Nowhere Man

Nowhere Man was a number one hit in the US as a single, and a favorite of fans of the Rubber Soul album. John Lennon wrote it, the first in the Beatles' history to deal with a subject completely unrelated to love and romance. Like other songs on the Rubber Soul album, it signals a period in which Lennon writes more philosophical songs, with innovative chord sequences and harmonies. Though the song appears to criticize the conventional society that was to be challenged by the non-conformist decade of the 1960's, Lennon himself said that he just cranked the lyrics and music. He lay down after racking his brain for five hours, trying to invent yet another song for their upcoming (and hurried) album. Then the song just came to him. Lennon thus says it was self-critical, and not a social commentary. John and George play twin strats in this song -- John in the verses and George in the solo, which many feel is one of his best performances. Nowhere Man was released as a single, the first for the Beatles that departed from romance songs to deal with more thoughtful subject matter.