. He noted that McCartney added an Indian bit to the piece for him. Chanted names of Wilson and Heath replaced two rapidly sung refrains heard in take 11 of the song. A spoken One, two, three, four intro appeared during an overdubbing session on the 16th of May. The song's ending formed on the 21st of June when the section containing the guitar solo spliced onto the end replacing a formal conclusion after Harrison's final vocal line.
Taxman sits in the key of D major and uses a time signature that drives its rhythmic intensity. The recording begins before the actual song starts with coughing sounds and counting delivered by Harrison in a grim miserly voice. Beatles biographer Jonathan Gould sees subtle self-mockery in this gesture as the band moved focus from dance floors to counting houses. Steve Turner describes the track as a smart little pop art song drawing musical inspiration from Neil Hefti's Batman Theme from the 1966 television series. The chords stress the seventh scale degree which evokes either Mixolydian or Dorian modes throughout the composition. There is one third chord near the end but unusually no fifth chord appears in the harmony. Musicologist Dominic Pedler notes the use of both a fifth-string voicing of the dominant seventh sharp ninth chord and a sixth-string form creating jarring dissonance. McCartney's bass line imitates Motown bassist James Jamerson through active lines and glissandi heard between 0:55 and 1:08. Rolling Stone described the completed track as skeleton funk featuring Harrison's choppy fuzz-toned guitar chords moving against an R&B dance beat. Walter Everett considers McCartney's solo to be in the same Dorian mode Harrison adapted for his sitar part in Love You To.
EMI's Parlophone label released Revolver on the 5th of August 1966 with Taxman sequenced as the opening track before Eleanor Rigby. Having three compositions on a Beatles album established George Harrison as a third prolific songwriter within the band alongside Lennon and McCartney. Music critic Tim Riley views the spoken count-in on Taxman as announcing the new studio aesthetic of Revolver. This approach contrasted sharply with the shouted One, two, three, four that introduced the band's live sound on I Saw Her Standing There in 1963. The song marked the first topical statement the group had made in their music since forming. David Simonelli groups it with Eleanor Rigby and May 1966 singles Paperback Writer and Rain as examples of pointed social commentary. In a 1968 interview John Lennon referenced Taxman as part of the Beatles' anti-authoritarian outlook. He stated the band still protested against having to pay the government unless it was for a communal or Communist or real Christian society. The omission of any Harrison-written track from the 1973 double LP 1962, 1966 became one of the main complaints fans levelled against the record.
Richard Goldstein wrote in The Village Voice that Revolver represented a revolutionary great leap forward for the Beatles. He highlighted Taxman as the album's example of political cheek where George enumerated Britain's current economic woes. Richard Green characterized the track as big beat rock n roll while Peter Jones found it a bit repetitive but loved the wild strident guitar mid-way. KRLA Beats reviewer called it one of the best and most commercial George Harrison compositions for some time. Paul Williams of Crawdaddy! said lines such as Ha-ha Mr Wilson were delightful and dubbed the song Batman goes protest. Ian MacDonald writes that while Harrison was rightly praised for his composition the track benefited from the whole group's creativity. Alex Petridis of The Guardian considers it faintly mind-boggling that the Beatles departed from their usual approach by issuing Yellow Submarine as a single instead. Taxman ranked 48th in Mojos list of The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs compiled in 2006 by a panel of critics and musicians. Singer Joe Brown cited the track as a brilliant example of how Harrison was never selfish in his musicianship. On a similar list compiled by Rolling Stone in 2010 the song appeared at number 55 describing it as a crucial link between earlier sounds and emerging psychedelia.
During the 1996 US presidential election publicity for Republican candidate Bob Dole stated he would use a tape of Taxman in campaign rallies. This response countered Democratic opponent Bill Clinton adopting a personal anecdote from his past as a student in England. In early 2002 one of the largest tax preparation companies in the United States used a version of Taxman in television commercials. Virginia State Senator Ken Cuccinelli introduced an amendment to make Taxman the state song of Virginia though the measure did not pass. Quartz reporter Aamna Mohdin describes Taxman as the mother of all tax protest songs amid creative works conveying the misery of taxes. A 2019 article in Tax Journal stated the Beatles' legacy endures through the song becoming the karaoke favourite of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Cultural commentator Christopher Bray finds Taxman highly amusing and describes Harrison as one of the Sixties greatest poets of sybaritic hedonism. Harrison first played Taxman live on his 1991 Japanese tour with Eric Clapton introducing it as a very old song written in 1873. He updated lyrics referencing John Major George Bush and Boris Yeltsin while including a new bridge ending with lines about taxing mats and overweight individuals.
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Common questions
What caused George Harrison to write the song Taxman in 1966?
George Harrison wrote Taxman after learning that high taxes placed The Beatles in the top tax bracket of the United Kingdom. A 95 per cent supertax introduced by Harold Wilson's Labour government meant the musicians paid over 90 per cent of their income to the Treasury.
When did The Beatles record the final version of Taxman for Revolver?
The Beatles began recording Taxman on the 20th of April 1966 but left those initial results unused. The song's ending formed on the 21st of June when the section containing the guitar solo spliced onto the end replacing a formal conclusion after Harrison's final vocal line.
Who played bass and guitar on the recording of Taxman?
Paul McCartney handled bass duties while contributing distorted rhythm guitar and an Indian bit to the piece. Ringo Starr played drums and John Lennon provided backing vocals during the sessions.
How was Taxman received by critics upon the release of Revolver on the 5th of August 1966?
Richard Goldstein wrote in The Village Voice that Revolver represented a revolutionary great leap forward for The Beatles with Taxman as the album's example of political cheek. Rolling Stone ranked the track at number 55 in 2010 describing it as a crucial link between earlier sounds and emerging psychedelia.
Why did George Harrison update the lyrics of Taxman during his 1991 Japanese tour?
Harrison updated lyrics referencing John Major George Bush and Boris Yeltsin while including a new bridge ending with lines about taxing mats and overweight individuals. He first played Taxman live on his 1991 Japanese tour with Eric Clapton introducing it as a very old song written in 1873.