Released Unreleased Writer(s) Paul McCartney | Length Unknown Producer(s) George Martin | |
Recorded 20 August 1968
EMI Studios, London | ||
"Etcetera" is an unreleased song recorded as a demo by Paul McCartney on 20 August 1968, during a session for The Beatles (also known as "the White Album").
Contents
Background
Paul McCartney recalls in his authorised biography, Many Years from Now, that he had written the song, intending to give it to Marianne Faithfull to record, but she passed on recording it, as did the Beatles.
Recording
The song was recorded as a demo during the same session that produced other the White Album songs "Mother Nature's Son" and "Wild Honey Pie". McCartney recorded one take of the song while waiting for session musicians to arrive. After the take was recorded, the tape was taken away by George Martin's assistant, Chris Thomas. The recording is said to have lyrics, a bridge, and an introduction that is reminiscent of "Here, There and Everywhere".
Unreleased status
McCartney himself has not spoken well of "Etcetera". He has stated that "it's a bad song" and that he's "glad it died in a tape bin". On the other hand, engineer Alan Brown called it "a very beautiful song". Brown described the song as a "ballad and has the word 'etcetera' several times in the lyric".
Music critic Richie Unterberger describes "Etcetera" as "the second most sought-after outtake" from the White Album. In terms of the tape itself, Unterberger writes that EMI engineer Alan Brown recalled that the tape is no longer in EMI's vaults. However, an acetate copy of the song has surfaced in McCartney's personal archive in the early years of the 21st century. The song has yet to be released officially.