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The Beatles — Dear Prudence
Album: White Album
Avg rating:
8.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 4130









Released: 1968
Length: 3:43
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Dear Prudence
Won't you come out to play?
Dear Prudence
Greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful, and so are you
Dear Prudence
Won't you come out to play?

Dear Prudence
Open up your eyes
Dear Prudence
See the sunny skies
The wind is low, the birds will sing
That you are part of everything
Dear Prudence
Won't you open up your eyes?

Look around, round
Look around, round, round
Look around

Dear Prudence
Let me see you smile
Dear Prudence
Like a little child
The clouds will be a daisy chain
So let me see you smile again
Dear Prudence
Won't you let me see you smile?

Dear Prudence
Won't you come out to play?
Dear Prudence
Greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful, and so are you
Dear Prudence
Won't you come out to play?
Comments (545)add comment
After more than 15 years as a listener to Radio Paradise I finally get to hear and rate my favorite Beatles song! 
Love this song so much we named our cat after it! 😸
I will never cease to be amazed at what those 4 kids accomplished.
The high point in modern music.
 1wolfy wrote:

I used the lyrics to this song for a psychology project when I was in High School..it was part of a photo collage..the teacher hated it and graded me accordingly...I never got over it..obviously.




Teachers can be Gods or true demons! I feel ya!
There is a series called 321 McCartney where he discusses this track - he really did drive the band with the encouragement of Geroge Martin - he goes back to the start of The Beatles and their studio work
With headphones on this sounds like the re-mix - such a great track!  What a great album!  What great band!
Paul just said today that they will release a new song with John's voice, as the final Beatle's record at the end of this year.
I'd like to hear the Siouxsie version on RP.
John or Paul walks in with a record, paly a bit, and ask Ringo, "Can you play the drums like this?"
Ringo - "That's Two drummers!"
"Well can you try?"
Great track, even for the Beatles. All 4 are playing at the top of their game.
i love this, but for whatever reason it makes me want to cry.
 slates13 wrote:

In my top 3 Beatles songs!  Just beautiful!!



But "Please please me" knocked me out when I was 15 and totally hung up on  The Shadows! 
1968! Did the Grammys' just happen? I guess I missed it.
According to Wiki, the song was inspired by actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence Farrow, who became obsessive about meditating. Lennon and  Harrison, her designated mediation partners,  attempted to coax Prudence out of her seclusion, which led to Lennon writing the song. 
 epettigrew872 wrote:




Actually, Isaacson was quoting from an Apple advertising campaign, around the time the company was inching back from its near-death experience.
Weird coincidence! I just finished reading the (in)famous 1970 Rolling Stone interview Lennon did after the Beatles breakup.  He was very bitter and angry (also obviously in pain),  and everyone remembers all the "genius is pain" kind of lashing out in the interview. But he had some interesting things to say about what is was like for him trying to write music during that time.

Excerpt:

in India I wrote the last batch of best songs, like “I’m So Tired” and “Yer Blues.” They’re pretty realistic, they were about me. They always struck me as – what is the word? Funny? Ironic? – that I was writing them supposedly in the presence of guru and meditating so many hours a day, writing “I’m So Tired” and songs of such pain as “Yer Blues” which I meant. I was right in the Maharishi’s camp writing “I wanna die . . . ”


He can be very funny as well as brutally direct when he's not just being mean. All in all it's worth going back to have a look at the whole interview if like me you hadn't seen it in a long time.
Brilliant. There is a reason George Martin, John and Paul put this as track #2 after the crowd-pleasing Back in the USAR.
 1wolfy wrote:

I used the lyrics to this song for a psychology project when I was in High School..it was part of a photo collage..the teacher hated it and graded me accordingly...I never got over it..obviously.




Breathe in.  Release.

Again.

Breathe in.  Release.

Continue this exercise for 20 minutes, three times daily, until the feelings pass.
 sfyi2001 wrote:


"Dear Prudence is me.

Written in India.
A song about Mia Farrow's sister, who seemed to go slightly barmy, meditating too long, and couldn't come out of the little hut that we were livin' in.
They selected me and George to try and bring her out because she would trust us.
If she'd been in the West, they would have put her away.
We got her out of the house.
She'd been locked in for three weeks and wouldn't come out, trying to reach God quicker than anybody else.
That was the competition in Maharishi's camp: who was going to get cosmic first.
What I didn't know was I was already cosmic."

— John Lennon, All We Are Saying



 

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The troublemakers. The round pegs in a square hole. The ones who see things differently.

Walter Isaacson



 

 DanFHiggins wrote:
My God the texture of that guitar is pure bliss
 
Not only that, but that bass playing is just... cosmic  :-D
For all the talents that were combined in this group, Paul's bass playing seems ever-under-mentioned and -appreciated (as is George's antics, for that matter, but that's a rant for another song ;-) )
Truly Magical inside my world and beyond!!!!
sempre bella questa canzone dei favolosi Beatles!
read the Mia Farrow bio, meh but it had a couple great tales about the White Album
Beautiful song.............................….'nuf said!
My God the texture of that guitar is pure bliss
one of my favourite Beatles songs.
How can I not rate it "godlike" if it's an integral part of my very existence?
The White Album shaped so many of us and kept us from going "barmy"...
Chills every time I hear it -- also love the 2018 remix.
In my top 3 Beatles songs!  Just beautiful!!
 sfyi2001 wrote:



"Dear Prudence is me.

Written in India.
A song about Mia Farrow's sister, who seemed to go slightly barmy, meditating too long, and couldn't come out of the little hut that we were livin' in.
They selected me and George to try and bring her out because she would trust us.
If she'd been in the West, they would have put her away.
We got her out of the house.
She'd been locked in for three weeks and wouldn't come out, trying to reach God quicker than anybody else.
That was the competition in Maharishi's camp: who was going to get cosmic first.
What I didn't know was I was already cosmic."

— John Lennon, All We Are Saying

 


 
I'm slightly barmy too.
going from 8—>9



"Dear Prudence is me.

Written in India.
A song about Mia Farrow's sister, who seemed to go slightly barmy, meditating too long, and couldn't come out of the little hut that we were livin' in.
They selected me and George to try and bring her out because she would trust us.
If she'd been in the West, they would have put her away.
We got her out of the house.
She'd been locked in for three weeks and wouldn't come out, trying to reach God quicker than anybody else.
That was the competition in Maharishi's camp: who was going to get cosmic first.
What I didn't know was I was already cosmic."

— John Lennon, All We Are Saying



The Best Album of the 20th Century
You broke a rule!
 a_genuine_find wrote: 
A great song, as is this.
When I was young and simple and new to the canon, Dear Prudence was my favourite Beatles track. Now I'm 47 and I still think this is practically perfect in every way imaginable.

"The wind is low, the birds will sing, that you are part of everything."
 Canlistener wrote:

Ha I'm not alone!

 
Statistically, you are.
Hard to believe it was this day in 1964 that the Beatles landed in New York for their maiden trip to this side of the pond.
~"Want you come out to play?"
Love Prudence....my aunt named her bird Prudence after this song{#Daisy}
 Canlistener wrote:
still gives me hives after all these years.

 
You're still a fool after all these years.

{#Sunny}

 

{#Meditate} {#Meditate} {#Meditate} {#Meditate} {#Meditate}


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/9a/72/c0/9a72c06f0cebbf240f417f73af270e57.jpg
"Wouldn't be Prudence."
 Dazzerb wrote:
seriously this is just plain awful.
 
Yesterday was plain awful.
You can say that again.
Yesterday was plain awful, but that's not now...that's then...
 boontonite wrote:
This is the Beatles at there very best, IMO. My wife and I visited the Maharishi's ashram in Rishikesh, India last year and were blown away by the experience, wandering around the deserted camp where so much incredible Beatle's music was hatched. Now I understand that the ashram has been taken over by the government and will be turned into some sort of Beatles amusement park with tours, gift shops, food stands and so on. Glad we went when we did!

 
I hope I ever get the chance to go there, sounds great
Yeah, Beatles White Album, one of the best ...
Play more of it, e.g. "Happiness is a warm gun". Dear Prudence is never played on german radio, I love it, really one of my favourites.
More, more, more ...
{#Music}
 Dazzerb wrote:
seriously this is just plain awful.

 
Ha I'm not alone!
So simple yet astoundingly beautiful. Powerful. Timeless.  The sort of thing you can listen to over and over and over and over again.
John Lennon at his very best. 
 a_genuine_find wrote: 
You stalked 100's of my ratings and this is the best you could find.  We all have are guilty pleasure songs and fortunately for me they are never the Beatles.  
Love it - second track on the White Album - brilliant.
I prefer Siouxsie Sioux's cover of this, Punk meets Psychedelia.
 Dazzerb wrote:
seriously this is just plain awful.

 
10 - Madness - One Step Beyond
seriously this is just plain awful.
Remember standing in line to buy albums on the first day or release? Played it to death, had to buy a second copy, still have it{#Bananajam}
 Yes...two excellent songs !  rpdevotee wrote:
This may be the first time in ten years I've hears RP play two songs from the same performer back to back.

 


This is the Beatles at there very best, IMO. My wife and I visited the Maharishi's ashram in Rishikesh, India last year and were blown away by the experience, wandering around the deserted camp where so much incredible Beatle's music was hatched. Now I understand that the ashram has been taken over by the government and will be turned into some sort of Beatles amusement park with tours, gift shops, food stands and so on. Glad we went when we did!
Why is this not a solid 10? If this is an 8.5, then everything else is not any higher than an 8 ever recorded...just saying!!
This may be the first time in ten years I've hears RP play two songs from the same performer back to back.
One of the many Beatles songs which still gives me the creeps.
 springof63 wrote:
 Panchoalico wrote:
is that ringo playing the drums?? great, ringo! innovative
 
On_The_Beach wrote:

From Wiki:
". . . Paul McCartney playing the drums in place of Ringo Starr, who had temporarily left the Beatles. . . .
• Paul McCartney – backing vocal, drums, bass, piano, flügelhorn, tambourine, cowbell, handclaps . . ."

 
interviewer  "...so is Ringo Starr the best drummer in the world right now?"

John/Paul "he's not even the best drummer in The Beatles" (snigger)

I thought they were just being flippant - never knew Paul played drums on this track. Maybe they were being serious! {#Laughing}


My recollection from watching that (10-part?) Beatles documentary was that Ringo was feeling out of his element (ie the drum parts were too complex) around the time of the White album and took a hiatus from the Beatles until the other 3 eventually pleaded "Come back Ringo. We still love you.". And he did.  : )

 Panchoalico wrote:
is that ringo playing the drums?? great, ringo! innovative
 
On_The_Beach wrote:

From Wiki:
". . . Paul McCartney playing the drums in place of Ringo Starr, who had temporarily left the Beatles. . . .
• Paul McCartney – backing vocal, drums, bass, piano, flügelhorn, tambourine, cowbell, handclaps . . ."

 
interviewer  "...so is Ringo Starr the best drummer in the world right now?"

John/Paul "he's not even the best drummer in The Beatles" (snigger)

I thought they were just being flippant - never knew Paul played drums on this track. Maybe they were being serious! {#Laughing}
still gives me hives after all these years.
Still gives me goosebumps after all these years.
Dear prudence by The Beatles is the greatest song ever!
Can never be again 😎🎸
What IS the word? Oh yes...sublime.
 BMTR wrote:

f*** The Beatles.

Siouxsie and the Banshees rules! ;-)



 
I suspect you think it's a competition but it's not. It's just artists sharing.
 Panchoalico wrote:
is that ringo playing the drums?? great, ringo! innovative
 
From Wiki:
". . . Paul McCartney playing the drums in place of Ringo Starr, who had temporarily left the Beatles. . . .
• Paul McCartney – backing vocal, drums, bass, piano, flügelhorn, tambourine, cowbell, handclaps . . ."
is that ringo playing the drums?? great, ringo! innovative
 ajlept wrote:
The sustained bass line with the many vignettes by fragmented various other instruments, and Paul's great vocals, make this a perfect piece of music.

 
Paul's vocals are pretty minimal on this number - it's pretty much all Lennon.  But McCartney apparently played several instruments on this - including drums.
It doesn't get any better than this except 'till the next Lennon song.
The sustained bass line with the many vignettes by fragmented various other instruments, and Paul's great vocals, make this a perfect piece of music.
 BMTR wrote:

f*** The Beatles.

Siouxsie and the Banshees rules! ;-)



 
I was going to say how totally ignorant you are BMTR  but you comment speaks volumes on your total ignorance lol sorry but TAKE A LONG HIKE OFF A SHORT PIER — PLEASE!
 
 Egrey wrote:
Who are among the few, if only, artists that can get played twice in a row on RP?  The Beatles, that who.

 
Amen.
 Egrey wrote:
Who are among the few, if only, artists that can get played twice in a row on RP?  The Beatles, that who.

 
Caught my attention too. I agree completely {#Cheesygrin}
Who are among the few, if only, artists that can get played twice in a row on RP?  The Beatles, that who.
 PeterMC3 wrote:
Love this song though it sounds more like it belongs on Pink Floyd's first album than a Beatles track. Shows what versatility the Beatles possessed as they crossed so many musical genres.

 
By 1968 most bands had been delving into psychedelia for a couple of years - The Fab Four among them.  This doesn't sound as "out there" as the stuff on "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" to me though.
 Boy are they sure glad you like a few of their tracks lol  mrs tom, major tom  is calling!!  spare us your drivel lol {#Moon}MrsTom wrote:
One of the few Beatles tracks I like
 


Love this song though it sounds more like it belongs on Pink Floyd's first album than a Beatles track. Shows what versatility the Beatles possessed as they crossed so many musical genres.
 rpdevotee wrote:

AGREED!  Exactly what I was going to say!

 
It is indeed a wonder...
One of the few Beatles tracks I like
 Rick_V wrote:
One of the all-time great songs.

 
AGREED!  Exactly what I was going to say!
Ahh back in the day I'd put on the White Album and "eat a sandwich" while Back in the U.S.S.R. would play, and just as I realized I was "full" this song would come on.  So blissful.  To be young and without responsibility again...
Lovely....
{#Yes} you absolutely may so say, also affecting me at a very young age in an extremely profound way, they did.. {#Notworthy}
14 years old when this song aired. Trip down memory lane. Words do not adequately describe the impact of this band on my life. A very magical time in the music world  and very beautiful what this band did for me and alot of us if I may say so.

Pure musical brilliance......


Oh hell yeah, NICE FADE
One of the all-time great songs.
 martinc wrote:

Isn't that Donovan, Mia Farrow, Mary Anne Faithful, Peter Asher in that group. Where's Ringo?

 
That's Pattie (Harrison) Boyd on the far left, and I believe it's her sister Jenny Boyd on the extreme right.  Peter Asher is not in that picture, but his sister Jane Asher is standing beside Paul.  That's Mike Love peering over from behind Lennon and the maharishi. 
Takes me straight back to '68 when I was15, great track
 BMTR wrote:

f*** The Beatles.

Siouxsie and the Banshees rules! ;-)



 
Siousie and the Banshees canKiss My Ass FROM: John, Paul, George & Ringo

f*** The Beatles.

Siouxsie and the Banshees rules! ;-)


 segueman wrote:
I do not say this lightly when I say THIS is my favorite Beatle song!

 
It is top 5 for me and the others are interchangable...
Love this song...as I do pretty much all of the rest of their songs...but man, could you Imagine being a fly on the wall of the Jungle Room when the Beatles met Elvis...pure magic, I'd Imgaine ;)
<3
 ThePoose wrote:
Sir Paul is an underrated bassist.
 
Not to mention a pretty good drummer on this song.
I do not say this lightly when I say THIS is my favorite Beatle song!
This song is perfection.
The Beatles Paradox: Sing about love and acceptance but don't forgive and accept each other then dismantle the band.
this song is like that pair of jeans you've had forever....faded, full of holes, thread-bare, maybe should have been tossed twenty years ago.......but you still keep wearing them because they're the most comfortable gd pair of jeans you've ever owned
 Elroweho wrote:

Amen to that! I think the fact that all the Beatles music stands up so well over the years is one reason. I don't know of any other group that has had so much of their material continue influencing other bands many years after they stopped recording.

 

I don't think there is any.
Sir Paul is an underrated bassist.
wish i could give this song a 12, or 13 or 20.....Bill won't let me{#Dancingbanana_2}
Surely the redbeard is Mike Love.

 
martinc wrote:

Isn't that Donovan, Mia Farrow, Mary Anne Faithful, Peter Asher in that group. Where's Ringo?

 


 gjr wrote:
the older i get the more i like these guys........


and considering i've loved them since i was about 12 and im now 52 that's 40+ years of growing admiration, appreciation and love.....


 

 
Amen to that! I think the fact that all the Beatles music stands up so well over the years is one reason. I don't know of any other group that has had so much of their material continue influencing other bands many years after they stopped recording.
From the movie "Across the Universe" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvJRdS1CaYQ
 gjr wrote:
the older i get the more i like these guys........


and considering i've loved them since i was about 12 and im now 52 that's 40+ years of growing admiration, appreciation and love.....


 

 
Yes!
the older i get the more i like these guys........


and considering i've loved them since i was about 12 and im now 52 that's 40+ years of growing admiration, appreciation and love.....


 
 Jooostt wrote:


I had the same thought, till I read that it was actually Paul McCartney kicking the drums in this song.

 
Perhaps because during the recording of their last studio album, Ringo was protesting his role and the band's growing dysfunction and was not attending some of the sessions. 
wow
 Cynaera wrote:

I wanna meet everyone in your hotel room. I think we'd have a never-ending party...{#Cheers}
 

Miss you so much, Cynaera...

love this song...
 
I stand corrected.  https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/dear-prudence/

Clarification, I stand corrected on the drumming.  Other premise still stands: damnfinetune.
 unclehud wrote:
Damnfinetune.  Ringo kicking it, then bringing it home, baby.  Dude doesn't get his due props.

 

I had the same thought, till I read that it was actually Paul McCartney kicking the drums in this song.
After the segue from "Through the Veil", you can really notice the use of drone on the guitars.

 Deadwing wrote:

The Stones are just trailer park (Scum Village for our European friends) Beatles.
 
The Stones are nothing like the Beatles and comparisons between the two are for the dimwitted.  Such comparisons are for folks who live on stereotypes and cliches.

The great deal of respect that each of them had for the other is proof that picking one over the other is a pointless exercise.

The beauty of it all is that they BOTH exist.  Those that get to appreciate them both are the true winners.

Ditto here. 

Highspirits wrote:

Nicely expressed!  me, too.
 


 cShaggy wrote:
..The Beatles always make me think young..like a version of myself that stays in their moments & grows only fond of the time spent there..
 
Nicely expressed!  me, too.