You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

(Lennon/McCartney)

Quick Facts

Composer	John
Lead Vocal	John
Recorded	Feb 1965
Length	2:11
Key	G
Noted Takes	9
Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith

Originally released on

Help!

Parlophone — PMC 1255

Find on Amazon

Story

“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written and sung by John Lennon and released on the album Help! in August 1965. [Wikipedia]

You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney and led on vocal by John Lennon. Most explicit Dylan homage; flute solo by Johnnie Scott. Within the catalogue, its acoustic thread connects it to Things We Said Today, I’ll Follow the Sun, I’ve Just Seen a Face. John Lennon’s explicit homage to Bob Dylan’s folk idiom, recorded 18 February 1965, marks the Beatles’ deepest folk-acoustic pivot yet. The song reflects Dylan’s lyrical introspection and marks a watershed moment: the first Beatles recording — excepting Andy White’s 1962 drumming credit — to feature the work of an outside musician, brought in especially for a preconceived purpose. The ballad represents a continuation of the introspective songwriting tradition established with I’m a Loser, and exemplifies Lennon’s growing interest in folk-acoustic expression during the Help! sessions.

What’s distinctive

At 2:11 it sits in the shorter quarter of the canon. One of 101 songs led primarily by John. Recorded approximately 6 of 14 into the Help! sessions. Take count: 9 — only two of the nine takes being complete; a shortened afternoon session (3.30–5.15pm) on 18 February 1965 devoted entirely to this single acoustic composition. Notable as the first Beatles recording to feature an outside session musician (flautist Johnnie Scott, playing tenor and alto flute) since Andy White’s drumming on Love Me Do in September 1962.¹

Recording

You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away was recorded on Thursday 18 February 1965 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, Studio Two, in a shortened afternoon session running from 3.30 to 5.15pm. Nine takes were recorded, with only two of the nine being complete. It was the fourth day of the concentrated 15–20 February Help! recording week: Ticket to Ride, Another Girl and I Need You had been taped on 15 February; overdubs and Yes It Is on 16 February; and The Night Before and You Like Me Too Much on 17 February. The same day’s evening session (6.00–10.30pm) produced Tell Me What You See.¹
“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, described as “very much inspired by Bob Dylan,” is “notable for being the first Beatles recording — excepting the use of Andy White on ‘Love Me Do’ back on 11 September 1962 — to feature the work of an outside musician, brought in especially for a preconceived purpose.” The musician was Johnnie Scott (later known simply as John Scott), “who in addition to being a fine flautist was much in demand at Abbey Road studios at this time as a musical arranger, working with such artistes as Cilla Black.” Scott played both tenor flute and alto flute, “the second as an overdub.”¹
The song has “no electrical instruments and was recorded from start to finish in a shortened afternoon session.” The entirely acoustic arrangement — acoustic guitars, bass, drums, tambourine, maracas and flute — marks a significant departure from the electric textures of the surrounding Help! songs such as Ticket to Ride and The Night Before, reflecting Lennon’s absorption of Dylan’s folk idiom.¹
The four-track layout shows the acoustic arrangement spread across four tracks: Track 1 carries drums, bass and acoustic guitars; Track 2 carries John’s lead vocal and a flute part (a second flute performance, recorded after John’s vocal ended on the track); Track 3 carries additional acoustic guitar, maracas and tambourine; Track 4 carries the other flute part. George Martin’s session notes confirm the unusual instrumentation: Paul on maracas, Ringo on tambourine — a reversal of the band’s more typical percussion assignments.²
The flute addition was preconceived, not an afterthought: “As George Martin’s session notes show, the flute addition was not an afterthought, but had already been decided upon at the time of the band’s recording of the song.” Scott recalled: “They told me roughly what they wanted, 3/4 time, and the best way of fulfilling their needs was to play both tenor flute and alto flute, the second as an overdub. As I recall, all four of them were there and Ringo was full of marital joys, he’d just come back from his honeymoon.”^1,2
The song was recorded on the Telefunken four-track tape machine, operated from the remote machine room (Room 1A or Room 1B) rather than from within the control room. This separation meant the tape operator worked in a different room from balance engineer Norman Smith, with limited communication between them. The Studer J37 four-track would not arrive in the Studio Two control room until April 1965, after which “virtually all four-track recording carried out for the remainder of the Beatles’ career would take place on the J-37.” The remote-machine-room arrangement also made drop-in overdubs riskier, as the poor communication between control room and machine room made precision difficult; this practice became far more common once the J37 brought the tape machine into the control room itself.²
The mono mix was prepared on Saturday 20 February 1965 (5.15–6.00pm, from take 9), alongside the doomed That Means a Lot. This completed a full set of mono remixes for all 11 songs recorded during the 15–20 February week. “On 22 February the group flew to the Bahamas to begin shooting the film for which the recordings were made, taking with them a copy tape of all 11 remixes for the approval, or otherwise, of the film’s producer and director, Walter Shenson and Dick Lester respectively.” The stereo mix followed on 23 February (10.00am–1.00pm, from take 9), prepared by Norman Smith and second engineer Malcolm Davies without the Beatles present, as part of a batch session covering all 11 songs from the week.¹
The recording took place during a concentrated week that Lewisohn describes as reflecting the Beatles’ “embarrassment of songwriting riches.” Between 15 and 20 February 1965, the group taped 11 songs in six days, including Ticket to Ride, Another Girl, I Need You, Yes It Is, The Night Before, You Like Me Too Much, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, Tell Me What You See, If You’ve Got Trouble, You’re Going to Lose That Girl and That Means a Lot. The group had adopted new recording techniques for 1965: “One was to rehearse songs with a tape machine running, spooling back to record properly over the rehearsed material. Another was to make finished, releasable recordings in just one or two takes.”¹

Equipment

Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Two (recording, 18 Feb 1965); Studio Two control room (mono mix, 20 Feb; stereo mix, 23 Feb)
Tape machine	Telefunken four-track (the Studer J37 was not installed in the Studio Two control room until April 1965)²
Console	REDD.51²
Microphones	AKG D19c (drums overhead), AKG D20 (bass drum, bass), Neumann U47 or U48 (acoustic guitars), Neumann U48 figure-of-eight (vocals)²
Outboard / effects	RS124 compressor, Fairchild 660 limiter, RS127 Presence Box
Guitars	Gibson J-160E acoustic (2), 12-string acoustic
Flutes	Tenor flute, alto flute (Johnnie Scott)
Amplifiers	(none — entirely acoustic recording)

Recording Timeline

18 February 1965 (Thu) — recording, EMI Studio Two — Studio Two, 3.30–5.15pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott. Recording: You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (takes 1–9). A shortened afternoon session (under two hours of studio time) devoted entirely to John Lennon’s acoustic composition. Nine takes were recorded, only two complete. The song featured no electrical instruments; flautist Johnnie Scott was brought in to play tenor and alto flute — the first time the Beatles had employed an outside musician for a preconceived instrumental part since Andy White’s drumming on Love Me Do in 1962. Scott overdubbed the second flute part, both parts appearing as the distinctive double-flute coda that closes the song. The morning session (10.00am–1.00pm) had been devoted to mono mixing four earlier songs; the evening session (6.00–10.30pm) produced Tell Me What You See.¹
20 February 1965 (Sat) — mono mixing, EMI Studio Two control room — Studio Two control room, 5.15–6.00pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott. Mono mixing: You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (from take 9); That Means a Lot (from take 1). The mono mix was prepared alongside the doomed That Means a Lot, completing the full set of mono remixes for all 11 songs recorded during the 15–20 February week. “On 22 February the group flew to the Bahamas to begin shooting the film for which the recordings were made, taking with them a copy tape of all 11 remixes for the approval, or otherwise, of the film’s producer and director, Walter Shenson and Dick Lester respectively.”¹
23 February 1965 (Tue) — stereo mixing, EMI Studio Two control room — Studio Two control room, 10.00am–1.00pm. P: n/a. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Malcolm Davies. Stereo mixing: You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (from take 9). Part of a batch stereo-mix session covering all 11 songs from the 15–20 February recording week, prepared without the Beatles present (who had departed for the Bahamas on 22 February).¹

[John Lennon’s] lovely ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’, very much inspired by Bob Dylan, is notable for being the first Beatles recording — excepting the use of Andy White on ‘Love Me Do’ … — to feature the work of an outside musician, brought in especially for a preconceived purpose.— Mark Lewisohn¹

Studio Notes

Johnnie Scott — flautist and arranger — Johnnie Scott (known later as John Scott) was a professional flautist and musical arranger “much in demand at Abbey Road studios at this time,” working with artists including Cilla Black. He played both tenor and alto flute on You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, with the second instrument overdubbed onto a separate track. The four-track layout places flute on both Track 2 (after the vocal ends) and Track 4. Scott went uncredited on any record sleeve. “The first track to benefit from the addition of an outside player was John’s ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’, recorded in February of 1965. Musician and arranger Johnnie Scott was hired in to add both tenor and alto flute parts to the outro of the song.”^1,2
Entirely acoustic arrangement — no electrical instruments — You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away is unusual among Help! recordings for its entirely acoustic instrumentation. Where the surrounding sessions featured Hohner Pianet (on The Night Before, You Like Me Too Much, Tell Me What You See) and electric guitar overdubs, this track was “recorded from start to finish” with acoustic guitars, bass, drums, percussion and flute only. No guitar amplifiers were used. The acoustic approach aligns with the Dylan influence Lewisohn identifies and anticipates the folk-acoustic textures that would become more prominent on Norwegian Wood and Rubber Soul later in the year.¹
Preconceived flute arrangement — George Martin’s session notes — George Martin’s handwritten session notes, reproduced in Ryan and Kehew, confirm that the flute was planned from the outset: “the flute addition was not an afterthought, but had already been decided upon at the time of the band’s recording of the song.” The notes also document Paul on maracas and Ringo on tambourine. A second flute performance was later recorded on Track 2, placed just after John’s lead vocal ended on that track — a detail not mentioned in Martin’s own notes but confirmed by the track layout.²
Only two complete takes from nine — Despite the song’s apparently simple acoustic arrangement, only two of the nine takes were complete. This completion rate contrasts with the previous day’s recordings: The Night Before was finished in two takes and You Like Me Too Much in eight, both with more complex electric arrangements. The difficulty may reflect the precision required for the song’s exposed acoustic texture, where there were no amplified instruments to mask imperfections.¹
Telefunken four-track — pre-J37 recording — As with all the February 1965 sessions, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away was recorded on the Telefunken four-track tape machine. The Telefunken machines were operated from their machine rooms (Room 1A or Room 1B) rather than from within the control room, requiring the tape operator to work in a separate room from balance engineer Norman Smith. The Studer J37 four-track would not be installed in the Studio Two control room until April 1965, after which “virtually all four-track recording carried out for the remainder of the Beatles’ career would take place on the J-37.”²
First outside session musician — precedent for 1965 — The engagement of Johnnie Scott established a precedent that expanded rapidly during 1965. “The second use of outside musicians in 1965 was more substantial and ground-breaking” — the string quartet on Paul’s Yesterday, recorded in June. “George Martin suggested the use of a classical string quartet. Paul was reluctant at first, but eventually consented. The results spoke for themselves.” By Rubber Soul later that year, the group had fully embraced supplementary musicians, though “the recording of Rubber Soul did not require the use of any outside musicians.”²
Ringo’s honeymoon context — Scott’s recollection places the session in its personal context: “As I recall, all four of them were there and Ringo was full of marital joys, he’d just come back from his honeymoon.” Ringo had married Maureen Cox on 11 February 1965 and returned to London on the 14th — the session fell just four days after his return, during the concentrated week of sessions before the group flew to the Bahamas on 22 February to begin filming.¹
Microphone configuration — acoustic adaptation — The standard mic setup documented by George Martin for the adjacent 16 February session specified AKG D19c as Ringo’s drum overhead, AKG D20 on bass drum and on Paul’s bass rig, Neumann U47 microphones on guitar amplifier rigs, and a Neumann U48 set to figure-of-eight pattern for vocals. For You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, with its entirely acoustic arrangement and no guitar amplifiers in use, the U47 microphones would have been repositioned for acoustic guitar bodies and the flute rather than amplifier cabinets.²

Releases

1965 UK mono LP Help! (6 August 1965, Parlophone PMC 1255, side A track 3) — Released mono master mixed at EMI Studio Two on 20 February 1965 (from take 9). P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott. The mono mix was one of the last two mono remixes completed during the 15–20 February week (alongside That Means a Lot), completing the full set of 11 mono mixes carried to the Bahamas on 22 February for film-production approval. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away appears on side A, track 3 of the UK LP.¹
1965 UK stereo LP Help! (6 August 1965, Parlophone PCS 3071, side A track 3) — Released stereo master from the 23 February 1965 stereo-mix session (from take 9), prepared by Norman Smith and Malcolm Davies without the Beatles present.¹
1965 US Capitol LP Help! (13 August 1965, Capitol SMAS 2386, side A track 3) — The US Capitol version of the Help! LP included only the seven film-soundtrack songs on side A (the other tracks being incidental music by George Martin and his Orchestra). You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away appears as side A, track 3 on the US edition, same position as the UK LP.
2009 Stereo Remasters — Help! (9 September 2009, Apple/EMI) — Allan Rouse / Guy Massey / Steve Rooke 24-bit flat transfer of the 1965 stereo master. Mono Masters companion carries the 1965 mono master with no documented remix.

Sources

Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (New York: Harmony Books, 1988), 54–56.
Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, Recording the Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums (Houston: Curvebender Publishing, 2006), 388–90, 395–96, 400, 407.

Frequently asked

Who wrote You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away?

“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” is credited to John Lennon (Lennon–McCartney).

Who sings lead on You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away?

The lead vocal on “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” is by John Lennon.

When was You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away recorded?

“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” was recorded 18 February 1965 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, Studio Two.¹

How many takes did You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away require?

Nine — Lewisohn’s session log shows takes 1–9, with only two of the nine being complete.¹

Who plays flute on You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away?

Johnnie Scott (later known as John Scott), a professional flautist and arranger who was “much in demand at Abbey Road studios at this time.” He played both tenor flute and alto flute, with the second instrument overdubbed onto a separate track.¹

What tape machine was used to record You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away?

The Telefunken four-track, operated from a remote machine room. The Studer J37 was not installed in the Studio Two control room until April 1965.²

What album is You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away on?

You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away appears on the Beatles’ album Help!, released 6 August 1965 in the UK (Parlophone PMC 1255 / PCS 3071) and 13 August 1965 in the US (Capitol SMAS 2386).

On this page

Story

What’s distinctive

Recording

Equipment

Recording Timeline

Studio Notes

Releases

Sources

Frequently asked