Flying

Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey

Instrumental

By John T. Marck

This song was the first written by all four of The Beatles, and the only instrumental to be released on a Beatles' record written by them. It was written as incidental music for the film, to be used to support a psychedelic segment. This song began from music recorded during a studio jam session, and was originally titled, "Aerial Tour Instrumental." It featured basic rhythm tracks and the use of mellotrons, backwards organ and vocal chanting. In its original form, it was eerie, ending with a jazz section taken from other recorded works from their extensive library. Originally ten minutes in length, it was cut to slightly more than two for the film. The clouds you see in the film while Flying is heard were shot by Stanley Kubrick for his film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but were never used.

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