"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" lyrics
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
("Abbey Road" Version)
Joan was quizzical, studied pataphysical
Science in the home
Late nights all alone with a test-tube ohh oh oh oh
Maxwell Edison majoring in medicine
Calls her on the phone
Can I take you out to the pictures, Joan?
But as she's getting ready to go
A knock comes on the door
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead
Back in school again Maxwell plays the fool again
Teacher gets annoyed
Wishing to avoid an unpleasant scene
She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away
So he waits behind
Writing 50 times "I must not be so" oh oh oh
But when she turns her back on the boy
He creeps up from behind
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head
Do do do do do
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead
P.C. Thirty-One said "We caught a dirty one"
Maxwell stands alone
Painting testimonial pictures ohh oh oh oh
Rose and Valerie screaming from the gallery
Say he must go free (Maxwell must go free)
The judge does not agree and he tells them so oh oh oh
But as the words are leaving his lips
A noise comes from behind
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon his head
Do do do do do
Bang, Bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that he was dead
Wow wow wow oh!
Do do do do do
Silver hammer Max
Thanks to Alex, Agni for correcting these lyrics.
Writer(s): Paul McCartney, John Lennon
Maxwell Edison, the protagonist of this song, was made up by Paul McCartney as a medical student who kills people. McCartney's songwriting was a bit influenced by his family custom to create dark fantasy tales.
Paul McCartney explained, "'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' was my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does. ...I wanted something symbolic of that."
The characteristic clanging sound was produced by banging on an actual anvil: Ringo Starr did it for the studio recording, and Mal Evans did it in the film "Let It Be".
John Lennon said that he hated the song because—in his opinion—Paul had dedicated too much time and efforts to record it, whilst Paul recalled that he just wanted to get the song right.
Ringo Starr said in an interview (Rolling Stone magazine, 2008), "The worst session ever was 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer.' It was the worst track we ever had to record."
The handwritten lyrics for this song were sold at auction for $192,000.
- AZLyrics
- B
- The Beatles Lyrics
album:
"Abbey Road" (1969)
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