Baby You're a Rich Man

Baby You're a Rich Man is the b-side for the single, All You Need is Love. It was a blend of two songs, one written by John Lennon, the other by Paul McCartney. The working title was One of the Beautiful People, the title John gave to his song. The verses are John's and the chorus is Paul's work. It was recorded on May 11, 1967 in the Olympic Sound Studios in London in 12 takes, the first to be recorded and mixed completely apart from the Abbey Road studio home of the Beatles. Eventually, these recording sessions would yield the Magical Mystery Tour album. Baby You're a Rich Man was always intended for Yellow Submarine, though ironically it is almost inaudible in the film. The 1999 soundtrack album of Yellow Submarine remedies this problem. The exotic instrument heard in the song is a clavioline played by John. It was an early version of a synthesizer (introduced around 1947), which created in this case a pinched, oboe-like sound. A vibraphone was used in the track as well, played by Eddie Kramer. The tape box for the recording session indicates that Mick Jagger was present, and many suspect that he sat in on the vocals, though his voice can not be distinguished from the others.

The verse lyrics appear to be about manager Brian Epstein, though Lennon said that his part of the song was just a reference to rich people who, in spite of material well-being, fail to enjoy their lives. Paul's chorus does not convey any such notion.