The Beatles — Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
Album: Rubber SoulAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 1644
Length: 2:02
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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I once had a girl
Or should I say, she once had me?
She showed me her room
Isn't it good, Norwegian wood?
She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair
I sat on a rug
Biding my time, drinking her wine
We talked until two
And then she said, "It's time for bed"
She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath
And when I awoke
I was alone, this bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good, Norwegian wood?
Or should I say, she once had me?
She showed me her room
Isn't it good, Norwegian wood?
She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair
I sat on a rug
Biding my time, drinking her wine
We talked until two
And then she said, "It's time for bed"
She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath
And when I awoke
I was alone, this bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good, Norwegian wood?
Comments (88)add comment
Evidently this is my first time hearing this song in my 18 years listening to this amazing station. I could tell because I hadn't yet rated it. Easy 10.
Sweet memories of a love experience. All the metaphors accepted.
I have just listened to this (again) with IKEA in mind, it could be an advert for a lot of their products, although Billy isn't mentioned. And yes, I know that it isn't (specifically) Norwegian wood, but the rug, wine glasses, bath etc are all available.
So old and still so good.
I saw the japanese movie who was inspired after this song.
I can't believe that 28 morons have scored this a ONE!!! No soul. Deaf? Dead from the neck up, IMO.
eileenomurphy wrote:
And here I thought the progressive Norwegians had progressed beyond burning wood.....
A funny note: In Norway, there is a big debate about stacking firewood. Should it be stacked bark side up, or bark side down? LOL! 
And here I thought the progressive Norwegians had progressed beyond burning wood.....
A funny note: In Norway, there is a big debate about stacking firewood. Should it be stacked bark side up, or bark side down? LOL!
Ah, remembering back in '65....when everything The Beatles put out was brand new, fresh, ground-breaking....and Rubber Soul was a breakout miracle....and George's sitar got me interested in Indian music, The Bhagavad Gita, Transcendental Meditation....all things still alive & relevant in my life to this day.
Beatles made music for eternity....
9 votes of 1 
I don't understand the Trump Presidency either. bindi wrote:
You know, you're still right 3+ years on. This followed Oasis's "To Be Where There's Life" and it was sweet relief.
such a relief after Oasis. These guys were original.
You know, you're still right 3+ years on. This followed Oasis's "To Be Where There's Life" and it was sweet relief.
Hey, these guys sound pretty ok. They do anything else?
how good is this song?
how good is this whole album?
man - i really really wish they'd done about 3 or 4 or 5 or 10 more albums....
how good is this whole album?
man - i really really wish they'd done about 3 or 4 or 5 or 10 more albums....
Thank you.
Everybody in my churches loves this song...
The Oasis remedy, Thanks, Bill
wow
fredriley wrote:
Listening intently, I see. Must be something in dem-ise.
I don't know about Norwegian wood (is that when Lars gets a stiffie?), so instead here's a nice picture of a Norwegian Blue parrot. And now, thou shalt repeat the sacred Dead Parrot Sketch...
Listening intently, I see. Must be something in dem-ise.
fredriley wrote:
Beautiful plumage!
I don't know about Norwegian wood (is that when Lars gets a stiffie?), so instead here's a nice picture of a Norwegian Blue parrot. And now, thou shalt repeat the sacred Dead Parrot Sketch...
Beautiful plumage!
fredriley wrote:
I don't know about Norwegian wood (is that when Lars gets a stiffie?), so instead here's a nice picture of a Norwegian Blue parrot. And now, thou shalt repeat the sacred Dead Parrot Sketch...
dmax wrote:
Ya know, I'll never forget my middle school music teacher who taught us about the "Paul is Dead" hoax. We watched a documentary on the Beatles and would play certain songs backwords to listen for hidden "satanic" messages or clues to the hoax. If she tried to do that in a school today she'd be fired but, that woman taught us more about what it meant to be a fan of music and that you could have fun with it and still take it seriously at the same time.
Ya know, I'll never forget my middle school music teacher who taught us about the "Paul is Dead" hoax. We watched a documentary on the Beatles and would play certain songs backwords to listen for hidden "satanic" messages or clues to the hoax. If she tried to do that in a school today she'd be fired but, that woman taught us more about what it meant to be a fan of music and that you could have fun with it and still take it seriously at the same time.
SweTex wrote:
Would love to see these guys live. Does anyone know if they're touring?
Oh Jeez, I've heard it all now. Is there, or what is the hidden meaning of "Norwegian Wood"? Does it mean:
A) Retaliation for not putting out?
B) Larz gets a stiffy?
C) A chair (that he burns)?
D) A house (that he burns down)?
E) Marijuana?
F) A type of rat?
Nope. None of the above. Art_Carnage (I think) got it right a while back. "Norwegian Wood" is a phonetic play on words to disguise the lyrics "Knowing she would", which coincidentally is exactly what the song is about. There is nothing vindictive or devious about the lyrics. It is about the wonderful feeling of someone intimately opening up (possibly) their heart and their personal life to you, albeit for a short time, without actually getting "to know" her, and your loneliness and longing afterwords. The best composers take a complicated subject and make it simple (rather than the other way around), and that is what the Beatles achieved in "Norwegian Wood". A very well written and felt song.
A) Retaliation for not putting out?
B) Larz gets a stiffy?
C) A chair (that he burns)?
D) A house (that he burns down)?
E) Marijuana?
F) A type of rat?
Nope. None of the above. Art_Carnage (I think) got it right a while back. "Norwegian Wood" is a phonetic play on words to disguise the lyrics "Knowing she would", which coincidentally is exactly what the song is about. There is nothing vindictive or devious about the lyrics. It is about the wonderful feeling of someone intimately opening up (possibly) their heart and their personal life to you, albeit for a short time, without actually getting "to know" her, and your loneliness and longing afterwords. The best composers take a complicated subject and make it simple (rather than the other way around), and that is what the Beatles achieved in "Norwegian Wood". A very well written and felt song.
I don't know about Norwegian wood (is that when Lars gets a stiffie?), so instead here's a nice picture of a Norwegian Blue parrot. And now, thou shalt repeat the sacred Dead Parrot Sketch...
Lovely.
dmax wrote:
Click the link. It explains it all.
So the guy who we all think is Paul, really isn't Paul. HHHMMMM..... Interesting. Next thing you know, someone is going to tell me that JFK's assassination is suspiscious too!!
Click the link. It explains it all.
So the guy who we all think is Paul, really isn't Paul. HHHMMMM..... Interesting. Next thing you know, someone is going to tell me that JFK's assassination is suspiscious too!!
dmax wrote:
When did that happen?
I just saw Ringo a couple of months ago. OMG.....did Paul die?
When did that happen?
I just saw Ringo a couple of months ago. OMG.....did Paul die?
SweTex wrote:
Hey-yo!
Would love to see these guys live. Does anyone know if they're touring?
Hey-yo!
Would love to see these guys live. Does anyone know if they're touring?
Great song from a great album.
jeremysaxon wrote:
Actually, there were car stereos in 1967. I had a Craig 4-track in my 1960 lime green Nash Rambler station wagon. And I had Rubber Soul—all the Beatles and Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver, Country Joe, Youngbloods, and Cream I could lay my hands on. Oh, the car was a bomb, but it ran—fast, too, a straight six with balls...and, well, use your imagination around teenage boys and station wagons. We fixed the tears in the upholstery with random bits of paisley print cloth.
Well, doesn't it seem unlikely that anyone would do something that stupid to something as precious as a Beatles recording? I think what you're hearing is the ORIGINAL stereo mix. Remember, there were no headphones in 1966-67, and no car stereos. A stereo system, generally speaking, was a record player with fixed speakers, that were a maximum of 48 inches or so apart - often much closer. Putting the vocals entirely to one side was a way of adding more dimension to the sound; but since no one tended to listen from a position directly between the speakers, it didn't sound as ridiculous as it does these days, either on headphones or when one speaker goes out. It's true of a lot of Beatles recordings, by the way, not only this one. They were very very groundbreaking people, and this is one of the few examples where their being ahead of their time wound up having an annoying side-effect.
Actually, there were car stereos in 1967. I had a Craig 4-track in my 1960 lime green Nash Rambler station wagon. And I had Rubber Soul—all the Beatles and Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver, Country Joe, Youngbloods, and Cream I could lay my hands on. Oh, the car was a bomb, but it ran—fast, too, a straight six with balls...and, well, use your imagination around teenage boys and station wagons. We fixed the tears in the upholstery with random bits of paisley print cloth.
Just magical.
originally Lennon's lyrics ended in "...I knew she would", though they settled it wasn't tongue-in-cheek. And glad they did - the melody has a folksy, from the woods so to say, feeling.
such a relief after Oasis. These guys were original.
one of their better songs?
cayenne wrote:
When I was closing on my house, the previous owner told us we had rats in the attic. She said they were Norwegian Wood Rats.
Probably garbled the words Norwegian Wharf Rats. Rats'l make you do that. When I was closing on my house, the previous owner told us we had rats in the attic. She said they were Norwegian Wood Rats.
hey bill - great group - couldja play more of them?
jeremysaxon wrote:
Actually, my understanding is that "I lit a fire" refers to the fact that he burned her house down upon waking in the morning in retaliation for not putting out the night before. McCartney's claimed this to be the case, if I recall correctly...
...Funny, though, hearing "Isn't it good, Norwegian Wood," I always thought of marijuana. The hallowed names of high-potency weed back then were Acapulco Gold and Panama Red, and it seemed to me the Beatles had invented their own name, an imaginary strain from Norway. "I lit a fire..." was the singer lighting up in the morning, probably the first mention of 'wake and bake' on record.
Actually, my understanding is that "I lit a fire" refers to the fact that he burned her house down upon waking in the morning in retaliation for not putting out the night before. McCartney's claimed this to be the case, if I recall correctly...
jeremysaxon wrote:
There were headphones in the 1960's and well before - as far back as the 1920's: what do you think they used in recording studios? Headphones may not have been as popular or affordable back then, but they were around. I'm not sure where you were that you would not have seen them. I think part of the separation problem in stereo recordings back then was that most mixing boards did not yet have a "pan" control for variable distribution of an audio track to one side or another. It was frequently a 3-position switch, with a choice of discrete right, left, or center.
Well, doesn't it seem unlikely that anyone would do something that stupid to something as precious as a Beatles recording? I think what you're hearing is the ORIGINAL stereo mix. Remember, there were no headphones in 1966-67, and no car stereos. A stereo system, generally speaking, was a record player with fixed speakers, that were a maximum of 48 inches or so apart - often much closer. Putting the vocals entirely to one side was a way of adding more dimension to the sound; but since no one tended to listen from a position directly between the speakers, it didn't sound as ridiculous as it does these days, either on headphones or when one speaker goes out. It's true of a lot of Beatles recordings, by the way, not only this one. They were very very groundbreaking people, and this is one of the few examples where their being ahead of their time wound up having an annoying side-effect.
There were headphones in the 1960's and well before - as far back as the 1920's: what do you think they used in recording studios? Headphones may not have been as popular or affordable back then, but they were around. I'm not sure where you were that you would not have seen them. I think part of the separation problem in stereo recordings back then was that most mixing boards did not yet have a "pan" control for variable distribution of an audio track to one side or another. It was frequently a 3-position switch, with a choice of discrete right, left, or center.
I prefer the Cornershop version. Kidding, kidding - although the Cornershop cover has merit.
'nuf sed
Man these guys were fab
Hmmm, that photo was also used to replace the infamous "butcher block" cover for Yesterday and Today:
a_genuine_find wrote:
One of my favourite cuts off an outstanding album.
jeremysaxon wrote:
Well, doesn't it seem unlikely that anyone would do something that stupid to something as precious as a Beatles recording? I think what you're hearing is the ORIGINAL stereo mix. Remember, there were no headphones in 1966-67, and no car stereos. A stereo system, generally speaking, was a record player with fixed speakers, that were a maximum of 48 inches or so apart - often much closer. Putting the vocals entirely to one side was a way of adding more dimension to the sound; but since no one tended to listen from a position directly between the speakers, it didn't sound as ridiculous as it does these days, either on headphones or when one speaker goes out.
It's true of a lot of Beatles recordings, by the way, not only this one. They were very very groundbreaking people, and this is one of the few examples where their being ahead of their time wound up having an annoying side-effect.
Thanks for sharing this info, I have always wondered about why certain Beatles songs did that!
Well, doesn't it seem unlikely that anyone would do something that stupid to something as precious as a Beatles recording? I think what you're hearing is the ORIGINAL stereo mix. Remember, there were no headphones in 1966-67, and no car stereos. A stereo system, generally speaking, was a record player with fixed speakers, that were a maximum of 48 inches or so apart - often much closer. Putting the vocals entirely to one side was a way of adding more dimension to the sound; but since no one tended to listen from a position directly between the speakers, it didn't sound as ridiculous as it does these days, either on headphones or when one speaker goes out.
It's true of a lot of Beatles recordings, by the way, not only this one. They were very very groundbreaking people, and this is one of the few examples where their being ahead of their time wound up having an annoying side-effect.
Thanks for sharing this info, I have always wondered about why certain Beatles songs did that!
jeremysaxon wrote:
Well, doesn't it seem unlikely that anyone would do something that stupid to something as precious as a Beatles recording? I think what you're hearing is the ORIGINAL stereo mix. Remember, there were no headphones in 1966-67, and no car stereos. A stereo system, generally speaking, was a record player with fixed speakers, that were a maximum of 48 inches or so apart - often much closer. Putting the vocals entirely to one side was a way of adding more dimension to the sound; but since no one tended to listen from a position directly between the speakers, it didn't sound as ridiculous as it does these days, either on headphones or when one speaker goes out.
It's true of a lot of Beatles recordings, by the way, not only this one. They were very very groundbreaking people, and this is one of the few examples where their being ahead of their time wound up having an annoying side-effect.
Haha, that's definitely true. My friend uses his mp3 player with a tape adapter and the adapter is screwed up and only plays one channel of stereo so when we go snowboarding and he drives we're either always hearing the Beatles singing acappella or an instrumental.
Art_Carnage wrote:
I had always heard that the words "Norwegian wood" were a vocal pun on "knowing she would". Substitute one for the other, and the song suddenly makes sense.
Also re:
From: martin
Date: Aug 24,2001
...I've always wondered about the last line of it...does it mean that he burned her chair? "...I lit a fire, isn't it good, Norwegian wood."
What I've heard is that the record company wouldn't allow "Knowing she would", which referred to the singer's knowledge that the girl would have sex with him. Too risque. The Beatles said okay, and substituted what became the title line.
Funny, though, hearing "Isn't it good, Norwegian Wood," I always thought of marijuana. The hallowed names of high-potency weed back then were Acapulco Gold and Panama Red, and it seemed to me the Beatles had invented their own name, an imaginary strain from Norway. "I lit a fire..." was the singer lighting up in the morning, probably the first mention of 'wake and bake' on record.
zaknafein wrote:
Why is it, when someone came along 20 years later to remix this song for stereo, (which they shouldn't have done in the first place) they put the lead vocals in the right channel only? That is very obnoxious.
Well, doesn't it seem unlikely that anyone would do something that stupid to something as precious as a Beatles recording? I think what you're hearing is the ORIGINAL stereo mix. Remember, there were no headphones in 1966-67, and no car stereos. A stereo system, generally speaking, was a record player with fixed speakers, that were a maximum of 48 inches or so apart - often much closer. Putting the vocals entirely to one side was a way of adding more dimension to the sound; but since no one tended to listen from a position directly between the speakers, it didn't sound as ridiculous as it does these days, either on headphones or when one speaker goes out.
It's true of a lot of Beatles recordings, by the way, not only this one. They were very very groundbreaking people, and this is one of the few examples where their being ahead of their time wound up having an annoying side-effect.
Fab 4 ulous...
Originally Posted by Art_Carnage:
I had always heard that the words "Norwegian wood" were a vocal pun on "knowing she would". Substitute one for the other, and the song suddenly makes sense.
Even if it's not true, it does make the song even that more enjoyable... :D
even for the beatles this is one great song
Does anybody else remember that ('way pre-digital sampling) exhibition of razorblade wizzardry, "Woodwegian Nor"?
Once you've heard it (if you can find it anywhere please let me know) you'll never listen to the original the same way again.
From: martin
Date: Aug 24,2001
I love doing this song bluegrass style...just about twice as fast. I've always wondered about the last line of it...does it mean that he burned her chair? "...I lit a fire, isn't it good, Norwegian wood."
I had always heard that the words "Norwegian wood" were a vocal pun on "knowing she would". Substitute one for the other, and the song suddenly makes sense.
The cool thing about these comments is they are a great indicatoe of play frequency for the song. Nice work there.
Originally Posted by gobiv:
Just can't undertand how anyone would rate this a one??
Wow.
There's simply no accounting for uneducated individuals with no appreciation for seminal works such as this one.
Just can\'t undertand how anyone would rate this a one??
Wow.
Originally Posted by forksclovetofu:
i predict big things for these guys.
Yeah, they've got a catchy little sound. And that drummer is kinda cute in a doofusy sort of way.
Why is it, when someone came along 20 years later to remix this song for stereo, (which they shouldn\'t have done in the first place) they put the lead vocals in the right channel only? That is very obnoxious.
One of the best Beatles songs. Surprised I don\'t ever hear the PM Dawn cover (MORE PM DAWN BILL!!!!), which is pretty damn good.
Oh please let this loop stop. If I hear Train in Vain after this, I may run screaming from the room.
Radio Paradise has become Radio Perdition
Radio Paradise has become Radio PerditionYet another song by the Beatles that is perfect.....amazing that humans can write such incredible music. :D
Great song, great album ...
Very Nice, you can never go wrong with the Beatles, the more the better.
some consider this the beatles\'s finest effort. arguably one of the very best they ever performed.
I saw the japanese movie who was inspired after this song.
Actually the movie is based on the novel of the same name by Haruki Murakami, also worth checking out.