Beatles’ ‘Girl‘ Features Deliberate In-Breath too Convey Intimacy, Possible Drug Use
The Beatles’ 1965 song ”Girl” contains a strikingly unusual element – a sharp, elongated in-breath by John Lennon following the song’s chorus. This wasn’t accidental; Lennon intentionally wanted the sound of breathing to be prominent, requesting producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick to use a compressor on his microphone to amplify it.
Paul McCartney recalled Lennon’s desire to capture the sound, stating he “wanted to hear the breathing, wanted it to be very intimate.” Outwardly, the breath conveys the intense attraction and unhealthy attachment Lennon felt towards the song’s subject, described as a femme fatale. Lennon himself lamented, “She’s the kind of girl you want so much it makes you sorry.”
However, a more illicit clarification exists. In a 1970 Rolling Stone interview, Lennon revealed The Beatles were “smoking marijuana for breakfast” during the recording sessions and he wanted to capture the sound of smoking a joint on the track.
Despite this, lennon clarified in his final interview before his death that “Girl is real,” explaining it was written about his ideal woman, who ultimately became Yoko Ono, and that his later song ‘Woman’ was “the grown-up version of ‘Girl’.”
Regardless of its origin, the in-breath remains a uniquely intimate and innovative element in the song.Lennon frequently bared his soul through his music, but he “bared his breath on just one” recording, cementing “Girl” as a standout track in The Beatles’ discography.
