Something attracts me like a cauliflower

In the Beatles “Get Back” documentary, George Harrison struggles with last syllables of the opening line for “Something.”

“What could it be?” he asks bandmates. For months, he said he drew a blank. Those of us in the know want to yell at the screen: “Hey, George! Something in the way she moves attracts me like no other lover”.

“Just say whatever comes into your head each time,” says John Lennon. “Attracts me like a cauliflower”, he offered. “Until you get the word”.

John exposed the secret to the Lennon-McCartney school of songwriting. The music and lyrics evolve independently, sometimes separately lurching forward and waiting for the other to catch up.

Evolving placeholders opposed the prevalent practice: start with lyrics, then fit rhythm, pitches and harmony.

The documentary is all about deadlines calling. When time ran out, sometimes the Beatles kept the placeholders. The Let it Be album which came out of the documentary is full of nonsense lines, as in “Dig a Pony.” But mostly, they fixed the cauliflowers so the album shines with great songwriting and musicianship.