Song: We Can Work It Out (1965)
Artist: The Beatles
Album: Yesterday and Today (Capital)
We Can Work It Out was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and appeared on the album Yesterday and Today.
The song is just as well known, if not better-known, by Stevie Wonder’s 1970 cover version, from the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered.
At the end of 1965, We Can Work It Out was a number one hit on the pop chart for the Beatles. Stevie Wonder’s version was a very different soul arrangement, and it sounded to most people like it was written either as a Motown song or by Wonder himself. The song had much of what, in the future, would be associated with the artist, and may well be the point where Stevie wonder sealed his fate as the icon he would become. Signed, Sealed, & Delivered was a transition from Wonder’s “childhood prodigy” days to him becoming the meaningful force in popular music that he remains to this day. We Can Work It Out wasn’t as big a hit for him at the time, but many people think that it well outshone the original, although personally I disagree.
Paul McCartney has long used the song in his tours and live recordings, and, in 2010, when he visited the White House to receive the Gershwin Prize, Wonder was there to perform it.
We Can Work It Out Sample Lyrics
Life is very short, and there’s no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend
I have always thought that it’s a crime
So I will ask you once again
Listen to the Beatles Perform We Can Work It Out
More 1960s Music
- Me and Bobby McGee: Who Did It First Before Janis Joplin?
- Evil Woman: Who Recorded It Before Black Sabbath?
- Get Your Motor Running!
- I’m Your Venus, I’m Your Fire, Your Desire – Who Sang It Before Bananarama?
- I Can’t See Me Lovin Nobody But You
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