On this day in 1965, The Beatles recorded Nowhere Man

The Beatles began their studio session by re-recording the song Norwegian Wood. Lennon later said that he had been trying to work on a song for 5 hours that morning and struggled to find ideas. Eventually he gave up and went to rest, but as soon as he lay down the words and music for Nowhere Man came to him.

The song was one of the first Beatles songs to not be about romance and it marked a beginning to Lennon’s more philosophical music. Paul McCartney later said of the song “That was John after a night out, with dawn coming up. I think at that point, he was a bit…wondering where he was going, and to be truthful so was I. I was starting to worry about him.” 

The song was featured in the film Yellow Submarine with the band singing it about a character they met in the “Nowhere Land” named Jeremy Hillary Boob. A ukulele version of the song by Tiny Tim appeared as George Harrison’s contribution to a 1968 Beatle’s Christmas record. The Nowhere Man cover was a highlight of the record to critics and the public alike.