The Beatles were propelled by the partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, two creative forces who were often in sync but could occasionally clash. An example is “Across The Universe”—often praised as one of the band’s best songs—whose arrangement led Lennon to describe it as an instance of “subconscious sabotage.”
The lyrics are among Lennon’s most beautiful. The opening line, “words spilling out into a paper cup,” was inspired by tension in his marriage, an image that came to him after a strained conversation with his first wife, Cynthia.
Recalling the moment, Lennon said: “I was lying in bed next to my first wife, irritated, thinking. She must have been talking a lot, then fell asleep, and I kept hearing these words repeating, flowing like an endless stream. I went downstairs, and it became a cosmic song rather than an angry one… The words just came to me; I don’t own them.”
The song was first recorded at Abbey Road in 1968, with its high notes famously sung by two fans brought in from outside the studio. A dreamy and wistful piece, it remained unreleased as the band focused on other songs written during their trip to India that year.
Despite this, “Across The Universe” held a special place in Lennon’s mind, and when Spike Milligan—a hero to the Beatles—visited the studio, they donated the recording to a benefit album for the World Wildlife Fund.
