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The Beatles — Nowhere Man
Album: Rubber Soul
Avg rating:
8.1

Your rating:
Total ratings: 417









Released: 1965
Length: 2:42
Plays (last 30 days): 0
He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere man, please listen (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
You don't know what you're missing (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Nowhere man (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
The world is at your command (aaah-aah-lala-lala-la)

He's as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere man, can you see me at all?

Nowhere man, don't worry (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Take your time; don't hurry (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Leave it all (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Till somebody else lends you a hand (aaah-aah-lala-lala)

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere man please listen (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
You don't know what you're missing (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
Nowhere man (aaah-ah-la-la-la)
The world is at your command (aaah-aah-lala-lala)

He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Comments (47)add comment
One of the better Beatle covers. There's something just right about Paul Westerberg covering this.

https://youtu.be/Trpl7Vu1aPU


listening with good headphones and really noticing that bass line.
Paul and Warren Buffet?! that's got to be photoshopped. if not, smart kid.

Lazarus wrote:
Paul McCartney and Warren Buffett selfie photo PaulMcCartneyandWarrenBuffettselfie_zpsf34267b9.jpg

 



george and john
 HazzeSwede wrote:
Ask romeo what rating he gave !{#Yes}

 

I be the holy ghost of big stud Romeo Tuma...  this is one of the best songs of all time...  I wish I could rate it higher...  this song squeezes my gizzards...  love it...  love the whole Rubber Soul...

 

Natalie Merchant - Beatles Nowhere Man, Live

Natalie Anne Merchant, 47 y old, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.

"Nowhere Man" is a song by The Beatles, from their hit album Rubber Soul (in the United States on the Yesterday ... and Today album). The song was written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon-McCartney).

It was recorded on 21 and 22 October 1965. "Nowhere Man" is among the very first Beatles' songs to be entirely unrelated to romance or love, and marks a notable instance of Lennon's philosophically-oriented songwriting.

Lennon claimed that he wrote the song about himself. He wrote it after racking his brain in desperation for five hours, trying to come up with another song for Rubber Soul. Lennon told Playboy: "I'd spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then 'Nowhere Man' came, words and music, the whole damn thing as I lay down".

McCartney said of the song: "That was John after a night out, with dawn coming up. I think at that point, he was a bit...wondering where he was going, and to be truthful so was I. I was starting to worry about him". 

The Beatles Live in Munich - 24 June, 1966

"Thank you so much for posting this. I have loved Natalie for over 25 years and I have never seen this. Love YTube."  




These lyrics still hold so true in today's political scene.  ..."making all his nowhere plans for nobody..." and then there's the inactive citizen who leaves everything to the nowhere politicians. 
 romeotuma wrote:


This is one of the best songs of all time...  love it...
 echasse wrote:

need I say more?

  Ask romeo what rating he gave !{#Yes}


 romeotuma wrote:


This is one of the best songs of all time...  love it...

 
need I say more?

 shutter wrote:
Perfect.
 
Agreed. 

Perfect.
 jagdriver wrote:


Debuts in the UK on Boxing Day (Dec. 26).

 
Any RP listeners in Britain seen this yet? Doesn't open in the US until this spring.

The Beatles and George Martin at their very best!
The glories of the remastered music via AAC - just beautiful.
 westslope wrote:

Was that a skip I just heard?   hehe

This song was on the North American-release Yesterday and Today.  One of my first albums.  That album and Revolver probably changed my outlook on popular music forever.


 
I think Revolver influenced many musicians, and probably still does.  Thought by many to be the Lads best work alongside Sgt. Pepper.

Excellent! Love the bouncy bass and rhythm guitar that keep driving the song forward.


Debuts in the UK on Boxing Day (Dec. 26).

OK, so he was sounded in 1965...{#Confused}
Those lyrics are so profound.  As timely today as they were way back then.
From Road to Nowhere to Nowhere man... {#Idea}
Talking Heads - Road To Nowhere {#Arrow} The Beatles - Nowhere Man

Was that a skip I just heard?   hehe

This song was on the North American-release Yesterday and Today.  One of my first albums.  That album and Revolver probably changed my outlook on popular music forever.


I am trying to come up with a Beatles song that is truly bad,,,still trying,,,have to get back on that! #9
Fab!
Joy !

thanks Bill ...  

keep this one around  will you ?
This song is really somehwere, man!
Plastic soul!
The genius of John Lennon, Jeremy Hilary Boob, PhD., George's utterly perfect solo, transcendent vocals. Lord, what doesn't this song have?

 fab4fan wrote:
This a great John Lennon song with beautiful harmonies from John,Paul and George and good guitar playing and singing! In The Beatles anthology video series they show them performing this song live,and even on the limited prminitive bad sound systems they had in those days,they still sounded great! :D
 

   I love the harmonies, especially George's (easily distinguishable on the la-la-las).

BTW, the book and video series is often referred to as the Beatles' Mythology, as many agree it's a compendium of the historical record as agreed upon by the Fabs (i.e., "faction"). It seems few, if any, can remember ALL of the nitty-gritty details, as much as Sir Paul would like to argue this point. Nevertheless, I enjoy having both in my extensive collection.

For true fans wanting a behind-the-scenes look at the recordings, (engineer) Geoff Emerick's memoir was FAR more interesting than anything crafted by George Martin (with all due respect). Through Geoff you learn about the details of the famed Abbey Road Studios echo chamber, the "seagulls" on Tomorrow Never Knows, etc. I found it riveting.


I agree!

But I guess no one is allowed to be tired of a Beatles song...  {#Silenced}
 
Skeletor wrote:
It's not dull or boring or outdated, but it is overplayed. Please, let's move on.Edited By Skeletor at 10:40 am on 3/13/2003
 

One thing that is memorable about this song was that when it first came out, it was impressive (as most Beatles songs were) because it wasn't about boy/girl/love ... it was about isolation and a sense of loss. Unusual for its time. The melody, harmony and great guitar work also help make this a favorite.
 Skeletor wrote:
It's not dull or boring or outdated, but it is overplayed. Please, let's move on.Edited By Skeletor at 10:40 am on 3/13/2003
 

What song over 3 days old is NOT overplayed?!  "Overplayed" is so overused. {#Wink}
This a great John Lennon song with beautiful harmonies from John,Paul and George and good guitar playing and singing! In The Beatles anthology video series they show them performing this song live,and even on the limited prminitive bad sound systems they had in those days,they still sounded great! :D
It's not dull or boring or outdated, but it is overplayed. Please, let's move on.
It has nothing to do with nostalgia. It's more to do with what Jacques said: so just because it doesn't lapse into techno or trance or change meter every 2 minutes or cover 6 musical styles in a single song don't make it dated, dull or boring
Originally Posted by jbmckee: Being unable to look at this song through the eyes of nostalgia, I just don't see much in it.
Being unable to look at this song through the eyes of nostalgia, I just don\'t see much in it.
Originally Posted by drover: Holy crap Jaques, take a valium or something. Nobody on this board has made any of the statements about this song that you're so vehemently refuting (as of this posting anyway). When you start lashing out at a position that was basically conjured up in your head, maybe it's time to step back and take a deep breath.
Holy crap Jaques, take a valium or something. Nobody on this board has made any of the statements about this song that you\'re so vehemently refuting (as of this posting anyway). When you start lashing out at a position that was basically conjured up in your head, maybe it\'s time to step back and take a deep breath.
Brilliant beautiful stuff... thanks Bill. Naturally someone will come and call this elevator music... well, like Elvis Costello retorted to Michael Stipe when he said the same of the Beatles... \"If it weren\'t for this elevator music, you\'d still be taking the stairs...\" Yes, naive and perhaps a little simple for 2002, but when this was written modern pop songs were scarecely beyond \"moon in june & silver spoons\" and \"girl loves boy, boy loves girl, they date, la de dah\" so spare me the \"elevator music\" crap... in its time it was genius (and I was 3 or 4 when it came out) and went in directions that top 40 material wouldn\'t dare of going. The melody alone is worth its weight in gold... so just because it doesn\'t lapse into techno or trance or change meter every 2 minutes or cover 6 musical styles in a single song don\'t make it dated, dull or boring... it\'s classic stuff and virtually beyond reproach, at least beyond inane reproach..if you don\'t like it at least have a coherent considered reason why... not just \"Cuz I don\'t like it\"... Just my measly 2 cents worth... Cheers Jacques Radio Paradise: What Radio Could Have Been.