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"Early 1970" is a song by English musician Ringo Starr, released in April 1971 as the B-side to his hit single "It Don't Come Easy". It was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents Starr's relationship with his former bandmates, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on each of the ex-Beatles' personal lives and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again; in the final verse, Starr acknowledges his musical limitations before expressing the hope that all the former Beatles will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty"〔 and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.〔 Starr recorded the song, under its working title "When Four Knights Come to Town", in London in October 1970, midway through the sessions for Lennon's ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' album. The recording features musical contributions from Harrison and German bass player Klaus Voormann, and some Beatles biographers suggest that Lennon might have participated also. ==Background and composition== Writing in 1981, ''NME'' critic Bob Woffinden described the effect of the Beatles' break-up on drummer Ringo Starr as "shattering".〔Woffinden, p. 44.〕 Although the official announcement came on 10 April 1970,〔Badman, p. 4.〕 the group's demise was initiated by John Lennon's statement during a September 1969 band meeting that he wanted a "divorce" from his fellow Beatles.〔Doggett, pp. 103–04.〕 In a February 1970 interview in ''Look'' magazine, midway through sessions for his first solo album, ''Sentimental Journey'',〔Miles, pp 369, 370.〕 Starr explained his disorientation: "I keep looking around and thinking where are they? What are they doing? When will they come back and talk to me?"〔Spizer, p. 294.〕 Author Bruce Spizer suggests that these sentiments "form the basis" of Starr's composition "Early 1970".〔 The four verses of the song refer to each of the Beatles in turn,〔 providing what ''Beatles Forever'' author Nicholas Schaffner describes as "a disarming open letter" to Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.〔Schaffner, p. 140.〕 The song's working title was variously "When I Come to Town (Four Knights in Moscow)"〔Madinger & Easter, p. 498.〕 and "When Four Knights Come to Town",〔 and the lyrics gauge Starr's relationships with his bandmates according to how likely each one was to play music with Starr in the future.〔Rodriguez, pp. 29–30.〕〔Clayson, p. 220.〕 In the first verse, Starr addresses his strained relationship with McCartney, whose refusal to have his own debut solo album held back in Apple Records' release schedule, to allow for ''Sentimental Journey'' and the Beatles' ''Let It Be'' album,〔Clayson, p. 206.〕 led to a confrontation between the two musicians.〔Doggett, pp. 120, 122.〕 The incident took place at McCartney's St John's Wood home on 31 March 1970 and, according to Beatles biographer Peter Doggett, had a "grievous effect" on Starr and McCartney's friendship,〔Doggett, pp. 121–22.〕 contributing to the latter announcing his departure from the band.〔Woffinden, pp. 32–33.〕 In "Early 1970", Starr's lyrics refer to McCartney's domestic situation,〔 on his Scottish property with wife Linda Eastman and their newborn daughter Mary:〔O'Dell, pp. 122–23.〕 In verse two, Starr refers to Lennon and wife Yoko Ono's 1969 bed-ins for peace〔 and, in the line "''They screamed and they cried, now they're free''", to their more recent experiences with Arthur Janov's primal therapy treatment.〔 The latter experiences inspired the couple's 1970 solo albums, ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' and ''Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band'',〔Clayson, p. 217.〕 both of which feature Starr on drums.〔Castleman & Podrazik, pp. 171, 183.〕 The verse ends with Starr's optimistic comment on Lennon: "''And when he comes to town, I know he's gonna play with me.''"〔 In the third verse, Starr describes Harrison as "''a long-haired, cross-legged guitar picker''"〔Rodriguez, p. 29.〕 whose "''long-legged''" wife, former model Pattie Boyd, is "''in the garden picking daisies''" for his vegetarian meals.〔 Author Robert Rodriguez suggests that Harrison's workload following the September 1969 release of the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' album displayed the same "workaholic tendencies" traditionally associated with McCartney,〔Rodriguez, p. 1.〕 and a number of these projects involved Starr.〔Clayson, pp. 202–05.〕 In contrast to McCartney and Lennon in "Early 1970", Starr views Harrison as "''always in town playing for you with me''", so much so that the guitarist spends little time at his recently purchased Friar Park estate.〔 In the song's autobiographical final verse, Starr refers to his own musical shortcomings:〔〔Rodriguez, p. 30.〕 He then concludes the song by declaring, "''And when I go to town I wanna see all three''" – a statement that Woffinden takes as being an admission by Starr that he "clearly needed the support" of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.〔Woffinden, p. 45.〕 Musically, "Early 1970" is in the country music genre, which Starr explored more fully on his ''Beaucoups of Blues'' album,〔Spizer, pp. 287, 294.〕 a project that arose from working with Nashville musician Pete Drake on Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'' triple album in June 1970.〔Clayson, pp. 207–08.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Early 1970」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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