The Candle Burns (Peace of Mind)- The Beatles

[billywhitewolf]

The only reason why people instantly discard this as fake without giving it any thought is because its not the typical Beatles voices they've come to know & love cos god forbid they may have tried alternative voices to fit the eerie style of the song. And for those who say the lyrics are stupid & Lennon wouldn't have wrote them, they've obviously not heard What's The New Mary Jane.

I've heard tons of fake Beatles demos & they're all pretty obvious. This is not & it does sound alot like Lennon.

[HTprods]

I'm a big Beatles fan, though i'm not sure if this is them or not. Crazy theory, but is there any chance it could be the Kinks? It's not in their style, but their song 'See My Friends' definitely reminds me of this.

[billywhitewolf]

The Beatles invented shoegazing! Amazing!

[hikerchick234]

i think the song is kewl but i hav never herd of it until now so i dont really have an opinion on whether its fake or not :-p

[bladeoftree]

What do I get for being the 10,000th viewer? haha

[Raikaage]

The best fake Beatles track I've heard is "Heartache". If I didn't know any better, I'd have sworn it was them.

[lakefloor]

This has been appearing on Beatle bootlegs for decades. Rumor: it was written at the same time as Across the Universe. Rumor: it was recorded in India by the Beatles and others present, Donavan for one, which explains the lack of drums. It does contain backwards recordings which were typical of the Fabs at the time. Rumor: it was written by John with help from George and possibly others, featuring Macca on acoustic. Rumor: recorded along with Spiritual Regeneration.

[mysteryguy1234]

sounds like lennon for some odd reason

[rawkfist208]

Voices sound nothing like The Beatles at all.

[popmalevoo]

after listening many times, all i can say that i don't know....if that's a fake, its a damn good one

[phlizmo]

this really sounds like THe Pretty Things. In fact.. the more I listen to it the more convinced I am that it is the Pretty Things.. Souds like an SF Sorrow reject.

[Ringo84]

It sounds vaguely Beatlesesque - from the Magical Mystery Tour/White Album era, but I don't think the voices sound that much like The Beatles themselves.

[DAYD111]

That's them for sure. You can clearly hear Geroge's sitar in the background. Sounds like John, George and Paul are singing the song.

[DulBeat]

It's gotta be them. Those are their voices, especially when they sing the word "begun". Ringo said they've thrown tracks away, this was supposedly found in the trash. I wish one of the remaining Beatles would just confirm or debunk it already.

[charlyW34]

I suggest everyone read the well written summation on wikipedia for "the candle burns/peace of mind".  I'm torn between wanting to believe the recording has Lennon involvement, and the more likely scenario of an Apple related act doing their best Beatle's impression.

[swami1]

The speed is ratched up twice during this song. Sounds to me whoever released this piece altered it to make it more mysterious. It fights right in with the 1966-67 psychedelic age.

[JapaninArmeija]

Ringo says in the Anthology that they tried to do something 'under substances', but then they threw it away. Would fit into description...

[gabriel19551]

This song was supposed to be on the SGT. PEPPER album. For some reason they cut it out. Too bad. It's a hypnotic song. This song was in regards to an acid trip John was on.

[FriendlyShadow1]

Wow,  it does sound rather Beatle-esque, despite it's unclear origins. Whoever did it, it's pretty cool.

[The2002DNA]

It creeps me out and sounds like George, John, and a sitar. That makes me believe it's from the same time that Magical Mystery Tour, or from early sessions for The BEATLES. The line 'a brand new world that lately has been banned' probably refers to LSD and it's banning in Britain.

[TheCandleBurns]

7,001st view!

[Trapar137]

Damn, all the years I sat and wished there was more music - and now there is. Tlhanks for posting.

[musicelliott]

If this is real, I'd guess that it was recorded by george harrison in india, but then again that's my speculation on the speculative scene

[victorwasright]

so this song is public domain then? i can't believe the composer and the apple people relinquished all rights to it...if i wanted to cover this, who would i have to contact?

it's not a crappy song you know, just muddled and unfocused at this stage, i'm sure there's someone out there who could make something worthy out of it. heck, there are less impressive tracks on apple albums....

[TheCandleBurns]

@victorwasright Well, the thing is, no one knows who the actual composer is. And it was found in the garbage behind abbey road studios. So no one ever copyrighted it. And even if they did, as far as i know, you can just cover it anyway, I do that on this channel almost every week, just throw in a disclaimer. You should cover it, i'd like to hear it! I've been thinking about doing that, too.

[7Trillionmovies]

@TheCandleBurns YA It defiantly sounds like John and you hear a women sounds exactly like Yoko so it could have been when they started experimenting with music like Revolution 9 or other things like at the end of day in the life but this song is pretty good.

[dwt7]

This is interesting, if it's from '66-'67 it would coincide with their use of pitch altering effects like on strawberry fields.

[thefoxmandog]

It sounds like Pink Floyd

[yaremus]

Could be George...

[homero313]

The beatles didnt do so Rare Songs and this is creepy. Revolution 9 is not so creepy likethis

[xvoy2002]

The middle bridge section has a strong Hank Florence feel to it, and the beginning bars are remenicent of Jake Flotstein's work.. But all in all the nonse contained on this track is probably the reason it was found in the trash. Afterall it is garbage. Sounds like a bunch of kids playing with a broken tape recorder.

[shadowcatphaser]

It reminds me more of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. But it probably isn't them either.

More than likely it is an unknown amateur band who sent a demo tape to Apple whose names we wil never know.

[Novemberto1968]

@shadowcatphaser I was thinking the same thing. Except It sounds closer to david glamour. plus it written in contract that beatles recording will ever be destroyed so why would this one be thrown out?

[paolomanueldec]

It might be donovan. but the accent seems more american then british. (first language english speakers, what d'you think?)

[TheOneBeatle]

I'm not too convinced. Some parts sounds like John and George as back.

And the citar, at the end.

But, i doubt much that this is a Beatle record.

But it's sounds like 1966-1967.

[lexo30]

This isn't the Beatles, on three grounds:

1. The Beatles' recording sessions have been exhaustively documented and there's no record of this song anywhere.

2. There is plenty of unreleased Beatles music which the Beatles own up to, so if they'd made this, there's no reason why they wouldn't own up it.

3. It doesn't sound like the Beatles. The Beatles usually left off doing full-band recordings with overdubs until they'd actually finished writing the song. This song is manifestly unfinished.

[kingsammythecat]

the song is interesting, it could be the beatles, sounds like john but the audio is to bad to tell, im suprised none of the actuall members came out to deny or confirm it! dont you just love the whole mythology surounding these guys!!!

ps.s eerie video...

[Wikket]

Who ever made it, one thing is for sure, that song is cool as hell.

Video was nice too.

[addylewis]

We know the beatles have been ASKED about it, but have they ever been PLAYED THE TAPE???

I'd like to think of it as a forgotten/semi-lost Beatles or solo experimentation recording personally... but think of it this way, AS A PIECE OF BEATLES its pretty damn rough innit? Would ANY of them actually ADMIT to recording this? Even most of their rough stuff is better...

It's a bit strange NOBODY has claimed any involvement with it though...

[rusty1491]

Stop it already! It's NOT The Beatles. It's a fake like Pink Litmus Paper Shirt, Colliding Circles & others. What makes it semi-passable is the intentional distortion. For a good comparison listen to several REAL Beatles bootlegs first. Remember those fake Elvis recordings? They sounded pretty convincing too.

[frankdiddly]

It's a neat song, though a distorted recording. But I'm sorry, I don't think it's the Beatles. The vocals don't sound like any of the four Beatles at all. Neither does the instruments sound the way the Beatles play in all the recordings I ever heard. I've been a fan of theirs for 28 years so I have listened to them very heavily! Neat song, but it's not THEM.

[wolfsblood07]

It doesn't sound much like She Loves You.

[njmh1983]

i don't think it's the beatles...reason being there is no heart in the singing. i know it's just a home demo, but it sounds like a beatles wannabe local band from liverpool or some shit.

[nano952]

i hope its the beatles cus it asome

[edgeyp12]

Beatles!

[GivepeaceachanceJL]

I think that it is a beatles song. The reason it was not in any tape logs was because it was a home demo. If you don't believe me, try to find the beatles' home demo of "Dear Prudence", which has the same quality as this song. The reason none of the surviving beatles remember it because they were probably on LSD or some other drug when it was recorded. I don't believe it was found in a trash can though, but probably was leaked from a private tape collection.

[brandstifter68]

Has no one ever asked McCartney for a conclusive yay or nay?

[jose0814]

One theory suggests that since Apple was flooded with demo tapes after a 1968 ad campaign, it could be just what would be expected in the trash at Apple Records: a rejected demo from one of countless hopeful bands, whose members abandoned their musical aspirations long before the track became public.

- Wikipedia

[1967mustanggta]

For what's worth I am a Beatles fan from way back and had this song on a Beatles Bootleg album called 20x4. I had this album in 1978. It had other things on it unique at the time but are also here on you tube. It was hard to get this stuff then.

[6040kimway]

I think the mistake most people make evaluating this song is they fail to hear ITS a DEMO!! Demo songs do not appear on any studio logs. Demo songs often do not get copyrighted. There are no demo copies of any Beatles song, or any artist from Leadbelly through Britney Spears that appear on a studio log. Thats why they call it a demo.

[6040kimway]

Compare this song to the demo " I's Not Too Bad" and the Two Virgins and Life With The Lions Albums by Lennon. The song " Circles" is STILL called a hoax even though George Harrison released it on "Gone Troppo" in 81.

[dachille1]

John has never used the phrase "one feels" or "one thinks" either when speaking or in lyrics of a song. He would say "you feel" or "you think". It sounds like someone trying to sound English. It is most definitely not the Beatles. It has an Indian sound to it. John had lost his interest in Indian music accompanyment after Norwegian Wood in 1965.

[magicmage316]

Within You Without You says hello.

[subg88]

Ever hear of George Harrison?

The farther one travels, the less one knows. The less one really knows.

[dachille1]

It sounds even less like George. It sounds more like an immitation of John. My comments about John apply to George except the part about Indian music. The British accent on this recording is not Liverpudlian.

[subg88]

I'm not convinced either way, but I do hear two voices that could be John and George. I was more referring to the lyrics which seem more like something George would've written. If it is them, I'd say they definitely had to be in some sort of psychedelic trance when this was recorded. It also seems like the timing on the tape reel was being manipulated(a well known Beatles trick) or just plain off-time.

[dachille1]

The Beatles never copyrighted this song.  If they took all the time to record it, you'd think they would have taken the time to copyrighted it. I don't think it is John Lennon's voice. It sounds like someone trying to imitate John. buidling molecules with your garden hose? One feels it almost instantly. John would never write lyrics as lame as this or a tune as vapid and simple minded as this.

[frodostump]

Sounds a lot like harrison at 2:20! But who knows. All I can say is that it's a very trippy song!

[6040kimway]

Lastly, if another band DID do this and can trick people into thinking they have as much talent as a "beatle' then why haven't they surfaced - if for no other reason than to try to make a buck off the deal. Every other sham song has an eventual admission of guilt by some joke garage band somewhere while this song remains unexplained. lastly no one beatle, George martin, or Geoff Emerick type witness has EVER denied this was not a Beatle performance

[dachille1]

Because they suck. The music and lyrics are terrible and the instrumental backing is as bad. It was never in the log of any of their recording studios used.  It has never been mentioned by anyone. It has never been talked about by the Beatles in books or interviews. It is the figment of some untalented person's imagination.

[6040kimway]

In theory could be "Pink Litmus Paper Shirt" which has looped in and out of fake/real status. This brings me to an actual litmus test. Play this song alternating with all the other dozens of faked Beatle songs made over the years. It towers above them in likeness to a beatle recording. Its not even a close comparison. The actual physical source tape would be the only conclusive evidence if they could track the first boot guy to distribute the song. It could tell volumes.

[6040kimway]

This makes the official record argument less than definitive. Also the finger picking argument is a long shot. Does anyone document when George and or Paul learned to finger pick style. For that matter the Beatles were recording with a wide variety of other artists on the schnide; The Stones, Donovan, Clapton. Any of whom could be 'jamming' in a drug induced session which no one remembers or wants to fess up to. The proof is simply in the pudding.

[6040kimway]

I tend to lean towards it being at least one or more of the Beatles performing. The 'facts' against it are thin at best. The recording logs at the studio are a vague proof due to potential errors and omissions. For example, it has taken 40 years for Paul McCartney to confirm Carnival of Light and that song does not appear on any of the official recording information. Furthermore, it s documented that 3 Beatles (John, George, and Paul ) had home 'demo' apparatus.

[scottheath]

well its obviously lennons voice and there are backwards vocals and maybe he was too stoned to remember that he already knew fingerpicking before 68? lol sounds like it coulda been one of those songs that were placed before an upbeat happy song to set a contrast like they did with shes so heavy right before here comes the sun?

[oneUNITED7SS]

PEOPLE. The backwards part at the end of the song is just a repeated version of the line "I need to hear the colors red and blue with whispered words, and to sing in tune and not hear what I heard". And the beginning is made up of 'lalas' and hallelujahs.

[JapaninArmeija]

In the Anthology there is some part where Ringo tells that they did some stuff when 'under substances' but then when back to normal they listened to it again they decided to trash it.

[oneUNITED7SS]

I've cried constant times with this song.

[GivepeaceachanceJL]

The reason why the title doesn't appear in the EMI tape log is most likely the title. For all we know, the title probably isin't the candle burns. It could have been named some other title, and written down as that title, yet it could have reached the public with this title. The story is somewhat like that for the 1960 recording Cayene. Nobody knows if "Cayenne" is it's actual title, as it was untitled on the rehearsal reel.

[plasticonofan]

John Winn, author of several books documenting Beatles recordings, replied: "No evidence of such a title has turned up in the EMI tape log, the Lennon home archive, the 80 hours of 'Get Back' sessions, copyright records, any written documentation, or any interview (Paul, Ringo, and George Martin have all been asked about 'Peace Of Mind' and/or 'The Candle Burns' and it didn't ring a bell with any of them). I would bet my entire collection that it's not a Beatle recording."

[AnimaliaHolocaust]

I can say I'm pretty convinced that if it was the Beatles, it was only 2 of them, John and George. Paul seemed to have a way of saying "none of that junk, lets get a good song going here!" Of course, if he was there, that could explain why it didn't make the cut for anything.

But then, I'm not entirely convinced that it's even them. Unfortunately, since both plausible Beatles are deceased (rest in peace) it would be quite a feat finding definitive proof.

[JuhnaNemiko]

Sure as hell sounds like The Beatles.

[phlizmo]

@JuhnaNemiko not one bit

[zuider77]

I've always thought the song was a fake, but whether it is or not, your video was SUPERB!!

[popmalevoo]

well...i don't know

if it is a fake, it is very well done

[jazmaan]

I've always believed this to be genuine. If its fake, It's too good for someone not to have taken credit for it. I especially like the very last spoken lines at 2:34 which sound to me like "He found it, his way out - he'll whistle in the wind's yellow mirror message , , ,"

[erploco]

Could possibly be George and John during the Esher home recording sessions. Sometimes when the bootleggers get a hold of rare recordings, they usually remix them and ad their own effects. This could possibly be the thing, since we can clearly hear a clawhammer guitar after the intro backwards loop. The clawhammer was constantly being used by John on the White Album. The demo for Circles also had the same eerie sound to it, and John and George were definitely known for their underground sound.

[HistoryofTek]

great film....keep up this tremendous work ......no question this is the Beatles or at least solo George playing sitars............

[zamboni1732]

It might of been made by "Grapefruit" the band that the beatles helped. They recorded with the beatles alot. Or the beatles were on a trip and they don't even remember recording it

[zamboni1732]

it kind of has a lennonish sound

(vocie)

I think it is just an experiment that never made Revolver

[Knudsandbaek]

Maybe the beatles with friends?

Listen to "Yes it is", you'll find, that the Beatles were capable of singing off key.

In fact, this is better.

The words aren't very Lennon-ish.

Studies show, that if we are told that a song is a hit, we like it better, than we would if were'nt told about this.

Maybe that's why we wonder if this is really the famous four.

If this is is NOT by the Beatles, that could take away some of the 'music'.

[KRAZYCorps]

The truth is there is conciderable evidence both supporting and denying the Beatle authenticity of this little number. And we may never know for sure who exactly did this. I choose to belive it's the beatles because at the end of the recording, there's a backwards voice singing one of the verses and that sounds just like George Harrison (when reversed of course). And if it is a fake, then my hat's off to the faker because you've made a lot of people argue over this piece.

[seaonasdad]

I think its them in a completely tripped out state, and I have heard EVERYTHING the Beatles have done.

[beatleandy1]

I like it but i'm sceptical

[magiorey]

The audio quality is terrible, but that explains the "out of tune" singing, it's actually damaged tape (you can even hear the damage to the tape itself towards the end) sounds like The Beatles, sounds like a rehearsal, and sounds like the tape needs to be recovered to be able to telol for sure.

[5692717]

Do you guys have ears? This is bollocks. For one the lyrics are stupid (even though Lennon was capable of stupid lyrics, but they were tongue in cheek). If I was to fake a psychedelic beatles record in an over the top way, it would sound like this. The vocals are horribly out of tune as well. As for the music, it is a convincing pastiche. It's more like a rutles song. But the rutles do it so much better. I am sure that this is just a joke.

[beatlejuice72]

If it is The Beatles, my guess is that this song was recorded at George's Esher bungalow. It sounds very similar to the demos recorded at that time, but I suspect it's not The Beatles.

[MrSirMrSirMr]

If it is really the Beatles, it has to be 1968, and there was so much of this sort of thing from that period. It's also not very good - in my opinion - which would support it being totally rejected with no one wanting to claim it.

It certainly sounds like their voices, but then they are so distinctive they're very easy to imitate. It's also pretty easy to cook up bad psychedelia. And I've never heard the Beatles do anything else quite this bad. Even "If You've Got Troubles" is quite catchy.

[KRAZYCorps]

Believe me, some of the "Get Back" sessions songs are pretty bad. The Beatles were like any other band, they had there duds too, they just weren't ever released, not even on Anthology. Besides, what's so bad about this little psychedelic number (It's supposed to make no sense to the straight mind, it's kind of an art).

[KRAZYCorps]

I think lyrically it's either an early Tommorow Never Knows or a sequel (TCB: I Need to hear the colors red and blue, TNN: Listen to the color of your dreams). And I hear John, George, and possibly Paul in there. And I think Donovan might have been on this track too (Hence the guitar picking, and it's not unheard of, he's singing at the end of Yellow Submarine).

[SonofMrPeanut]

For those of you wanting to insert this into Sgt. Pepper, try putting it between Lovely Rita and Good Morning.

[789pequignot]

great song

[Strumrr]

This is clearly George singing with vocal harmony overdubs by John and possibly Paul. Also, the sitar is in there...which George used in the period of '65-'67. They were also way into speeding up and slowing down recording techniques and this song has two. It's just way experimental. The lyrics are very George...similar to Within you,without you. Doesn't anyone agree?

[XxSkeletronxX]

I think it's a Beatles song. If I'm not totally deaf or tone-deaf, I hear John in there. And same with George.

[paolomanueldec]

Sounds more like a Syd Barrett song than Lennon's or McCartney's, or Harrison's for that matter. And i think they recorded at abbey road too, althoughmaybe only later on. However, there were loads of groups back then playing this kind of music.

[Ratelzwatel]

@paolomanueldec No, this certainly doesn't sound like a Barrett song at all.

[kevin4peace]

Early Pink Floyd???

[Ratelzwatel]

@kevin4peace It doesn't sound like any Pink Floyd.

[sardineunderacan]

who knows if the beatles recorded it?

if it was them they were probably so hyped up on drugs that none of us will ever know

[dereliicte2007]

John's fingerpicking is evident on demos of 'I'm a Loser' in 1964! And John is certainly experimenting with a finger picking version of Strawberry Fields, as heard on the second Anthology. However THIS IS A FAKE, I know the Beatle's voices and they just are not here

[studerj37]

John has said in interviews that he learned fingerpicking from Donovan in India. It's also a common fact. You'll hear it in songs such as Julia/Dear Prudence/Happiness is a warm gun etc. Paul developed his way of fingerpicking( Blackbird and Mother Natures Son).

There is NO fingerpicking in Beatles reoordings before mid 1968.

[studerj37]

on the other hand... apart from it's a fake.. it's a quite a cool piece of music/lyrics.

But it's still NOT a beatles/lennon song.

[studerj37]

It's well known --as a fact-- that this piece(Peace of Mind) is not a Beatles recording. It's a psycedelic "thing" with fingerpicking guitar and "swirly" muddy voices.

It's said to be recorded during the Pepper/mystery day. Non of the Beatles played fingerpicking before they went to India in early 1968. So it's a fake....

[deadinapark]

You have your hand in the stream of creativity. This is a great song, and I really enjoy the video.

By the way, this song is public domain(that means no one owns the copyright).

[ZackFairLegacy0]

the real sardine can I believe? lol. nice name.