We Can Work it Out

"We Can Work It Out" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles as a "double A-sided" single with "Day Tripper", the first time both sides of a single were so designated in an initial release. Both songs were recorded during the Rubber Soul sessions. The song is an example of Lennon/McCartney collaboration at a depth that happened only rarely after they wrote the hit singles of 1963. This song, "A Day in the Life", and "I've Got A Feeling" are among the notable exceptions McCartney wrote the words and music to the verses and the chorus, with lyrics that "might have been personal" and thus a reference to his relationship with Jane Asher. McCartney then took the song to Lennon: "I took it to John to finish it off and we wrote the middle together." According to Lennon, he "did the middle eight." With its intimations of mortality, Lennon's contribution to the twelve-bar bridge contrasts typically with what Lennon saw as McCartney's cajoling optimism.[6] As Lennon told Playboy in 1980, "You've got Paul writing, 'We can work it out / We can work it out'—real optimistic, y'know, and me, impatient: 'Life is very short, and there's no time / For fussing and fighting, my friend.'"[5] Based on those comments, some critics overemphasized McCartney's optimism, neglecting the toughness in passages written by McCartney, such as "Do I have to keep on talking until I can't go on?". Lennon's middle shifts focus from McCartney's concrete reality to a philosophical perspective in B minor, illustrating this with a waltz-time section suggested by George Harrison that leads back to the verse,[4] possibly meant to suggest tiresome struggle. Music critic Ian MacDonald said, "[Lennon's] passages are so suited to his Salvation Army harmonium that it's hard to imagine them not being composed on it. The swell-pedal crescendos he adds to the verses are, on the other hand, textural washes added in the studio, the first of their kind on a Beatles record and signposts to the enriched sound-palette of Revolver." Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher described the song as "the song that defines The Beatles".

[Verse 1: Paul McCartney] Try to see it my way Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? While you see it your way Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone [Chorus: Paul McCartney] We can work it out We can work it out [Verse 2: Paul McCartney] Think of what you're saying You can get it wrong and still you think that it's alright Think of what I'm saying We can work it out and get it straight or say good night [Chorus: Paul McCartney] We can work it out We can work it out [Bridge: Paul McCartney & John Lennon] Life is very short and there's no time For fussing and fighting, my friend I have always thought that it's a crime So I will ask you once again [Verse 3: Paul McCartney] Try to see it my way Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong While you see it your way There's a chance that we might fall apart before too long [Chorus: Paul McCartney] We can work it out We can work it out [Bridge: Paul McCartney & John Lennon] Life is very short and there's no time For fussing and fighting, my friend I have always thought that it's a crime So I will ask you once again [Verse 4: Paul McCartney] Try to see it my way Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong While you see it your way There's a chance that we might fall apart before too long [Chorus: Paul McCartney] We can work it out We can work it out