"Golden Slumbers" is a song by the Beatles, part of the climactic medley on their 1969 album Abbey Road. The song begins the progression that leads to the end of the album and is followed by "Carry That Weight". The two songs were recorded together as a single piece, and both were written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney), strings and brass arranged and scored by producer George Martin.
"Golden Slumbers" is based on the poem "Cradle Song", a lullaby by the dramatist Thomas Dekker. The poem appears in Dekker's 1603 comedy Patient Grissel. McCartney saw sheet music for Dekker's lullaby at his father's home in Liverpool, left on a piano by his stepsister Ruth. Unable to read music, he created his own music. McCartney uses the first stanza of the original poem, with minor word changes, adding to it a single lyric line repeated with minor variation. Abbey Road does not credit Dekker with the stanza or with the title. Thomas Dekker's poem was set to music by Peter Warlock in 1918, also by Charles Villiers Stanford and Alfredo Casella.
McCartney was the lead vocalist. He begins the song in a soft tone appropriate for a lullaby, with piano, bass guitar, and string section accompaniment. Beginning with the line "Golden slumbers fill your eyes", the drums come in and McCartney switches to a stronger tone, both of which emphasise the switch to the refrain. McCartney said, "I remember trying to get a very strong vocal on it, because it was such a gentle theme, so I worked on the strength of the vocal on it, and ended up quite pleased with it."
The main recording session for "Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight" was on 2 July 1969. John Lennon was not present. He was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Scotland on 1 July, and was hospitalised there until 6 July.
Drums, timpani, and additional vocals were added in an overdub session on 31 July, the same day the first trial edit of the side two medley was created. Lennon did participate in this session. On 15 August, orchestral overdubs were made to "Golden Slumbers" and five other songs on Abbey Road.
1976 Bee Gees All This and World War II soundtrack Medley with "Carry That Weight"
1999 Type O Negative World Coming Down final part of The Beatles' medley "Daytripper"
2006 k.d. lang Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture A mashup with "The End"
2013 Beatallica Abbey Load Uses the melody of Metallica's "Until It Sleeps"
2013 Jane Monheit The Heart of the Matter Medley with "Long and Winding Road"
1 2 3 Lewisohn 1988, p. 178.
1 2 3 Miles 1997, p. 557.
↑ Sheff 2000, p. 203.
↑ Dekker, Chettle & Haughton 1603.
↑ "Lullaby for voice & piano - Peter Warlock - Details, Parts / Movements and Recordings - AllMusic". AllMusic.
↑ "Beatallica - Abbey Load".
Dekker, Thomas; Chettle, Henry; Haughton, William (1603). The Pleasant Comodie of Patient Grissill. Google Books.
Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.