ABSTRACT
“Come Together” is the first track on Abbey Road (1969), the last album the Beatles recorded. Our chapter reveals the song's competing dynamic of invitational playfulness and hope versus violence, dark desire, and disappointment. We shall argue that an obscured distemper—a ghostly dis-ease—suggests an off-color, failed pursuit of bliss born of intangible yet sultry passions. An examination of John Lennon's inspirations for the song leads to a close reading of its tracking process, lyrics, and music. Our discussion concludes with an ear toward the recording's afterlives in Black American artists’ covers, including Sheila E.'s collaborations with Ringo Starr.
