Something – Casey Shea - Beatles Complete on Ukulele

Something – Casey Shea

March 8, 2011 in Abbey Road, Podcast

Recorded on February 23, 2011, original version recorded on February 25, 1969.

Casey Shea: Vocals
Roger Greenawalt: Ukulele

Recorded outside in the rain on my iPad while busking on the corner of 27th Street and 6th Avenue. So I cannot really say that this track is “produced”.

Essay by Roger Greenawalt

About the Song

Darlings:

We, and by we I mean World Civilization, owe Patty Boyd Harrison Clapton Whatever Her Name Is Now a huge debt of gratitude. She really has had a lot of great songs written about her. It is a close call whether this song, Something, or Layla by Eric Clapton is the greater achievement. They are both Epic in scale. There really must have been something in the way she moved.

Patty is the hero of a story I like to tell girls who are talented and beautiful but are stuck with some sort of subpar pathetic guy in a dead end relationship. Because girls, while not good, while nowhere near good, universally think of themselves as completely good. This goodness is manifested by a close accounting of the transactional relationships in which they bestow physical affection. A girl can be selfish, dishonest, catty, vicious, grumpy, and manipulative, but as long as they don’t fuck their boyfriend’s best friend they consider themselves good. Their goodness is self perceived as a direct function of the withholding of affection. Mostly this tool is wielded against the current boyfriend. No sex unless you XYZ. But turning down other guys is lots of fun too. Empowering.

I feel bad for girls. Not as bad as I feel for myself, but bad nonetheless. Girls have to constantly calibrate how long to keep talking or interacting with a handsome or talented or rich guy before dropping the BoyFriend Bomb. Factoring into this calculation is whether or not it is time for a growth spurt. Or even more seriously, a Complete BoyFriend Upgrade.

Here’s the story. Patty Boyd was just about the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen. So pretty it hurt. While still a young teenager she was given the sorts of opportunities only given to the very pretty. Modeling, acting, being pursued by powerful older men. If she had a thought in her head there is scant evidence. We only have this story, and it is telling.

George Harrison, while in many ways the most sane of the Beatles, and the most suspicious of the motives of those attracted to his fame and fortune, was nonetheless assiduous in regards to the collection of every single perk and penny associated with his peculiar position. Foremost amongst these many prizes was constant fulfillment of every sexual fantasy. After all, The Beatles, unlike the Royal Family, had earned their place atop British Society. They were in time to surpass the Windsors and become a new type of universal royalty, built like all glory, upon their personal fame. Thus they were entitled.

Patty Boyd was one of many pretty young things plucked from obscurity to decorate the set of The Beatles first feature film, A Hard Day’s Night. These girls were literally props. Their job was to either scream or stare dreamily at the boys. Their personal motivation was to be seen by other girls in close proximity to the most desirable boys on earth. This is the theater that girls most care about, being seen by other girls with something that all the other girls want. What is the point of consumption after all, if it is not conspicuous? That would be beside the point. Because actually landing the alpha male, particularly a young alpha male, is agony. As Patty would discover.

George, overworked and overstimulated, saw Patty prancing around the set. It was not anything unique about her that struck his fancy, it was her remarkable physical resemblance to his personal fantasy figure, Bridget Bardot. Same body, same hairdo. Blonde. Bombshell. Being who he was, that is entitled, George luridly invited Patty to come to his trailer. Even if she had not been engaged at the time, which she was, this crude advance was unlikely to succeed. After all, she knew exactly how pretty she was compared to other girls, and had some idea of what that prettiness was worth on the open market. She knew a lot about clothes, hair, shoes, makeup, and personal hygiene. And, she knew exactly what boys want.

You know what? There are too many cute girls in this fancy coffee shop where I am writing in March 2011. I can not concentrate. I have to now pack up my stuff and go back to the studio and sit alone while playing Something over and over again as repetitive catholic punishment until I am done. I am currently one hour and 44 minutes past my self imposed deadline. And why did this not get done last night? Because of a girl.

George had acquired the admirable personality trait of perseverance through his grim pursuit of guitar. You really have to practice for a long long time before you no longer suck. And like guitar, the prettiest girl is a hard nut to crack. The guitar is naturally good at sounding bad, the pretty girl is naturally good at saying no. It takes work. So George kept trying with Patty. And he kept being rebuffed. He was not used to that. And as Patty’s social training had instilled in her, this repeated refusal did succeed in driving up her value in George’s mid 20th Century mind. Not that this was a specific plan of hers, this was simply how she treated every man, in every situation. Standard behavior.

Ultimately George came up with the clever idea of inviting Patty out to dinner with John and Cynthia Lennon. This was a proper date with chaperones. She could remain good while being seen by every girl in the world sitting at a table with not one but two Beatles. That she was much prettier than the insecure Cynthia Lennon made the entire transaction completely sweet. Without saying a word, just by being the prettiest at the table, Patty could put down an actual Beatle wife. Which would make her the top girl in the world.

A month later Patty Boyd was living with George Harrison in their brand new mansion in the stockbroker belt. When asked by a reporter how she was able to justify in her mind leaving her perfectly nice fiancé for a pop star she had just met, she replied with these immortal lines.

“I was loyal, not stupid.”

May those words be carved into her tombstone.

Casey Shea spent a handful of years fronting rock bands in Tallahassee and Nashville before setting out for New York City in January of 2004 to focus on a solo career. A gifted performer with undeniable charm, Casey delivers his songs in a unique way that earns him an audience’s devotion…think Bill Murray meets John Lennon. Melody drives diverse songwriting that is at once quirky and heart wrenching, and the result is a rare treat that is both musically gratifying and raucously entertaining.

The charismatic front man has built a six piece band around his solo material where influences such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Beck and Tom Petty shine through in an original sound with an uncommon familiarity right off the bat.

Currently, Casey is keeping busy touring and playing premiere New York City venues as a solo artist and with his band. In June, 2010, he released “Love Is Here To Stay,” the full band follow up to his self recorded solo debut, “Take The Bite.” He has since returned to the studio with the band for his third full length album to be released on Family Records in 2011. For more information, visit caseysheamusic.com.