# You Know What to Do > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/You_Know_What_to_Do > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/You_Know_What_to_Do.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Know_What_to_Do > Source revision: 1316414450 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the Carly Simon song, see [You Know What to Do (Carly Simon song)](/source/You_Know_What_to_Do_(Carly_Simon_song)). 1995 song by the Beatles "You Know What to Do" Song by the Beatles from the album Anthology 1 Released 20 November 1995 Recorded 3 June 1964, EMI Studios, London Genre Rock Length 1:59 Label Apple Songwriter George Harrison Producer George Martin "**You Know What to Do**" was the second song written and recorded by [George Harrison](/source/George_Harrison) with [the Beatles](/source/The_Beatles). It was recorded on 3 June 1964 but remained unreleased until its inclusion on the band's 1995 outtakes compilation *[Anthology 1](/source/Anthology_1)*. ## Background During a photographic assignment on the morning of 3 June 1964, [Ringo Starr](/source/Ringo_Starr) was taken ill with [tonsillitis](/source/Tonsillitis) and [pharyngitis](/source/Pharyngitis), 24 hours before the Beatles were due to leave for a [six-country tour](/source/The_Beatles'_1964_world_tour).[1] The recording session booked for that day was originally intended to produce a fourteenth song for the band's *[A Hard Day's Night](/source/A_Hard_Day's_Night_(album))* album, but this activity was cancelled so that a replacement drummer, [Jimmie Nicol](/source/Jimmie_Nicol), could be brought in and rehearse with the group. After running through six songs in a one-hour rehearsal in EMI's Studio Two,[1] everyone felt satisfied with Nicol's drumming, so he left to pack his suitcase.[2] That evening, in a four-hour session in Studio Two, each of the three present Beatles recorded a demo of a newly written song. Harrison recorded "You Know What to Do"; [John Lennon](/source/John_Lennon) did "[No Reply](/source/No_Reply_(song))", which eventually ended up as the opening track of their next album, *[Beatles for Sale](/source/Beatles_for_Sale)*; and [Paul McCartney](/source/Paul_McCartney) did "[It's for You](/source/It's_for_You)", a song which was written specifically for [Cilla Black](/source/Cilla_Black) to sing. The tape of the session was subsequently misfiled, but was rediscovered in 1993.[2] Harrison's first contribution to the Beatles' output was "[Don't Bother Me](/source/Don't_Bother_Me)", recorded in September 1963.[3] His next contribution was not until "[I Need You](/source/I_Need_You_(The_Beatles_song))", recorded in February 1965.[4] Asked about this gap in 1965, [George Martin](/source/George_Martin) said that Harrison "got discouraged some time ago when none of us liked something that he had written". According to music critic [Richie Unterberger](/source/Richie_Unterberger), Martin was most likely referring to "You Know What to Do".[5] ## Musical structure The song is in the key of A major. After an introduction in D chord on the guitar the verse begins in A (I) on "When I see you I just don't know what to say" ending that line with E (V). The verse also features a D (IV) chord. Musicologist Dominic Pedler cites the song as an example of how "one of The Beatles' greatest contributions to pop songwriting was their skill in combining the familiarity of simple I-IV-V sequences with dramatically new harmonic material".[6] The bridge features an "8-7-flat7-6" glide in consecutive semitones down the chromatic scale, a device subsequently used by the Beatles in "[Michelle](/source/Michelle_(song))", "[Cry Baby Cry](/source/Cry_Baby_Cry)", "[Got to Get You into My Life](/source/Got_to_Get_You_into_My_Life)", "[And Your Bird Can Sing](/source/And_Your_Bird_Can_Sing)" and "[Mother Nature's Son](/source/Mother_Nature's_Son)".[7] ## Release In anticipation of the track's release on *Anthology 1*, McCartney announced: "there will be a bunch of people interested in hearing the George Harrison song from thirty years ago that no one to this day has heard – it's not the greatest thing George ever wrote, but it's an undiscovered nugget. If you find a little Egyptian pot, it doesn't have to be the greatest Egyptian pot. The fact that it is Egyptian is enough."[8] *[Ultimate Classic Rock](/source/Ultimate_Classic_Rock)* listed "You Know What to Do" as the worst of the Beatles' 227 officially released songs, stating: "When Harrison finally hit his stride, he became the Beatles' ace in the hole. But this early song ... shows why his songs were still being passed over at this point."[9] ## Personnel - [George Harrison](/source/George_Harrison) – vocal, rhythm guitar - [John Lennon](/source/John_Lennon) – tambourine - [Paul McCartney](/source/Paul_McCartney) – bass guitar ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELewisohn198845_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELewisohn198845_1-1) [Lewisohn 1988](#CITEREFLewisohn1988), p. 45. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELewisohn199540–41_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELewisohn199540–41_2-1) [Lewisohn 1995](#CITEREFLewisohn1995), pp. 40–41. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELewisohn198835–36_3-0)** [Lewisohn 1988](#CITEREFLewisohn1988), pp. 35–36. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELewisohn198854_4-0)** [Lewisohn 1988](#CITEREFLewisohn1988), p. 54. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEUnterberger200696_5-0)** [Unterberger 2006](#CITEREFUnterberger2006), p. 96. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Pedler, Dominic (2003). [*Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles*](https://books.google.com/books?id=O8w1cyT65ZIC&q=%22indeed+one+of+the+beatles+greatest+contributions%22&pg=PT67). Omnibus Press. pp. 39–40. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780857123466](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780857123466). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Dominic Pedler. Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles. Omnibus Press. 2003. pp311-314 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Harry, Bill](/source/Bill_Harry) (2003). *The George Harrison Encyclopedia*. London: Virgin Books. p. 396. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7535-0822-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7535-0822-0). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [https://ultimateclassicrock.com/every-beatles-song/](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/every-beatles-song/) All 227 Beatles Songs Ranked Worst to Best - [Lewisohn, Mark](/source/Mark_Lewisohn) (1995). *[Anthology 1](/source/Anthology_1)* (CD Booklet). [The Beatles](/source/The_Beatles). [Apple Corps Ltd.](/source/Apple_Corps) 7243-8-34445-2-6. - [Lewisohn, Mark](/source/Mark_Lewisohn) (1988). *[The Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Abbey Road Studio Session Notes 1962-1970](/source/The_Complete_Beatles_Recording_Sessions)*. Great Britain: [Hamlyn](/source/Octopus_Publishing_Group). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-600-55784-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-600-55784-7). - [Unterberger, Ritchie](/source/Richie_Unterberger) (2006). *The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film*. San Francisco: [Backbeat Books](/source/Backbeat_Books). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87930-892-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87930-892-3). ## External links - [Full lyrics for the song at the Beatles' official website](https://www.thebeatles.com/song/you-know-what-do) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171120161750/http://www.thebeatles.com/song/you-know-what-do) 20 November 2017 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) v t e A Hard Day's Night 1964 film Songs Side one "A Hard Day's Night" "I Should Have Known Better" "If I Fell" "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" "And I Love Her" "Tell Me Why" "Can't Buy Me Love" Side two "Any Time at All" "I'll Cry Instead" "Things We Said Today" "When I Get Home" "You Can't Do That" "I'll Be Back" Long Tall Sally (EP) "Long Tall Sally" "I Call Your Name" "Slow Down" "Matchbox" German single "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" / "Sie Liebt Dich" Outtakes "No Reply" "You Know What to Do" Extended plays Extracts from the Album A Hard Day's Night Extracts from the Film A Hard Day's Night Related North American album Something New Tours 1964 world tour 1964 North American tour Related articles The Beatles albums discography The Beatles albums: Please Please Me With the Beatles A Hard Day's Night Beatles for Sale Help! Rubber Soul Revolver Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles Yellow Submarine Abbey Road Let It Be Authority control databases MusicBrainz work --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [You Know What to Do](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Know_What_to_Do) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Know_What_to_Do?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.