Maxwell's Silver Hammer
| "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Beatles from the album Abbey Road | |
| Released | 26 September 1969 |
| Recorded | 9–11 July, 6 August 1969 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:27 |
| Label | Apple Records |
| Writer(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is a song by the Beatles, sung by Paul McCartney on their album Abbey Road. It was written by McCartney, though credited to Lennon–McCartney. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is a rock song with dark, eccentric lyrics about a medical student named Maxwell Edison who commits murders with a hammer, although the lyrics are disguised by the upbeat, catchy, and rather "childlike" sound of the song.
The song was written in October 1968, intended for the album The Beatles, but left off because of time constraints. It was rehearsed again three months later, in January 1969, at Twickenham film studios during the Get Back sessions but would not be recorded for another six months. The film features two brief rehearsal takes compiled together showing the band's progress on the song up to that point in time. John Lennon is shown to be participating on electric guitar despite not featuring on the recording for Abbey Road at all. Road manager and Beatles associate Mal Evans participates by providing the anvil hits.
Linda McCartney said that Paul had become interested in avant-garde theatre and had immersed himself in the writings of Alfred Jarry. This influence is reflected in the story and tone of the song, and also explains how Paul came across Jarry's word "pataphysical", which occurs in the lyrics.
Beatles guitarist George Harrison described the song in 1969 as "one of those instant whistle-along tunes which some people hate, and other people really like. It's a fun song, but it's kind of a drag because Maxwell keeps on destroying everyone like his girlfriend then the school teacher, and then, finally, the judge." Lennon described it as "more of Paul's granny music". In 1994, McCartney said that the song merely epitomises the downfalls of life, being "my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does, as I was beginning to find out at that time in my life. I wanted something symbolic of that, so to me it was some fictitious character called Maxwell with a silver hammer. I don't know why it was silver, it just sounded better than Maxwell's hammer. It was needed for scanning. We still use that expression now when something unexpected happens."
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