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Mia Farrow is on record describing the incident that initiated the song and it would not make sense to exclude her version.
 
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{{Short description|Beatles song by Lennon-McCartney}}
{{Short description|1968 song by the Beatles}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
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| released = 22 November 1968
| released = 22 November 1968
| format =
| format =
| recorded = 19 and 24 July, 13 and 21 August 1968
| recorded = 19 and 24{{nbsp}}July, 13 and 21{{nbsp}}August 1968
| studio = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| studio = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| venue =
| venue =
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"'''Sexy Sadie'''" is a song by the English [[Rock music|rock]] group [[the Beatles]] from their 1968 double album ''[[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]]'' (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by [[John Lennon]] in India and credited to [[Lennon–McCartney]]. Lennon wrote the song during the Beatles' [[The Beatles in India|stay in India]] in response to the [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]'s alleged sexual advance on actress [[Mia Farrow]]. The song has been considered an early example of a [[diss track]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://societyofrock.com/10-classic-rock-songs-you-didnt-know-were-diss-tracks/|title=10 Classic Rock Songs You Didn't Know Were Diss Tracks|website=Society Of Rock}}</ref><ref>[https://stubru.be/zender/vaneminemtotfoofightersditzijndehardstedisstracksuitdegeschiedenis] {{dead link|date=April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/diss_tracks_in_rock_music-66673|title=Diss Tracks In Rock Music|website=Ultimate-guitar.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/d6110344-a901-4888-91be-0eb30b855a73|title=The 10 most vicious songs about real people - BBC Music|date=28 April 2016|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref>
"'''Sexy Sadie'''" is a song by the English [[Rock music|rock]] group [[the Beatles]] from their 1968 double album ''[[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]]'' (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by [[John Lennon]] in India and credited to [[Lennon–McCartney]]. Lennon wrote the song during the Beatles' [[The Beatles in India|stay in India]] in response to the [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]'s alleged sexual advance on actress [[Mia Farrow]]. The song has been considered an early example of a [[diss track]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://societyofrock.com/10-classic-rock-songs-you-didnt-know-were-diss-tracks/|title=10 Classic Rock Songs You Didn't Know Were Diss Tracks|website=Society Of Rock|date=5 March 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://stubru.be/zender/vaneminemtotfoofightersditzijndehardstedisstracksuitdegeschiedenis |title=Welkom &#124; Stubru |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121045532/https://stubru.be/zender/vaneminemtotfoofightersditzijndehardstedisstracksuitdegeschiedenis |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/diss_tracks_in_rock_music-66673|title=Diss Tracks In Rock Music|website=Ultimate-guitar.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/d6110344-a901-4888-91be-0eb30b855a73|title=The 10 most vicious songs about real people - BBC Music|date=28 April 2016|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref>


==Composition==
==Composition==
{{Main|The Beatles in India}}
{{Main|The Beatles in India}}
Lennon originally wanted to title the song "[[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi|Maharishi]]",<ref>{{cite book |last=Harry |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Harry |title=The Book of Beatle Lists |publisher=Javelin |year=1985 |isbn=0-7137-1521-9}}</ref> but changed the title to "Sexy Sadie" at [[George Harrison]]'s request. Lennon was disillusioned after [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] had allegedly made a sexual advance on [[Mia Farrow]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=''Lennon Remembers''|page=27|publisher=Verso, W.W. Norton & Co.|last=Wenner|first=Jann|author-link=Jann_Wenner|year=2000|orig-year=1971|isbn=1-85984-376-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymjy06WZnd4C&q=%22lennon+remembers%22+maharishi&pg=RA1-PA27|quote=Yeah, there was a big hullabaloo about him trying to rape Mia Farrow or trying to get off with Mia Farrow and a few other women, things like that.}}</ref> who was attending a course the Maharishi was teaching at his ashram in [[Rishikesh]], India. Harrison, [[Paul McCartney]], and [[Cynthia Lennon]] later said that they thought the story, which had come from [[Magic Alex|Alexis Mardas]], a.k.a. Magic Alex, had been fabricated.<ref name="brown-lovep264">{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Peter |year=2002 |author-link=Peter Brown (music industry) |last2=Gaines |first2=Steven |author-link2=Steven Gaines |title=The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |isbn=0-451-20735-1 |page=264}}</ref><ref name="spitz1p755-757">{{cite book |last=Spitz |first=Bob |year=2005 |author-link=Bob Spitz |title=The Beatles: The Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesbiography00spit |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Little, Brown]] |location=Boston |isbn=0-316-80352-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/beatlesbiography00spit/page/755 755–757]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lennon |first=Cynthia |year=1978 |title=A Twist of Lennon |publisher=Avon |pages=174–176}}</ref><ref name="anthologyp285-286">{{cite book |author=The Beatles |year=2000 |author-link=The Beatles |title=The Beatles Anthology |publisher=Chronicle Books |location=San Francisco |isbn=0-8118-2684-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/285 285–286] |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/285 }}</ref><ref name="miles1p429">{{cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |year=1997 |author-link=Barry Miles |title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5249-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile/page/429 429] |url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile/page/429 }}</ref> Lennon once said of the song: "That was inspired by Maharishi. I wrote it when we had our bags packed and were leaving. It was the last piece I wrote before I left India. I just called him 'Sexy Sadie' instead of (sings) 'Maharishi what have you done, you made a fool...' I was just using the situation to write a song, rather calculatingly but also to express what I felt. I was leaving the Maharishi with a bad taste. You know, it seems that my partings are always not as nice as I'd like them to be."<ref>{{cite book |title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |page=[https://archive.org/details/allwearesayingla00lenn/page/191 191] |last=Sheff |first=David |author-link=David Sheff |publisher=Macmillan |year=2000 |isbn=0-312-25464-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/allwearesayingla00lenn/page/191 }}</ref> He told ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' that when the Maharishi asked why he was leaving, he replied, "Well, if you're so ''cosmic'', you'll know why."<ref>{{cite web|title=93 – 'Sexy Sadie'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-beatles-songs-20110919/sexy-sadie-19691231|work=100 Greatest Beatles Songs|publisher=Rolling Stone}}</ref>
Lennon originally wanted to title the song "[[Maharishi]]",<ref>{{cite book |last=Harry |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Harry |title=The Book of Beatle Lists |publisher=Javelin |year=1985 |isbn=0-7137-1521-9}}</ref> but changed the title to "Sexy Sadie" at [[George Harrison]]'s request. Lennon was disillusioned after [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] had allegedly made a sexual advance on [[Mia Farrow]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=''Lennon Remembers''|page=27|publisher=Verso, W.W. Norton & Co.|last=Wenner|first=Jann|author-link=Jann Wenner|year=2000|orig-year=1971|isbn=1-85984-376-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymjy06WZnd4C&q=%22lennon+remembers%22+maharishi&pg=RA1-PA27|quote=Yeah, there was a big hullabaloo about him trying to rape Mia Farrow or trying to get off with Mia Farrow and a few other women, things like that.}}</ref> who was attending a course the Maharishi was teaching at his [[ashram]] in [[Rishikesh]], India. Harrison, [[Paul McCartney]], and [[Cynthia Lennon]] later said that they thought the story, which had come from [[Magic Alex|Alexis Mardas]], also known as "Magic Alex", had been fabricated.<ref name="brown-lovep264">{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Peter |year=2002 |author-link=Peter Brown (music industry) |last2=Gaines |first2=Steven |author-link2=Steven Gaines |title=The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |isbn=0-451-20735-1 |page=264}}</ref><ref name="spitz1p755-757">{{cite book |last=Spitz |first=Bob |year=2005 |author-link=Bob Spitz |title=The Beatles: The Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesbiography00spit |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Little, Brown]] |location=Boston |isbn=0-316-80352-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/beatlesbiography00spit/page/755 755–757]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lennon |first=Cynthia |year=1978 |title=A Twist of Lennon |publisher=Avon |pages=174–176}}</ref><ref name="anthologyp285-286">{{cite book |author=The Beatles |year=2000 |author-link=The Beatles |title=The Beatles Anthology |publisher=Chronicle Books |location=San Francisco |isbn=0-8118-2684-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/285 285–286] |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/285 }}</ref><ref name="miles1p429">{{cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |year=1997 |author-link=Barry Miles |title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5249-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile/page/429 429] |url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile/page/429 }}</ref> Lennon once said of the song: "That was inspired by Maharishi. I wrote it when we had our bags packed and were leaving. It was the last piece I wrote before I left India. I just called him 'Sexy Sadie' instead of (sings) 'Maharishi what have you done, you made a fool...' I was just using the situation to write a song, rather calculatingly but also to express what I felt. I was leaving the Maharishi with a bad taste. You know, it seems that my partings are always not as nice as I'd like them to be."<ref>{{cite book |title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |page=[https://archive.org/details/allwearesayingla00lenn/page/191 191] |last=Sheff |first=David |author-link=David Sheff |publisher=Macmillan |year=2000 |isbn=0-312-25464-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/allwearesayingla00lenn/page/191 }}</ref> He told ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' that when the Maharishi asked why he was leaving, he replied, "Well, if you're so ''cosmic'', you'll know why."<ref>{{cite web|title=93 – 'Sexy Sadie'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-beatles-songs-20110919/sexy-sadie-19691231|work=100 Greatest Beatles Songs|date=10 April 2020 |publisher=Rolling Stone}}</ref>


After returning from India, Lennon scratched the lyrics into a piece of wood, with the original title "Maharishi". According to Harrison's account in the director's cut of the [[Beatles Anthology (TV series)|''Beatles Anthology'']] documentary, the recorded version changed only after Harrison insisted that if the song was used its name must be changed and persuaded Lennon to retitle it "Sexy Sadie". [[Derek Taylor]] remembered Lennon's scratching the wood in the [[Apple Corps|Apple offices]]. The wood ended up in [[Maureen Starkey Tigrett|Maureen Starkey]]'s possession and was ultimately sold to a Beatles collector.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}
After returning from India, Lennon scratched the lyrics into a piece of wood, with the original title "Maharishi". According to Harrison's account in the director's cut of the ''[[The Beatles Anthology|Beatles Anthology]]'' (1995) documentary, the recorded version changed only after Harrison insisted that if the song was used its name must be changed and persuaded Lennon to retitle it "Sexy Sadie". [[Derek Taylor]] remembered Lennon's scratching the wood in the [[Apple Corps|Apple offices]].


According to [[Mark Lewisohn]]'s ''[[The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions]]'', an early outtake of "Sexy Sadie" features Lennon demonstrating the song's original working lyrics to the rest of the band: "Maharishi, you little twat/Who the fuck do you think you are?/Who the fuck do you think you are?/Oh, you cunt."{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}
According to [[Mark Lewisohn]]'s ''[[The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions]]'' (1988), an early outtake of "Sexy Sadie" features Lennon demonstrating the song's original working lyrics to the rest of the band: "Maharishi, you little twat/Who the fuck do you think you are?/Who the fuck do you think you are?/Oh, you cunt."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewisohn |first1=Mark |title=The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970 |date=1988 |publisher=Hamlyn |isbn=0-681-03189-1 |page=144}}</ref>


The song's instrumental fadeout was originally longer and featured a breakdown based around the [[middle eight]]. This was edited out before mixing.
The song's instrumental fadeout was originally 39 seconds longer and featured a breakdown based around the [[middle eight]]. This was edited out before mixing.


In a 1968 ''Rolling Stone'' interview, Lennon complimented the song "[[I've Been Good to You]]" by [[Smokey Robinson]] and [[the Miracles]].<ref name="Cott">{{cite journal |last=Cott |first=Jonathan |date=23 November 1968 |title=The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-lennon-the-rolling-stone-interview-19681123 |journal=[[Rolling Stone]] |location=San Francisco |publisher=Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. |access-date=10 July 2014 }}</ref> The Miracles song begins with the lines "Look what you've done/You made a fool out of someone",<ref>{{cite web |title="I've Been Good to You" lyrics |url=http://motownjunkies.co.uk/2010/04/30/145/ |access-date=10 July 2014 }}</ref> echoing "Sexy Sadie"'s "What have you done?/You made a fool of everyone".<ref>{{cite web |title="Sexy Sadie" lyrics |url=http://www.beatleslyrics.org/index_files/Page8608.htm |access-date=10 July 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Cott"/>
In a 1968 ''Rolling Stone'' interview, Lennon compared the song to "[[I've Been Good to You]]" by [[Smokey Robinson]] and [[the Miracles]].<ref name="Cott">{{cite magazine |last=Cott |first=Jonathan |date=23 November 1968 |title=The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-lennon-the-rolling-stone-interview-19681123 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |location=San Francisco |publisher=Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. |access-date=10 July 2014 }}</ref> The Miracles song begins with the lines "Look what you've done/You made a fool out of someone",<ref>{{cite web |title="I've Been Good to You" lyrics |date=30 April 2010 |url=http://motownjunkies.co.uk/2010/04/30/145/ |access-date=10 July 2014 }}</ref> echoing "Sexy Sadie{{"'}}s "What have you done?/You made a fool of everyone".<ref>{{cite web |title="Sexy Sadie" lyrics |url=http://www.beatleslyrics.org/index_files/Page8608.htm |access-date=10 July 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Cott"/>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of ''[[The Independent]]'' listed "Sexy Sadie" at number six in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He wrote of the song: "To this day "Sexy Sadie" drips with bittersweet disdain, its moody final minute—inspiring [[Radiohead]]'s "[[Karma Police]]" and "[[Four Out of Five]]" by [[Arctic Monkeys]]—managing to spring hairs on end, however many times you've heard it."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-beatles-white-album-tracks-ranked-paul-mccartney-john-lennon-george-harrison-50-anniversary-a8643431.html|first=Jacob|last=Stolworthy|title=The Beatles' White Album tracks, ranked – from Blackbird to While My Guitar Gently Weeps|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=22 November 2018|access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref> Also in 2018, ''[[Time Out London]]'' ranked "Sexy Sadie" at number 14 on its list of the best Beatles songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs|author=Time Out London Music|title=The 50 Best Beatles songs|website=[[Time Out London]]|date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215173746/https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs|archive-date=15 December 2018|access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref>
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of ''[[The Independent]]'' listed "Sexy Sadie" at number six in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He wrote of the song: "To this day 'Sexy Sadie' drips with bittersweet disdain, its moody final minute—inspiring [[Radiohead]]'s '[[Karma Police]]' and '[[Four Out of Five]]' by [[Arctic Monkeys]]—managing to spring hairs on end, however many times you've heard it."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-beatles-white-album-tracks-ranked-paul-mccartney-john-lennon-george-harrison-50-anniversary-a8643431.html|first=Jacob|last=Stolworthy|title=The Beatles' White Album tracks, ranked – from Blackbird to While My Guitar Gently Weeps|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=22 November 2018|access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref> Also in 2018, ''[[Time Out London]]'' ranked "Sexy Sadie" at number 14 on its list of the best Beatles songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs|author=Time Out London Music|title=The 50 Best Beatles songs|website=[[Time Out London]]|date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215173746/https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs|archive-date=15 December 2018|access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref>

George Harrison commented years later, "Now, historically, there's the story that something went on that shouldn't have done – but nothing did." In 1992, Harrison gave a benefit concert for the Maharishi-associated [[Natural Law Party]], and later apologised for the way the Maharishi had been treated by saying, "We were very young" and "It's probably in the history books that Maharishi 'tried to attack Mia Farrow' – but it's bullshit, total bullshit." Cynthia Lennon wrote in 2006 that she "hated leaving on a note of discord and mistrust, when we had enjoyed so much kindness from the Maharishi". Asked if he forgave the Beatles, the Maharishi replied, "I could never be upset with angels." McCartney took his daughter, Stella, to visit the Maharishi in the Netherlands in 2007, which renewed their friendship.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/285 |title=The Beatles Anthology |publisher=Chronicle Books |year=2000 |isbn=0-8118-2684-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse/page/285 285–86]}}</ref>

Mia Farrow meanwhile maintains she was sexually harassed by the Maharishi, saying, “[s]uddenly I became aware of two surprisingly male, hairy arms going around me.” <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a23653929/mia-farrow-women-in-hollywood-me-too/|author=Elle Magazine|title=Mia Farrow Takes an Unflinching Look at Her Past in the Wake of the #MeToo Movement|website=[[Elle Magazine]]|date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112073408/https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a23653929/mia-farrow-women-in-hollywood-me-too/|archive-date=12 January 2024|access-date=6 April 2024}}</ref>


==Personnel==
==Personnel==


* [[John Lennon]] – lead and [[Backing vocalist|backing vocals]], rhythm guitar
* [[John Lennon]] – lead and [[Backing vocalist|backing vocals]], rhythm guitar
⚫
* [[George Harrison]] – backing vocals, lead guitar, tambourine<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Howlett|first=Kevin|title=The Beatles (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Version) (book).|publisher=Apple Records|year=2018}}</ref>
* [[Paul McCartney]] – backing vocals, piano, bass guitar, [[Hammond organ]],<ref name=":0" /> guitar<ref name=":0" />
* [[Paul McCartney]] – backing vocals, piano, bass guitar, [[Hammond organ]],<ref name=":0" /> guitar<ref name=":0" />
⚫
* [[George Harrison]] – backing vocals, lead guitar, tambourine<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Howlett|first=Kevin|title=The Beatles (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Version) (book).|publisher=Apple Records|year=2018}}</ref>
* [[Ringo Starr]] – drums
* [[Ringo Starr]] – drums


==Influence==
==Influence==
⚫
* [[Ringo Starr]] referenced the song in the lyrics of both "Devil Woman" (from 1973's ''[[Ringo (album)|Ringo]]'') and "Drumming Is My Madness" (from 1981's ''[[Stop and Smell the Roses (Ringo Starr album)|Stop and Smell the Roses]]'').
* Various members of the [[Manson Family]] took the title of this song as a reference to Manson Family member [[Susan Atkins]], who was nicknamed Sadie Mae Glutz, before the release of the "White Album".
⚫
* [[George Harrison]] also referenced the song in "[[Simply Shady]]", from his 1974 album ''[[Dark Horse (George Harrison album)|Dark Horse]]''.<ref>{{cite book| first=Ian |last=Inglis| title=The Words and Music of George Harrison| publisher=Praeger| location=Santa Barbara, CA| year=2010|isbn=978-0-313-37532-3 |page=45}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Simon |last=Leng| title=While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison| publisher=Hal Leonard| location=Milwaukee, WI| year=2006| isbn=1-4234-0609-5| page=151}}</ref>
⚫
* [[Ringo Starr]] referenced the song in the lyrics of both "Devil Woman" (from 1973's ''[[Ringo (album)|Ringo]]'') and "Drumming is My Madness" (from 1981's ''[[Stop and Smell the Roses (Ringo Starr album)|Stop and Smell the Roses]]'').
⚫
* George Harrison also referenced the song in "[[Simply Shady]]", from his 1974 album ''[[Dark Horse (George Harrison album)|Dark Horse]]''.<ref>{{cite book| first=Ian |last=Inglis| title=The Words and Music of George Harrison| publisher=Praeger| location=Santa Barbara, CA| year=2010|isbn=978-0-313-37532-3 |page=45}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Simon |last=Leng| title=While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison| publisher=Hal Leonard| location=Milwaukee, WI| year=2006| isbn=1-4234-0609-5| page=151}}</ref>
* The song inspired one of the characters' names in the 2007 Beatles-themed film ''[[Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe]]'', Sadie (played by [[Dana Fuchs]]).
* The song inspired one of the characters' names in the 2007 Beatles-themed film ''[[Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe]]'', Sadie (played by [[Dana Fuchs]]).
* The band [[Sexy Sadie (band)|Sexy Sadie]] took their name from this song.
* The band [[Sexy Sadie (band)|Sexy Sadie]] took their name from this song.
* The main piano riff in the [[Radiohead]] song "[[Karma Police]]" is inspired by the piano part in this song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/muse-we-blew-them-all-off-the-stage-415987.html|title=Story of the Song: 'Karma Police' Radiohead (1997)|last=Webb|first=Robert|date=15 September 2006|website=The Independent|access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref>
* The main piano riff in the [[Radiohead]] song "[[Karma Police]]" is inspired by the piano part in this song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/muse-we-blew-them-all-off-the-stage-415987.html|title=Story of the Song: 'Karma Police' Radiohead (1997)|last=Webb|first=Robert|date=15 September 2006|website=The Independent|access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref>
* Australian rock band [[Jet (band)|Jet]] were accused of copying both the lyrics and melody of "Sexy Sadie" as well as that of Lennon's "[[Imagine (John Lennon song)|Imagine]]" for their 2004 song "[[Look What You've Done]]", which charted within the top 40 in the UK and US.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}


==Cover versions==
==Cover versions==
When ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' released ''The White Album Recovered'' in 2008, part of a continuing series of CDs of Beatles albums covered track-by-track by modern artists, the track was covered by [[Rachel Unthank and the Winterset]]. The disc also featured a bonus track of the same song performed by [[Paul Weller]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mojocovercds.com/cd/306 |title=Archived copy |access-date=26 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202101752/http://www.mojocovercds.com/cd/306 |archive-date=2 February 2014 }}</ref>
When ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' released ''The White Album Recovered'' in 2008, part of a continuing series of CDs of Beatles albums covered track-by-track by modern artists, the track was covered by [[Rachel Unthank and the Winterset]]. The disc also featured a bonus track of the same song performed by [[Paul Weller]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mojocovercds.com/cd/306 |title=The White Album Recovered 2 - Track Listing &#124; Mojo Cover CDS - the Definitive List |access-date=26 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202101752/http://www.mojocovercds.com/cd/306 |archive-date=2 February 2014 }}</ref>


The song was also covered by [[Anderson .Paak]] on multi-instrumentalist and producer [[Kush mody|Kush Mody]]'s first album ''Creature Comforts''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Kush Mody - Topic|title=Sexy Sadie (feat. Anderson .Paak)|date=22 August 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ADfyJbQTZo-Topic|access-date=6 June 2017}}</ref>
The song was also covered by [[Anderson .Paak]] on multi-instrumentalist and producer [[Kush mody|Kush Mody]]'s first album ''Creature Comforts'' (2014).<ref>{{Citation|last=Kush Mody - Topic|title=Sexy Sadie (feat. Anderson .Paak)|date=22 August 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ADfyJbQTZo-Topic|access-date=6 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:The Beatles songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney]]
[[Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:Songs published by Northern Songs]]
[[Category:Songs published by Northern Songs]]
[[Category:Songs about religious leaders]]
[[Category:The Beatles and India]]
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[[Category:Diss tracks]]

Latest revision as of 08:01, 6 April 2024

For other uses, see Sexy Sadie (disambiguation).

"Sexy Sadie"
Cover of the song's sheet music
Song by the Beatles
from the album The Beatles
PublishedNorthern Songs
Released22 November 1968
Recorded19 and 24 July, 13 and 21 August 1968
StudioEMI, London
GenreRock
Length3:15
LabelApfel
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

"Sexy Sadie" is a song by the English rock group the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by John Lennon in India and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon wrote the song during the Beatles' stay in India in response to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's alleged sexual advance on actress Mia Farrow. The song has been considered an early example of a diss track.[1][2][3][4]

Composition

[edit]
Main article: The Beatles in India

Lennon originally wanted to title the song "Maharishi",[5] but changed the title to "Sexy Sadie" at George Harrison's request. Lennon was disillusioned after Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had allegedly made a sexual advance on Mia Farrow,[6] who was attending a course the Maharishi was teaching at his ashram in Rishikesh, India. Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Cynthia Lennon later said that they thought the story, which had come from Alexis Mardas, also known as "Magic Alex", had been fabricated.[7][8][9][10][11] Lennon once said of the song: "That was inspired by Maharishi. I wrote it when we had our bags packed and were leaving. It was the last piece I wrote before I left India. I just called him 'Sexy Sadie' instead of (sings) 'Maharishi what have you done, you made a fool...' I was just using the situation to write a song, rather calculatingly but also to express what I felt. I was leaving the Maharishi with a bad taste. You know, it seems that my partings are always not as nice as I'd like them to be."[12] He told Rolling Stone that when the Maharishi asked why he was leaving, he replied, "Well, if you're so cosmic, you'll know why."[13]

After returning from India, Lennon scratched the lyrics into a piece of wood, with the original title "Maharishi". According to Harrison's account in the director's cut of the Beatles Anthology (1995) documentary, the recorded version changed only after Harrison insisted that if the song was used its name must be changed and persuaded Lennon to retitle it "Sexy Sadie". Derek Taylor remembered Lennon's scratching the wood in the Apple offices.

According to Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (1988), an early outtake of "Sexy Sadie" features Lennon demonstrating the song's original working lyrics to the rest of the band: "Maharishi, you little twat/Who the fuck do you think you are?/Who the fuck do you think you are?/Oh, you cunt."[14]

The song's instrumental fadeout was originally 39 seconds longer and featured a breakdown based around the middle eight. This was edited out before mixing.

In a 1968 Rolling Stone interview, Lennon compared the song to "I've Been Good to You" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.[15] The Miracles song begins with the lines "Look what you've done/You made a fool out of someone",[16] echoing "Sexy Sadie"'s "What have you done?/You made a fool of everyone".[17][15]

Legacy

[edit]

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of The Independent listed "Sexy Sadie" at number six in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He wrote of the song: "To this day 'Sexy Sadie' drips with bittersweet disdain, its moody final minute—inspiring Radiohead's 'Karma Police' and 'Four Out of Five' by Arctic Monkeys—managing to spring hairs on end, however many times you've heard it."[18] Also in 2018, Time Out London ranked "Sexy Sadie" at number 14 on its list of the best Beatles songs.[19]

George Harrison commented years later, "Now, historically, there's the story that something went on that shouldn't have done – but nothing did." In 1992, Harrison gave a benefit concert for the Maharishi-associated Natural Law Party, and later apologised for the way the Maharishi had been treated by saying, "We were very young" and "It's probably in the history books that Maharishi 'tried to attack Mia Farrow' – but it's bullshit, total bullshit." Cynthia Lennon wrote in 2006 that she "hated leaving on a note of discord and mistrust, when we had enjoyed so much kindness from the Maharishi". Asked if he forgave the Beatles, the Maharishi replied, "I could never be upset with angels." McCartney took his daughter, Stella, to visit the Maharishi in the Netherlands in 2007, which renewed their friendship.[20]

Mia Farrow meanwhile maintains she was sexually harassed by the Maharishi, saying, “[s]uddenly I became aware of two surprisingly male, hairy arms going around me.” [21]

Personnel

[edit]

Influence

[edit]

Cover versions

[edit]

When Mojo released The White Album Recovered in 2008, part of a continuing series of CDs of Beatles albums covered track-by-track by modern artists, the track was covered by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset. The disc also featured a bonus track of the same song performed by Paul Weller.[26]

The song was also covered by Anderson .Paak on multi-instrumentalist and producer Kush Mody's first album Creature Comforts (2014).[27]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "10 Classic Rock Songs You Didn't Know Were Diss Tracks". Society Of Rock. 5 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Welkom | Stubru". Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Diss Tracks In Rock Music". Ultimate-guitar.com.
  4. ^ "The 10 most vicious songs about real people - BBC Music". Bbc.co.uk. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  5. ^ Harry, Bill (1985). The Book of Beatle Lists. Javelin. ISBN 0-7137-1521-9.
  6. ^ Wenner, Jann (2000) [1971]. Lennon Remembers. Verso, W.W. Norton & Co. p. 27. ISBN 1-85984-376-X. Yeah, there was a big hullabaloo about him trying to rape Mia Farrow or trying to get off with Mia Farrow and a few other women, things like that.
  7. ^ Brown, Peter; Gaines, Steven (2002). The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles. New York: New American Library. p. 264. ISBN 0-451-20735-1.
  8. ^ Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Boston: Little, Brown. pp. 755–757. ISBN 0-316-80352-9.
  9. ^ Lennon, Cynthia (1978). A Twist of Lennon. Avon. pp. 174–176.
  10. ^ The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. pp. 285–286. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
  11. ^ Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 429. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
  12. ^ Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Macmillan. p. 191. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
  13. ^ "93 – 'Sexy Sadie'". 100 Greatest Beatles Songs. Rolling Stone. 10 April 2020.
  14. ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970. Hamlyn. p. 144. ISBN 0-681-03189-1.
  15. ^ a b Cott, Jonathan (23 November 1968). "The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  16. ^ ""I've Been Good to You" lyrics". 30 April 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  17. ^ ""Sexy Sadie" lyrics". Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  18. ^ Stolworthy, Jacob (22 November 2018). "The Beatles' White Album tracks, ranked – from Blackbird to While My Guitar Gently Weeps". The Independent. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  19. ^ Time Out London Music (24 May 2018). "The 50 Best Beatles songs". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  20. ^ The Beatles Anthology. Chronicle Books. 2000. pp. 285–86. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
  21. ^ Elle Magazine (10 October 2018). "Mia Farrow Takes an Unflinching Look at Her Past in the Wake of the #MeToo Movement". Elle Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  22. ^ a b c Howlett, Kevin (2018). The Beatles (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Version) (book). Apple Records.
  23. ^ Inglis, Ian (2010). The Words and Music of George Harrison. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-313-37532-3.
  24. ^ Leng, Simon (2006). While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. p. 151. ISBN 1-4234-0609-5.
  25. ^ Webb, Robert (15 September 2006). "Story of the Song: 'Karma Police' Radiohead (1997)". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  26. ^ "The White Album Recovered 2 - Track Listing | Mojo Cover CDS - the Definitive List". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  27. ^ Kush Mody - Topic (22 August 2015), Sexy Sadie (feat. Anderson .Paak), retrieved 6 June 2017[dead YouTube link]
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