Taxman

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For the profession, see Tax collector.

"Taxman" is the title of a song by The Beatles, appearing on the Revolver album, based on a common personification of tax collection agencies such as the Her Majesty's Customs & Excise or the Internal Revenue Service. The song's writer, George Harrison impersonates a taxman on the song in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

Taxation leads to inspiration

Harrison was inspired to write "Taxman" when he discovered how much he was earning after accounting for taxes. Apparently each Beatle kept only 6% of what they earned. As Harrison said, "'Taxman' was when I first realised that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes. It was and still is typical." The reason for this was that due to how much The Beatles were earning, they were in one of the top tax brackets in the United Kingdom. In a 1984 interview with Playboy magazine, fellow Beatle Paul McCartney agreed with Harrison's depiction of the circumstances surrounding the writing of "Taxman": "George wrote that and I played guitar on it. He wrote it in anger at finding out what the taxman did. He had never known before then what he'll do with your money."

Harrison got some assistance in the lyrics from fellow Beatle John Lennon, who wrote a few one-liners on the song for him. In 1980, Lennon recalled in an interview with Playboy magazine, "I remember the day he [Harrison] called to ask for help on 'Taxman', one of his first songs. I threw in a few one-liners to help the song along because that's what he asked for. He came to me because he couldn't go to Paul [McCartney]. Paul wouldn't have helped him at that period. I didn't want to do it. I just sort of bit my tongue and said OK. It had been John and Paul for so long, he'd been left out because he hadn't been a songwriter up until then."

One quirk in the lyrics was Harrison's throwing in the names of the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson and Edward Heath (a future Prime Minister). Harrison pulled no punches in his bipartisan bashing — Wilson and Heath were the leaders of the British Labour Party and British Conservative Party respectively. The garage rock group The Music Machine's cover version of Taxman replaced Wilson and Heath with President Lyndon Johnson and then-U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk respectively.

As for the riff, "Taxman" refers to the Batman theme song from the 60's TV series. The chorus of the song (when Harrison sings "Taxmaaan") is where the similarities lie.

In 1987, Harrison stated that he had been pleased McCartney agreed to play the guitar on "Taxman". In reference to McCartney's ferocious guitar solo, Harrison said, "I was pleased to have Paul play that bit on 'Taxman'. If you notice, he did like a little Indian bit on it for me."

The release, and after

The song was eventually released on Revolver; although Lennon and McCartney had always been the more prolific songwriters, they made allowance for a few Harrison songs on each album The Beatles released, in much the same way they would attempt to ensure at least one album track always featured drummer Ringo Starr's singing. Because it was the first track, a fake count-in was added at the beginning. A heavily distorted voice counts along with George Harrison; if you listen closely, you can hear McCartney shouting the actual count-in underneath the distorted one. There are minor differences in the stereo and mono versions, particularly the entry points for the cowbell and tambourine. Revolver is the only single Beatles album with three Harrison songs on it.

On the song, Harrison sings as if he is the taxman, who is depicted as a malicious man looking for ways to rob people of their money, with lines like "If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat". The taxman tells the listener to appreciate that he is not left empty-handed: "Should five percent appear too small / Be thankful I don't take it all" and "one for you, nineteen for me" (referring to the 95% top tax rate at the time in the UK). He even goes as far as advising those who die to "declare the pennies on your eyes." The song closes with the taxman declaring that the listeners are enslaved by him: "And you're working for no one but me."

"Taxman" featured in Harrison's concert repertoire even after The Beatles had dissolved; on his tour of Japan in 1991 with Eric Clapton, "Taxman" was on the set list. "It's a song that goes regardless if it's the sixties, seventies, eighties or nineties," Harrison declared. "There's always a taxman."

In the U.S., the song is annually featured by radio disc jockeys and TV news reporters in the days leading up to April 15 (or one to three days after the 15th due to weekends and holidays), the date by which U.S. income tax returns must be filed. Some post offices have even been known to sardonically play the song on in-house audio systems for the long lines of bemused last-minute tax filers. In 2002, tax preparation service H&R Block used the song in television commercials.

Other recordings

The song has also been played and recorded by Junior Parker, Black Oak Arkansas, The (Bonniwell) Music Machine, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Nickel Creek.

"Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of this song in late 1981 called "Pac-Man", during the height of that game's popularity. The song has not yet seen a major release, but can be found on the compilation Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 4.

Personnel

• John Lennon – tambourine, harmony vocal
• Paul McCartney – bass, lead guitar, harmony vocal
• George Harrison – double-tracked lead vocal, rhythm guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums, maracas, cowbell

References

• Fricke, David (Dec. 5, 2001). George's Greatest Moments. Rolling Stone.
• Songfacts "Taxman" entry.

Clip

External links

• Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Taxman"