Beatles-Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
“Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” is a song by The Beatles which first appeared on the 1965 album Rubber Soul. While credited to Lennon/McCartney, it was primarily written by John Lennon, though Paul McCartney contributed to the middle eight section. It is notable as the first example of a rock band actually playing the sitar in one of their songs; it was played by George Harrison.[1] The song is a lilting acoustic ballad featuring Lennon’s lead vocal and signature Beatle harmonies in the middle eight.
“Norwegian Wood” was one of several songs on Rubber Soul in which the singer faces an antagonistic relationship with a woman. In direct contrast to earlier Beatles songs such as “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand“, the songs on Rubber Soul were considerably darker in their outlook towards romantic relationships.
The exotic instrumentation and oblique lyric represented one of the first indications to fans of the expanding musical vocabulary and experimental approach that the group was rapidly adopting. (Wikipedia)
Downloads
Facts and playing tips
The confusing “Wood” – Obviously inspired by this song, Japanese writer Haruki Murakami wrote a popular novel “ノルウェイの森 Noruwei no Mori,” which literally means “the Norwegian forest.” But the song clearly means the material “wood” not “forest.” confusingly the novel title in turn translated into English as “Norwegian Wood,” same withe the song. I think this is either a misunderstanding of the Japanese writer, or a deliberate change to make the title of the novel more attactive in Japanese.
Extramarital affairs - According to Wikipedia, the song is about a real exmarital affair John Lennon had.
Chords
C/B 03200
Dadd2 x52232
Lyrics with guitar chords
(Capo 2nd fret)
[D]I once had a girl
[C]Or, should I [C/B]say, [Dadd2]she once had [D]me
[D]She showed me her room
[C]Isn't it [C/B]good—[Dadd2]Norwegian [D]Wood
[Dm]She asked me to stay
And she [Gadd4]told me to sit anywhere
[Dm]So, I looked around
And I noticed there [Em7]wasn't a [A7]chair
I sat on a rug
Biding my time, drinking her wine
We talked until two
And then she said, it's time for bed (D Thing x2)
She told me she worked in the morning
And started to laugh
I told her I didn't
And crawled off to sleep in the bath
And, when I awoke
I was alone, this bird had flown
So, I lit a fire
Isn't it good-- Norwegian Wood... (D Thing, end on D~)