Beatles – You Never Give Me Your Money—- Songs That Reference Money

This was part of the famous Abbey Road medley that featured parts of songs by the Beatles.

John Lennon usually wrote about what he knew best…himself and and his personal views. Paul would many times write about fantasy…he would write about his significant other at any given time also but this is one of the few songs that he was living through. Unlike John he usually would mask things more.

Allen Klein’s time as manager built-up tensions within the band. Paul wanted Lee Eastman his in-law at the helm but John, George, and Ringo wanted the notrious Allen Klein. Klein managed the Stones for years and at the end Mick and company found out that they inadvertently signed away their songs up until 1969 to him. Paul was right in this case…they should have never gone with Klein but Paul should have picked someone else but his in-laws as a choice. No way were the others going to go with that decision.

The song was about Klein and his attitude. Always telling them how much they were worth but never handing over cash…just money figures on “funny paper.”

This song was the first song in the medley. It is actually 3 short songs into one. “You Never Give Me Your Money, ” “Out of College section,” and the “One Sweet Dream section”

I’ve been asked, what’s so special about the Beatles? The medley on side 2 of Abbey Road is just one of many things.

Paul McCartney: “This was me directly lambasting Allen Klein’s attitude to us,” “no money, just funny paper, all promises and it never works out. It’s basically a song about no faith in the person, that found its way into the medley on ‘Abbey Road.’ John saw the humor in it.”

George Harrison: “We get bits of paper, saying how much is earned and what this and that is, but we never actually get it in pounds, shillings and pence. We’ve all got a big house and a car and an office, but to actually get the money we’ve earned seems impossible.”

 

From Songfacts

This song is about The Beatles’ business problems. When their manager Brian Epstein died in 1967, they were burdened with handling their own finances, which became a source of tension in the band.

This is the first of a medley of songs on Abbey Road, which goes another 15 minutes to “The End.”

By 1969, members of The Beatles had a lot of unfinished song ideas, which they sometimes combined. This contains fragments of four songs put into one.

Regarding the lines, “You never give me your money, you only give me your funny paper,” “Funny Paper” is how The Beatles felt they were paid. They got frustrated when their accountants would tell them how much they were worth “on paper,” without actually telling them how much money they had.

Paul McCartney played this combined with “Carry That Weight” on his 2002 “Back In The US” tour.

You Never Give Me Your Money

You never give me your money
You only give me your funny paper
And in the middle of negotiations
You break down

I never give you my number
I only give you my situation
And in the middle of investigation
I break down

Out of college, money spent
See no future, pay no rent
All the money’s gone, nowhere to go
Any jobber got the sack
Monday morning, turning back
Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go
But oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go
Oh, that magic feeling
Nowhere to go, nowhere to go

One sweet dream
Pick up the bags and get in the limousine
Soon we’ll be away from here
Step on the gas and wipe that tear away
One sweet dream came true today
Came true today
Came true today (yes, it did)

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven

 

 

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

34 thoughts on “Beatles – You Never Give Me Your Money—- Songs That Reference Money”

    1. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone try…It melded together perfectly…I listened to it last night and thought…wow…after no telling how many times I’ve listened to it.

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      2. I’ve only seen that one once. I want to see it again. Isn’t he in the mirror in a redo of the mirror scene from…I think from Duck Soup? I loved that one.
        Check out when you can his commercials from the 50s…they are really surreal…

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    1. Him and Stan Polley are two of the biggest villians I’ve read about in the rock world. There are a lot more…but them two messed with my favorite bands.

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      3. Yea he was one of them no doubt…one of the top ones…after reading so many stories…I realize how lucky the Beatles were until Klein.

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  3. Indeed, part of a really good and interesting “song”/medley. Your point is good about the two different writing approaches of John and Paul – just another reason they were so good.

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    1. I know…and luckily he didn’t get as much from them…it was the Stones he fleeced…and I mean bad. His estate still owns their songs from 63-69…small print they didnt read.

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      1. Oh yeah I’ll be doing my weekend spins still and the odd one.
        Think we’re doing another live stream Friday night
        I’ll keep ya posted

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    1. When you think about it they were so fortunate more than others… not only Brian who didn’t take advantage but also George Martin who didn’t try to push his songs on them.

      I just finished Born to Run and I was looking for another audio book… I’ve seen this one but wasn’t sure… thanks I’ll get it next.

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    1. Christian…I never get tired of it. It fits together like a great puzzle. I listened to it all again when I wrote this one Monday night…this is why I love The Beatles. They had the Midas Touch.

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  11. After the Mustard/Pam/Bathroom trilogy, this is a favorite from the second side of Abbey Road.

    I heard somebody did a re-edit of the medley. I don’t remember what the circumstances were, but it was weird hearing the individual songs in a different order. I like the original.

    I also like the way you point out that this song is actually a three parter. All about money, but the tone changes. Good stuff.

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      1. There is nothing preventing you from writing a post on the entire medley. Yes, they are individual songs and we know them as such, but it is also one piece put together.

        Hey, it is your blog. You can do what you want!!! (As if you need permission.) 🙂

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      2. You know…I might do that…a composite. You are correct…but I still ask people at times. Sometimes when I do “question” posts….I’ll usually say “this sounded good in thought but may not work as a post”… I guess it’s being unsure about myself…I usually do it anyway.

        I have one I’m going to post maybe next Friday…. since no one will see this but you and me….the question is “You are not supposed to like music or movies before your time”…. I heard that growing up and of course I disagree…but it might not work good as a post but we will see…
        A co-worker at one point could not comprehend why I liked The Beatles and other older bands….I should like my teenage year music that was on the radio… I said uh…no…I grew up in the 80s synth based era…no thank you…besides I WAS listening to the Beatles, Who, Stones, and Kinks while a teen.

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      3. I see such a post as an invitation to talk about stuff I LOVE that came out before I was born. I was born in 1953. There’s an acoustic blues giant name of Mississippi John Hurt who did his initial recordings in 1928. Pete Johnson and Big Joe Turner is an easy example. Reverend Gary Davis. There are some big band swing recordings I think are pretty hot that came out long before I was born. The music I learned from my parents, some of it predates my birth. And this is just a short thought.

        As for movies? Oh my Gawd!!! Harvey, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, African Queen, Maltese Falcon, The Great McGinty, It Happened One night…

        Proof of how ridiculous this is comes from a movie that I don’t really care that much for: The Wizard of Oz.

        The resolution is to answer the question. Why do you like the music of the Beatles? Because it is great stuff. Great stuff knows no timeline boundaries.

        What? Are we not supposed to appreciate music from previous centuries? Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, and the list goes on and on. Roll over Beethoven, my birth certificate won’t let me hear your creation.

        Quality outweighs what generation might claim the work. Who’s On First is classic comedy. Am I only supposed to appreciate what the Credibility Gap did in reworking the bit? Instead of “baseball players” they tried to use the Who, the Guess Who, etc.

        By the way, do you know of the Credibility Gap? Very early Michael McKean, David L. Lander and Harry Shearer. Sure you know them. Think Lenny and Squiggy (McKean and Lander) and Spinal Tap (McKean and Shearer), not to mention all the other stuff they have done since doing the news, kinda, on KRLA in the late 60s.

        I think the question and the premise is absurd. I think the opportunity to talk about stuff other than AC/DC (one of the bands that I’ve never really followed but notice there are all sorts of pieces based on them) is great.

        Have you heard Mississippi John Hurt? One of the songs that he is usually credited with is the lovely “My Creole Belle.” A few months ago I found out that the song did not originate with Hurt but is an adaptation of a military band march called “My Creole Belles.” I admit the fact that I have no one to share such a discovery with has been very frustrating.

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