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The Beatles

Flying

Magical Mystery Tour · 1967 · Harrison / Lennon / McCartney / Starkey

GLI39

Garcia Leaning

Confidence 70% · evidence quality, not position

The four Beatles in New York City, 7 February 1964. — United Press International (UPI Telephoto) · Public domain

A made-up twelve-bar blues credited to all four, cut down from nine minutes.

GARCIAPerformance creates the music

DEAD CENTERNeither wins

LENNONComposition creates the music

100

Flying · 39

Hollow marks: the other 49 scored songs · Hatched band: the Crossover Zone

The case

The strongest honest argument for each side, then the ruling.

The Garcia argument

McCartney suggested the group make something up over a twelve-bar blues, and they did. It is credited to all four because it came out of the room. The recording ran to more than nine minutes before anyone decided what the piece was.

The Lennon argument

Seven of those nine minutes were thrown away. The ending was removed and replaced with tape loops, the theme was given to a Mellotron, and wordless voices were added. McCartney claims the melody as a composition. The Beatles never played it again.

The verdict: GLI 39

Made by playing, then heavily edited. It sits well to the right of Dig It because what was kept was shaped: a chosen theme, a constructed ending, a fixed running time. It stays on the Garcia side because the material itself was not written beforehand.

What is fixed

The edit
The tape-loop ending
The Mellotron theme as recorded

What is open

Everything played at the session before the cut

Evidence dimensions

Each runs from 0, Garcia, to 100, Lennon. Their weighted composite is 39. The published GLI is 39, the same.

Structural FixityHow much of sequence, form and duration is settled beforehand?

Elastic

Fixed

A twelve-bar blues with no fixed length until the tape was cut.

Performance ConsistencyHow far can two performances differ and still be the same work?

Transformative

Reproducible

Inferred. There is one realization.

PredeterminationHow much of what matters exists before the performance begins?

Emergent

Predetermined

The form is borrowed and the tune was made up at the session.

Development MethodHow does the music move forward?

Exploratory

Composed

Group playing over a blues, then editing.

Recording SpecificityDoes the recording document an occurrence, or define the object?

Documents event

Defines work

Cut from over nine minutes to 2:17, with a new ending made of tape loops.

Transformational tolerance

Untested. As a twelve-bar blues it could be played by anyone. As released it is an edit.

Confidence: 70%

One documented session and no live history. How much was made up in the room is described by the players, not recorded in detail.

Keep arguing

Every placement is relative. These are the songs this one was measured against.

The record

McCartney said he suggested the group make something up on a twelve-bar blues.Source ↗
It is the first Beatles recording credited to all four members.Source ↗
The recording ran to over nine minutes before being cut down. Its ending was removed and replaced with tape loops made by Lennon and Starr.Source ↗
The Beatles did not perform it live.Source ↗

Where the sources disagree

McCartney claims the melody as his; the credit goes to all four.
Original length: 9:38 or 9:36.

Catalog facts

Catalog no.: GLI·TB·015
Artist: The Beatles
Writers: Harrison / Lennon / McCartney / Starkey
Release: Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Released: 8 December 1967
Duration: 2:17

Sources

Classified 5 October 2026