“Her Majesty”

• Published on 1969
• Author: Lennon/McCartney
• Track 17 on “Abbey Road”

What Paul McCartney said about “Her Majesty”

PAUL 1969: “That was just… I don’t know. I was in Scotland, and I was just writing this little tune. I can never tell, like, how tunes come out. I just wrote it as a joke.”

Info about “Her Majesty”

Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is a brief tongue-in-cheek music hall song. Although credited to the band, McCartney is the only Beatle to appear on the track. “Her Majesty” is the final cut on the album and appears 14 seconds after the previous song “The End”, but was not listed on the original sleeve. Some observers consider it the first example of a hidden track.

The song was recorded in three takes on 2 July 1969, prior to the Beatles beginning work on “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight”. McCartney sang and simultaneously played a fingerstyle acoustic guitar accompaniment. The decision to exclude it from the Abbey Road medley was made on 30 July. It runs only 23 seconds, but the Beatles also recorded a longer version during the Get Back sessions.

In the song, the singer muses about the Queen and his plan to someday “make her mine”.

Personnel

• Paul McCartney – lead vocals, acoustic guitar