The song's title is referred to only as an item that the singer declares he is "stepping out" of. According to music journalist Graham Reid, "Old Brown Shoe" reflects Harrison's growing confidence as a songwriter. He interprets the message as the guitarist "straining against the constraints of the Beatles ('the zoo'?)" during a period when, as the lyrics state, he himself was "changing faster than the weather". Recording Let It Be rehearsals and Harrison demo The Beatles rehearsed "Old Brown Shoe" several times over three days, beginning on 27 January 1969, during the Let It Be sessions at Apple Studio in London. Harrison still played piano on the song and the lyrics were complete. The run-throughs on 28 January included contributions from guest keyboardist Billy Preston, who supplied fills on Hammond organ. The tapes from that day show John Lennon struggling with the guitar part; in Everett's description, his playing suggests he was "stymied or disinterested". At this point, Starr had devised a drum pattern on the off-beat. The band gave considerable time to the song but chose not to record it for the album. Harrison made a solo demo of the song at EMI Studios (subsequently Abbey Road Studios), featuring piano and vocal, and two overdubbed electric guitar parts. The session took place on 25 February, his 26th birthday, and also included solo recordings of "Something" and "All Things Must Pass", which were similarly overlooked for inclusion on Let It Be. Harrison played these versions of "Old Brown Shoe" and "Something" to Joe Cocker, who accepted Harrison's offer to record the latter song. Author Simon Leng describes "Old Brown Shoe" as "the most complete in conception" of the three demos, with an arrangement that contains several of the main elements present in the Beatles' subsequent recording. The demos were released on the band's 1996 outtakes compilation Anthology 3. Official band version The Beatles revisited "Old Brown Shoe" when they were in need of a B-side for their next single, "The Ballad of John and Yoko", Lennon's account of his and Yoko Ono's recent wedding and honeymoon. The song's recording took place on 16 and 18 April 1969, during the early sessions for the band's Abbey Road album. The 16 April session was the first at EMI Studios for the full group since October the previous year, when they completed recording for their self-titled double album (also known as the