Sexy Sadie - Remastered 2009

John Lennon wrote this song about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Beatles' Indian guru. The group took an interest in Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation (TM) after attending one of his lectures in August 1967. In February 1968, they went to India to study TM at his camp, but left early when they began to fear he was more of a cult leader than an enlightened being. Specifically, they thought he was using his status to lure women. Lennon wrote the song as "Maharishi," but changed the title to "Sexy Sadie" to keep from getting sued. The opening lines make Lennon's sentiment perfectly clear: Sexy Sadie, what have you done You made a fool of everyone

Lennon dubbed the Maharishi "sexy" after hearing that he hit on the actress Mia Farrow, who was also at the camp. Farrow's sister, Prudence, was there as well, and her experience led Lennon to write "Dear Prudence," which also appears on The White Album. By the time George Harrison and John Lennon caught wind of Maharishi's discretions, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr had already left, but they had planned to leave early. According to Lennon, when he and Harrison confronted Maharishi to tell them they were leaving, Maharishi asked why, and Lennon said, "If you're so cosmic, you'll know why." This was the end of The Beatles' association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, but they did continue to explore meditation and Eastern philosophy. Harrison, in particular, delved much deeper into his teachings and came to believe in reincarnation. As for the Maharishi, it's not clear if he did anything wrong at the camp, as Lennon may have gotten bad information from those trying to curry favor. This song though, sullied Maharishi's reputation and derailed the Transcendental Meditation movement.

This song required 52 takes and a full day-and-a-half of studio time. Lennon spent much of that time cussing his way through the sessions, deeply hurt after coming to the conclusion that the Maharishi was not as holy as he'd hoped. On at least one early outtake, he sings very vulgar lyrics directed at the Maharishi.