Think for Yourself Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I've got a word or two
To say about the things that you do
You're telling all those lies
About the good things that we can have
If we close our eyes


[Chorus]
Do what you want to do
And go where you're going to
Think for yourself
'Cause I won't be there with you

[Verse 2]
I left you far behind
The ruins of the life that you have in mind
And though you still can't see
I know your mind's made up
You're gonna cause more misery


[Chorus]
Do what you want to do
And go where you're going to
Think for yourself
'Cause I won't be there with you
[Verse 3]
Although your mind's opaque
Try thinking more if just for your own sake

The future still looks good
And you've got time to rectify
All the things that you should

[Chorus]
Do what you want to do
And go where you're going to
Think for yourself
'Cause I won't be there with you
Do what you want to do
And go where you're going to
Think for yourself
'Cause I won't be there with you

[Outro]
Think for yourself
'Cause I won't be there with you

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

In keeping with the other Harrison songs of this era, “Think For Yourself” is a partly-political, partly-philosophical rant against politicians and other people who try to keep people from setting their goals too high. He proposes that we should think however we want and that to expand your mind to greater possibilities is the way forward.

“Think For Yourself” was recorded in a single session on November 8th, 1965, under the working title “Won’t Be There With You”.

The Beatles recorded the basic track – rhythm guitars, bass and drums – in a single take. They then overdubbed lead guitar, more bass (this time fed through a fuzz box), tambourine, maracas and organ, along with two three-part vocal tracks.

Paul used a fuzz box on the bass on Think For Yourself. When Phil Spector was making Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, the engineer who’s set up the track overloaded the microphone on the guitar player and it became very distorted. Phil Spector said, ‘Leave it like that, it’s great’. Some years later everyone started to try to copy that sound and so they invented the fuzz box. We had one and tried the bass through it and it sounded really good.
-George Harrison

Prior to the recording, George Martin taped the group rehearsing the song. The Beatles were aware of this, deliberately playing up to the microphones.

The recording went mostly unused, although a six-second segment of the group practising their harmonies found its way into the Yellow Submarine film, when The Beatles were called upon to revive the mayor of Pepperland.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did The Beatles say about "Think for Yourself"?
Genius Answer

George writes in his 1980 memoirI Me Mine” that

“Think for Yourself” must be about ‘somebody’ from the sound of it- but all this time later I don’t quite recall who inspired that tune. Probably the government."

How did the band experiment with the song?
Genius Answer

The Beatles were always looking for new sounds. always looking to a new horizon and it was a continual but happy strain to try and provide new things for them. They were always waiting to try new instruments even when they didn’t know much about them.
- George Martin via Beatles Ebooks

George Harrison also said:

Paul used a fuzz box on the bass on “Think For Yourself”. When Phil Spector was making “Zip-A-Dee Doo Dah”, the engineer who’d set up the track overloaded the microphone on the guitar player and it became very distorted. Phil Spector said, ‘Leave it like that, it’s great.’ Some years later everyone started to try to copy that sound and so they invented the fuzz box. We had one and tried the bass through it and it sounded really good.

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