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Released in 2018

Can You Take Me Back

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Last updated on September 9, 2021

Album This song officially appears on the The Beatles (50th anniversary boxset) Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 2018

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1968, when Paul McCartney was 26 years old)

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Related songs

“Can You Take Me Back” is an ad-lib song recorded on September 16, 1968 by The Beatles during the recording of “I Will“.

Take 19 of “I Will” was not “I Will“ and was identified as “Jam – Unidentified” on the tape box. It lasted two minutes and twenty-one seconds. Later referred to as “Can you take me back”, a 28-second segment of this ended up on side four of The Beatles, at the end of “Cry Baby Cry“.

In 2006, this snippet was included on the album “Love“, towards the end of the “Come Together” / “Dear Prudence” / “Cry Baby Cry” medley. “Can You Take Me Back?” was treated with lashings of echo, transposed down a semitone from F minor to E minor, and combined with strings from “Eleanor Rigby“.

The full version was released on the White Album’s 50th anniversary re-release in 2018.

John [Lennon]’s prompt to Paul during the improvisation, “Are you happy here, honey? Are you happy here, living with us?” are questions heard during the speech track “Voices Of Old People” on the LP Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel, released in April 1968

From “The Beatles” Super Deluxe edition book (2018)

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

basic recording- 16 Sep 1968
additional recording- none
master tape- 4 track

[a] mono 16 Oct 1968.
UK: Apple PMC 7068 white album 1968.

[b] stereo 17 Oct 1968.
UK: Apple PCS 7068 white album 1968.
US: Apple SWBO 101 white album 1968.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46443 2 white album 1987.

A segment of this improvisation was placed between Cry Baby Cry and Revolution 9; it was recorded as a take of I Will.

Lyrics

Oh no brother

Can you take me?

Can you take me by the hand?

Oh no brother

Can you take me?

Can you take me by the hand?

All you brother

Please vibrato

Oh no take me back

Can you take me?

Can you take me?

Can you take me back?

Anybody, can you take me?

Can you take me back?

Take me back to where I have came from

Oh take me back

[Are you happy here, honey?]

I am happy here my honey

Can you take me back?

I ain’t happy here my honey

Can you take me back?

Can you take me, can you take me

Can you take me back?

I ain’t happy here honey

Can you take me back?

Can you take me back where I came from?

Can you take me back?

Can you take me back where I came from?

Can you take me back?

Are you happy here honey, happy?

Are you happy here?

I ain’t happy here my honey

Can you take me back?

Can you take me back where I came from?

Can you take me back?

Can you take me back where I came from?

Can you take me back?

Are you happy living here honey?

Honey are you happy living here?

I ain’t happy living here baby

Honey can you take me back?

Can you take me back where I came from?

Can you take me back?

Can you take me back where I came from?

Brother can you take me back?

Can you take me back?

Mmm can you take me where I came from?

Can you take me back?

Variations

Officially appears on

Live performances

Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.

Paul McCartney writing

Talk more talk, chat more chat

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Carlos • 6 years ago

taken of Bootlegzone page: Stereo. Recorded during the "I Will" sessions with only John, Paul and Ringo.

"Can You Take Me Back" is a never-heard before long version of the link track used between "Cry Baby Cry" and "Revolution #9" on "The Beatles".

appears in: The Beatles - Turn Me On Dead Man: The John Barrett Tapes (Disc 2)

The PaulMcCartney Project • 6 years ago

Thanks for the detail Carlos ! that's a nice starting point to help me complete this page !

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