"For No One" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was written by Paul McCartney, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. An early example of baroque pop drawing on both baroque music and nineteenth-century art song, it describes the end of a romantic relationship. Mostly performed by McCartney, the track is distinguished by its French horn line performed by Alan Civil, played first as a solo and then as counterpoint in the final verse. It was considered one of McCartney's most mature compositions to date on its release. Neither John Lennon nor George Harrison contributed to the recording.
The French horn solo was by Alan Civil, a British horn player described by recording engineer Geoff Emerick as the "best horn player in London". During the session, McCartney pushed Civil to play a note that was beyond the usual range of the instrument. According to Emerick, the result was the "performance of his life". Civil said that the song was "recorded in rather bad musical style, in that it was 'in the cracks' [not in concert pitch], neither B-flat nor B-major. This posed a certain difficulty in tuning my instrument." Civil is one of the few session musicians to receive credit on a Beatles album.
Reception
In her contemporaneous review of Revolver, for The Evening Standard, Maureen Cleave highlighted "For No One" among McCartney's contributions and deemed it "as moving as 'Yesterday'".
Thomas Ward of AllMusic describes "For No One" as "one of Paul McCartney's great ballads with the Beatles", adding that it is "a simply beautiful song, full of idiosyncratic McCartney touches yet undeniably inspired". Ward praises McCartney's vocal performance and calls the song's melody "one of the most inspired of the singer's whole career". He calls "For No One" the "ultimate 'you stay home, she goes out' break-up song".
Personnel
According to Ian MacDonald, except where noted:
The Beatles
- Paul McCartney vocals, bass, piano, clavichord
- Ringo Starr drums, tambourine, maracas
Additional musician
- Alan Civil French horn