Music Features
The Beatles A-Z: Across The Universe
Though the Beatles had already broken up by the time "Across The Universe" was released on their final album, Let It Be, John Lennon's ode to transcendental meditation showed no signs of a Fab Four in turmoil.
Instead, the psychedelic folk tune belied the strife within the band leading up to the album, offering up a harmonious song of meditative bliss that resonated more with the group's experiences with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India in 1967 and '68.
In fact, it was the Maharishi's mantra "All Glory to Guru Deva" that make up the song's chorus. Lennon added the literal "Jai guru deva om" to the lyrics he had written previously, which ironically were inspired by Lennon's then-wife Cynthia.
The song's opening line, "Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup" came from Cynthia "going on and on about something," Lennon once recalled of the song's origin. Later, Lennon said, "she'd gone to sleep—and I kept hearing these words over and over, flowing like an endless stream."
And while it may have started as a way of coping with his loquacious spouse, the song would end up becoming a personal favorite for Lennon. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 1970, he commented on the song's lyrics as some of the best and most poetic he had ever written. Additionally, he would remain proud of the song's unique composition, remarking that he could not duplicate it if he tried.
Recording the track turned out to be a complicated process, as the band could not find common ground for the tone of the song. Initially laid down on February 4th, 1968, Lennon was not pleased with the song's overall feel, and ultimately gave in to McCartney's suggestion that they bring in Apple Scruffs Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease, two of the many female fans who would typically gather outside Abbey Road studios, to record harmony vocals.
The Fab Four continued to toy with the instrumentation, but the version that ultimately made it to fans was produced by Phil Spector for the Let It Be album. Spector removed the Apple Scruffs and added an orchestral and choral arrangement.
Since "Across The Universe" remains one of the Beatles' most alluring cosmic melodies, NASA transmitted the song toward the star Polaris, 431 light years away, on February 4th, 2008, to honor the song's 40th anniversary.
The transmission, which was green-lighted by McCartney, Yoko Ono and Apple Records, led to "Across The Universe" becoming the first song to be intentionally sent into deep space.
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