Lennon himself was critical of the track. "It's a throwaway, a piece of garbage, I always thought," he once said. "I always had the TV on very low in the background when I was writing, and it came over, and then I wrote the song."[7]
Recording
The basic track was recorded on 8 February 1967, with overdubs on 16 February (bass guitar and lead vocals), 13 March (brass section), 28 March (backing vocals and guitar solo), and 29 March (animal noises).[8] The guitar solo was played by Paul McCartney on a Fender Esquire.[8][9][10] At Lennon's request, George Martin brought in Sounds Incorporated to provide the song's prominent brass backing.[6] Take eight, which contains Lennon's vocals from the subsequent session but also omits animal sounds, was released on Anthology 2 in 1996.
Lennon asked engineer Geoff Emerick to arrange the animal noises heard at beginning (and end) of the song so that each animal heard was one capable of devouring (or frightening) the animal preceding it.[6][9] The final sound effect of a chicken clucking was so placed that it transforms into the guitar on the following track, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)". According to Emerick, these animal noises were inspired by the coda of "Caroline, No" that ended the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album.[11] They begin with the crow of a rooster, while the other animal sounds heard at the end of the song include birds, a cat, a dog, a cow, a horse, a sheep, a group of bloodhounds accompanying fox hunters on horseback with horns blasting, and a chicken.
The rapid 16th note bass drum fills were done on two bass drums, according to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn.[12] The length of the mono version of "Good Morning Good Morning" is 2:35, whereas the stereo version (due to a lengthier fade out of animal sounds) runs to 2:41. The 2017 stereo mix follows the editing style of the mono version, and as a result, it is also 2:35.
The song is played at 117 beats per minute, has an unusual rhythmic feel, and uses different time signatures. Beats are played in groups of 2, 3 and 4, and time signature changes frequently. Parts with 5 4 and 4 4 bars alternate, with 3 4 transitions.[14] Most of the song uses simple time, where the beats are divided into two, but the middle eight sections use compound time, where the beats are divided into triplets.
The song is divided into seven sections, two of which are repeated once and one twice, in a time-symmetric pattern A, B, C, B, C, B, A (disregarding the fade out of the last bar):
^Everett 1999, p. 123. "In the United Kingdom Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ... was rush-released six days ahead of its official date, June 1."
^Howlett, Kevin (2017). Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (50th Anniversary Deluxe Version). Apple Records. p. 75.
References
Dowlding, William J. (1989). Beatlesongs. New York: Fireside Books. ISBN0-671-68229-6.
Emerick, Geoff; Massey, Howard (2006). Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN1-59240-179-1.