When I'm Sixty-Four
| "When I'm Sixty-Four" | ||||||||
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The 1996 US jukebox single release of the song, as the B-side to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
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| Song by the Beatles from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | ||||||||
| Released | 1 June 1967 | |||||||
| Recorded | 6–21 December 1966, EMI Studios, London |
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| Length | 2:37 | |||||||
| Label | Parlophone | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Lennon–McCartney | |||||||
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |||||||
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band track listing | ||||||||
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"When I'm Sixty-Four" is a song by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released in 1967 on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The song is sung by a young man to his lover, and is about his plans of growing old together with her. Although the theme is ageing, it was one of the first songs McCartney wrote, when he was 16. It was in the Beatles setlist in their early days as a song to perform when their amplifiers broke down or the electricity went off. Both George Martin and Mark Lewisohn speculated that McCartney may have thought of the song when recording began for Sgt. Pepper in December 1966 because his father turned 64 earlier that year.
Lennon said of the song, "Paul wrote it in the Cavern days. We just stuck a few more words on it like 'grandchildren on your knee' and 'Vera, Chuck and Dave' ... this was just one that was quite a hit with us." In his 1980 interview for Playboy he said, "I would never even dream of writing a song like that."
A clarinet trio (two B-flat clarinets and a bass clarinet) is featured prominently in the song. Scored by Martin, he said they were added at McCartney's request to "get around the lurking schmaltz factor" by using the clarinets "in a classical way." In the song's final verse, the clarinet is played in harmony with McCartney's vocal. Supporting instruments include the piano, bass, drum set, tubular bells, and electric guitar.
The song was recorded on 6 December 1966, during one of the first sessions for the as-yet-unnamed album that became Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. There were multiple overdub sessions, including the lead vocal by McCartney on 8 December and backing vocals by McCartney, Lennon, and George Harrison on 20 December. The clarinets were recorded on 21 December.
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