Released Unreleased Genre Rock Writer(s) Lennon–McCartney | Recorded 9 January 1969 Length 3:38 | |
"Commonwealth" is a Beatles song credited to Lennon–McCartney, released only on bootleg. "Commonwealth" is an unpolished recording from January 1969 with Paul McCartney ad-libbing on lead vocals, and John Lennon ad libbing a backing vocal. It was disliked by McCartney, so it was never released.
Contents
Composition
The song was the precursor to "Get Back". The lyrics are improvised along with the instrumentation.
Recording
"Commonwealth" was recorded January 9, 1969, at Twickenham Film Studios, London, England, during the "Get Back/Let It Be" rehearsals. It was recorded after a version of "House of the Rising Sun", and just before a song called "Enoch Powell", also improvised. The sound was captured on a state-of-the art Nagra sound reel, as was all of the material recorded during those sessions. The reel number is 99 A.
Release
This recording has still not been officially released by EMI/Apple, but is available on numerous bootlegs. It has not appeared anywhere else on either a solo Beatle album or as a cover version.