View source for Blue Jay Way

{{distinguish|text=Blue Jays Way, a street in front of [[Rogers Centre]], the home of the [[Toronto Blue Jays]] baseball team}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Blue Jay Way
| cover      = Blue Jay Way face label (Magical Mystery Tour EP side 4).jpg
| cover_size = 180
| alt        =
| caption    = 1967 UK EP face label
| artist     = [[the Beatles]]
| album      = 
| EP         = ''and album'' [[Magical Mystery Tour]]
| released   = 
*{{start date|1967|11|27|df=yes}} (US) ([[Gramophone record|LP]]) 
*{{start date|1967|12|8|df=yes}} (UK) ([[Extended play|EP]])
| recorded   = 6&ndash;7 September and 6 October 1967
| studio     = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| genre      = [[Psychedelic rock]]{{sfn|DeRogatis|2003|p=48}}
| length     = {{duration|m=3|s=54}}
| label      = [[Parlophone]] (UK), [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] (US)
| writer     = [[George Harrison]]
| producer   = [[George Martin]]
| misc = 
{{External music video
 | {{YouTube|Coz0TmK2ZIg|"Blue Jay Way"}}
 | type = song
}}
}}
"'''Blue Jay Way'''" is a song by the English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[the Beatles]]. Written by [[George Harrison]], it was released in 1967 on the group's ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]'' [[Extended play|EP]] and album. The song was named after a street in the [[Hollywood Hills]] of Los Angeles where Harrison stayed in August 1967, shortly before visiting the [[Haight-Ashbury]] district of San Francisco. The lyrics document Harrison's wait for music publicist [[Derek Taylor]] to find his way to Blue Jay Way through the fog-ridden hills, while Harrison struggled to stay awake after the flight from London to Los Angeles.

As with several of Harrison's compositions from this period, "Blue Jay Way" incorporates aspects of [[Indian classical music]], even though the Beatles used only Western instrumentation on the track, including a [[Drone (music)|drone-like]] [[Hammond organ]] part played by Harrison. Created during the group's [[Psychedelia|psychedelic]] period, the track makes extensive use of studio techniques such as [[flanging]], [[Leslie speaker|Leslie]] rotary effect, and reversed tape sounds. The song appeared in the Beatles' 1967 television film ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]'', in a sequence that visually re-creates the sense of haziness and dislocation evident on the recording.

While some reviewers have dismissed the song as monotonous, several others have admired its yearning quality and dark musical mood. The website ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'' describes "Blue Jay Way" as "a haunted house of a hit, adding an ethereal, creepy mythos to the City of Angels".<ref name="Caffrey/CoS" /> Artists who have covered the song include [[Bud Shank]], [[Colin Newman]], [[Tracy Bonham]] and [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]].

==Background and inspiration==
[[File:Los Angeles from Hollywood Hills.jpg|370px|thumb|left|View of Los Angeles from [[Griffith Park]], at the eastern end of the [[Hollywood Hills]]]]

[[George Harrison]] wrote "Blue Jay Way" after arriving in Los Angeles on 1 August 1967 with his wife [[Pattie Boyd]]{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=156}} and [[The Beatles|Beatles]] aides [[Neil Aspinall]] and [[Alexis Mardas|Alex Mardas]].{{sfn|Miles|2001|pages=274, 286}} The purpose of the trip was to spend a week with [[Derek Taylor]],{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=79}} the Beatles' former press officer and eventual publicist for California-based acts such as [[the Byrds]] and [[the Beach Boys]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/derek-taylor-mn0000243028/biography|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|title=Derek Taylor|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315041842/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/derek-taylor-mn0000243028/biography|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The visit also allowed Harrison to reunite with his [[sitar]] tutor, [[Ravi Shankar]],{{sfn|Shankar|1999|pages=206, 323}} whose [[Kinnara School of Music]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Fong-Torres|first=Ben|title=George Harrison: Harrison in the Haight|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=2 December 2001}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/george-harrison-harrison-in-the-haight Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906085842/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/george-harrison-harrison-in-the-haight |date=6 September 2015 }} (subscription required).</ref> and upcoming concert at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] he helped publicise.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=79}}<ref>{{cite news|author=KRLA Beat staff|title=Beatle Meets Stateside Press|work=[[KRLA Beat]]|date=9 September 1967|page=5|url=http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/issue/9sept67.pdf|access-date=3 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204001909/http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/issue/9sept67.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{quote box|quote= I told [Derek Taylor] on the phone that the house was in Blue Jay Way … There was a fog and it got later and later. To keep myself awake, just as a joke to fill in time, I wrote a song about waiting for him in Blue Jay Way. There was a little Hammond organ in the corner of this rented house … I messed around on this and the song came.{{sfn|Davies|2009|pp=321, 323}}|source= – George Harrison to [[Hunter Davies]], 1968|width=25%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
The title of the song came from a street named Blue Jay Way, one of the "bird streets" high in the [[Hollywood Hills West, Los Angeles|Hollywood Hills West]] area overlooking the [[Sunset Strip]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/george-harrison-blue-jay-way-house-sold-for-3-8-million-24427|author=Uncut staff|title=George Harrison 'Blue Jay Way' house sold for $3.8 million|date=26 March 2013|publisher=[[Uncut (magazine)|uncut.co.uk]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427025540/http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/george-harrison-blue-jay-way-house-sold-for-3-8-million-24427|archive-date=27 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> where Harrison had rented a house at 1567 Blue Jay Way<ref>{{cite web |title=For sale: Home that inspired Beatles' 'Blue Jay Way' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/sale-home-inspired-beatles-blue-jay-way-flna732763 |website=NBC News |access-date=28 June 2024 |language=en |date=24 April 2012}}</ref> for his stay.{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=144}} [[Jet lag|Jet-lagged]] after the flight from London, he began writing the composition on a [[Hammond organ]]{{sfn|Davies|2009|p=323}}{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=436}} as he and Boyd waited for Taylor and the latter's wife, Joan, to join them.{{sfn|Harrison|2002|p=114}} The home's location, on a hillside of narrow, winding roads, together with the foggy conditions that night, created the backdrop for the song's opening lines: "There's a fog upon LA / And my friends have lost their way."{{sfn|Turner|1999|pp=144–45}} Harrison had almost completed the song by the time the Taylors arrived,{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=145}} around two hours later than planned.<ref name="Uncut">{{cite magazine|first=Nigel |last=Williamson |title=Only a Northern Song: The songs George Harrison wrote for The Beatles |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=February 2002 |page=61}}</ref>

The week with Taylor proved to be important for the direction of the Beatles.{{sfn|Inglis|2010|p=9}} At the height of the [[Summer of Love]] and the popularity of the band's ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album,{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=84, 86}} Harrison, Taylor and their small entourage visited the international "hippie capital" of [[Haight-Ashbury]], in San Francisco,{{sfn|Clayson|2003|pages=217–18}} on 7 August.{{sfn|Miles|2001|page=274}} Harrison had expected to encounter an enlightened community engaged in artistic pursuits<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Michael |last=Simmons |title=Cry for a Shadow |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=November 2011|page=79}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2014/03/17/1301604/george-harrison-not-so-quiet-beatle|first=Lambert|last=Ramirez|title=George Harrison: The not-so-quiet Beatle|publisher=[[philstar.com]]|date=17 March 2014|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305195404/http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2014/03/17/1301604/george-harrison-not-so-quiet-beatle|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and working to create a viable alternative lifestyle;{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|page=259}}{{sfn|Tillery|2011|p=54}} instead, he was disappointed that Haight-Ashbury appeared to be populated by drug addicts, dropouts and "hypocrites".{{sfn|The Editors of ''Rolling Stone''|2002|p=37}}{{sfn|Greene|2006|pp=83, 128}} Following his return to England two days later,{{sfn|Miles|2001|page=274}} Harrison completed work on "Blue Jay Way" at his home in [[Esher]],{{sfn|Davies|2009|p=323}} and he shared his disillusionment about Haight-Ashbury with [[John Lennon]].{{sfn|Tillery|2011|p=54}} The Beatles then publicly denounced the popular hallucinogen [[LSD]] (or "acid") and other drugs{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=79}} in favour of [[Transcendental Meditation]] under [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]], whose [[The Beatles in Bangor|seminar in Bangor]] in Wales the band attended in late August.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=86–87}}{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=275–76}} While noting Harrison's role in "inspir[ing] the West's mainstream acquaintance with Hindu religion" through his leadership in this aspect of the Beatles' career, author [[Ian MacDonald]] describes "Blue Jay Way" as a "farewell to psychedelia", just as "[[It's All Too Much]]", which the Beatles recorded in May 1967,{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=228}} became Harrison's "farewell to acid".<ref>MacDonald, Ian. "The Psychedelic Experience". In: {{harvnb|''Mojo Special Limited Edition''|2002|pp=35–36}}.</ref>

==Composition==

===Music===
"Blue Jay Way" was one of several songs that Harrison composed on a keyboard over 1966–68 – a period when, aside from in his work with the Beatles, he had abandoned his first instrument, the guitar, to master the sitar,{{sfn|Leng|2006|pp=30, 32, 50}}<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Timothy|last=White |title=George Harrison – Reconsidered|magazine=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|date=November 1987|page=57}}</ref> partly under Shankar's tutelage.{{sfn|Lavezzoli|2006|pp=180, 184–85}}{{sfn|Shea|Rodriguez|2007|pp=157–58}} The song is in [[Time signature|{{music|time|4|4}} time]] throughout; its structure consists of an intro, three combinations of verse and chorus, followed by repeated choruses.<ref name="Pollack" /> While MacDonald gives the [[Key (music)|musical key]] as "C major (minor, diminished)",{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=448}} musicologist [[Alan W. Pollack|Alan Pollack]] views it as a mix of C major and C modal, and comments on the "highly unusual" incorporation of the notes D{{music|sharp}} and F{{music|sharp}}.<ref name="Pollack" /> The inclusion of the latter note suggests the [[Lydian mode]],{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=268}} which, according to musicologist [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]], had only been heard previously in popular music in [[the Left Banke]]'s 1966 single "[[Pretty Ballerina]]".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=340}}

[[File:Hammond b3 con leslie 122.jpg|thumb|225px|right|A [[Hammond B3]] organ, beside a [[Leslie speaker]] cabinet. Both the Hammond organ and sound treatment via a Leslie speaker feature significantly on the Beatles' recording.]]
The song's melody oscillates over the chords of C major and C [[Diminution#Diminished chords|diminished]],{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=236}}{{sfn|Leng|2006|p=33}} a chord favoured by Harrison in his [[Indian music]]-inspired compositions for the Beatles.{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=294}} Acknowledging Harrison's statement that the tune is "slightly Indian",{{sfn|Harrison|2002|p=114}} Everett considers "Blue Jay Way" to be related to [[Kosalam]] and [[Multani (raga)|Multani]] – [[raga]]s from, respectively, the [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] and [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani]] traditions of [[Indian classical music]].{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=141}} Alternatively, ethnomusicologist David Reck says the melody uses the scale from the Carnatic raga [[Ranjani]],{{sfn|Reck|2008|p=70}} while according to author Simon Leng, Harrison based the song partly on the Hindustani [[Raga Marwa]].{{sfn|Leng|2006|pp=32–33}}{{refn|group=nb|Leng quotes [[John Barham]], with whom Harrison began collaborating on the [[Wonderwall Music|soundtrack album]] to the film ''[[Wonderwall (film)|Wonderwall]]'' in late 1967. Barham said that Harrison acknowledged his piano adaptation of Raga Marwa as an influence.{{sfn|Leng|2006|pp=26–27}}}} Following the inclusion of a raga-style introduction (or [[alap]]) in his previous Indian compositions, "[[Love You To]]" and "[[Within You Without You]]",{{sfn|Lavezzoli|2006|pp=175, 178}} "Blue Jay Way" begins with a preview of the song's melody played softly, in free time, over the opening [[Drone (music)|drone]].<ref name="Pollack" />{{refn|group=nb|On the released recording, the Lydian-mode sharp 4th note (F{{music|sharp}}) is first presented in the [[cello]]'s brief appearance during this introduction (at 0:19). The same note then becomes a melodic feature as Harrison sings "Or I may be ''asleep''", at the end of the choruses, and in the backing vocals on "Don't be ''long''".{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=268}}}} Author Ian Inglis credits the song's incorporation of ambient drone, specifically its role in providing "an anchorage point for vocal and instrumental improvisation", as one of the first examples of a musical device that soon became prevalent in the work of [[Fairport Convention]], [[the Incredible String Band]] and other [[Folk music|folk]] artists.{{sfn|Inglis|2010|pp=9–10}}

The length of the verses falls short of an even eight [[Bar (music)|bars]] through the omission of a final beat. Pollack recognises this detail as reflecting a sense of impatience, in keeping with the circumstances surrounding the song's creation.<ref name="Pollack" /> Following the third verse–chorus combination, the [[Outro (music)|outro]] comprises four rounds of the chorus, with the lyrics to the final round consisting of the repeated "Don't be long" refrain. As a feature that Pollack terms "compositionally impressive", each of the four sections in this outro varies in structure by being either shorter in length or less musically detailed.<ref name="Pollack">{{cite web|url=http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/bjw.shtml|last=Pollack|first=Alan W.|title=Notes on 'Blue Jay Way'|year=1997|publisher=Soundscapes|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424054641/http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/bjw.shtml|archive-date=24 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Lyrics===
The lyrics to "Blue Jay Way" relate entirely to Harrison's situation on that first night in Los Angeles.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=454}} He refers to fighting off sleep and recalls his advice to Taylor to ask a policeman for directions to Blue Jay Way.<ref name="O'Toole/SomethingElse" /> Author Jonathan Gould views the song as "darkly funny", with the singer's concern over his friends' tardiness almost resembling "a metaphysical crisis".{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=454}} In the choruses, Harrison repeatedly urges "Please don't be long / Please don't you be very long",{{sfn|Harrison|2002|page=116}} a refrain that Inglis identifies as central to the composition's "extraordinary sense of yearning and melancholy".{{sfn|Inglis|2010|p=9}}

Taylor later expressed amusement at how some commentators interpreted "don't be long" as meaning "don't belong" – a message to Western youth to opt out of society – and at how the line "And my friends have lost their way" supposedly conveyed the idea that "a whole generation had lost direction".{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=145}} With regard to whether Harrison was telling contemporary listeners not to "belong", Inglis writes, this "alternative reading" of the song aligned with [[Timothy Leary]]'s catchphrase for the 1960s American psychedelic experience, "[[Turn on, tune in, drop out]]".{{sfn|Inglis|2010|p=10}}{{refn|group=nb|Despite the Beatles' public rejection of LSD before the song's release, Kris DiLorenzo of ''[[Trouser Press]]'' later described "Blue Jay Way" as "the archetypal acid song".<ref>{{cite magazine|last= DiLorenzo |first=Kris |title=Pink Floyd: But Is It Art? |magazine=[[Trouser Press]] |date=May 1978}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/pink-floyd-but-is-it-art Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907010556/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/pink-floyd-but-is-it-art |date=7 September 2015 }} (subscription required).</ref>}} In Gould's opinion, the continual repetition of the line at the end of "Blue Jay Way" transforms the words into "a plea for nonattachment – 'don't belong{{'"}}.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=454}} Rather than attaching any [[Counterculture of the 1960s|countercultural]] significance to this, however, Gould views it as the Beatles repeating the wordplay first used in the chorus of Lennon's 1963 song "[[It Won't Be Long]]".{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=188, 454}}

==Production==

===Recording===
The Beatles began recording "Blue Jay Way" on 6 September 1967 at EMI Studios (now [[Abbey Road Studios]]) in London.{{sfn|Miles|2001|page=278}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=123}} The song was Harrison's contribution to the television film ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]'',{{sfn|Davies|2009|p=321}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}} the first project undertaken by the band following the death of their manager, [[Brian Epstein]].{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|pp=232–33}}{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=44}}{{refn|group=nb|Harrison was also credited as co-writer of the group composition "[[Flying (Beatles song)|Flying]]", however.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=142}}}} Author [[Nicholas Schaffner]] describes "Blue Jay Way" as the first Harrison-written Beatles recording on which he "adapt[ed] some of his Indian-derived ideas to a more Western setting" through the choice of musical instruments.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=91}} In the song's arrangement, Hammond organ re-creates the drone of a [[Tanpura|tambura]],{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=91}} while a [[cello]] acts as an Indian [[sarod]].{{sfn|Courrier|2009|pp=193–94}}

The group achieved a satisfactory rhythm track in a single take.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=123}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}} On 7 September, this recording – comprising two organ parts, bass guitar and drums – was [[Reduction mixing|reduced]] to two tracks on the [[4-track (multitrack)|4-track master tape]], after which Harrison [[Overdubbing|overdubbed]] his [[Double tracking|double-tracked]] lead vocal, and he, Lennon and [[Paul McCartney]] added backing vocals.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}} Among Beatles biographers, MacDonald credits Harrison as the sole organ player on the song,{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=236}} while [[Kenneth Womack]] and John Winn write that Lennon played the second keyboard part.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}}{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=156, 157}}{{refn|group=nb|In Womack's description, Harrison and Lennon performed "a psychedelic duet of dueling Hammond organs".{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=156}}}} Recording was completed at Abbey Road on 6 October, with the addition of tambourine, played by [[Ringo Starr]],{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=436}} and cello.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=128}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=131}} The latter was performed by an unnamed session musician.{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=436}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=131}} As with all the songs recorded for ''Magical Mystery Tour'',{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=130}} final [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]] was carried out on 7 November.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=141}}

===Studio effects===
"Blue Jay Way" features extensive use of three studio techniques employed by the Beatles over 1966–67:{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=436}}<ref name="O'Toole/SomethingElse" /> [[flanging]], an audio delay effect;{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=156–57}} sound-signal rotation via a [[Leslie speaker]];{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}} and (in the [[stereophonic sound|stereo]] mix only) reversed tapes.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=141}} Beatles historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] compares "Blue Jay Way" with two Lennon tracks from this period, "[[Strawberry Fields Forever]]" and "[[I Am the Walrus]]", in that the recording "seized upon all the studio trickery and technical advancements of 1966 and 1967 and captured them in one song".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=123}}{{refn|group=nb|Lewisohn adds that, like the two Lennon-written tracks, the song "makes fascinating listening for anyone interested in what could be achieved in a 1967 recording studio".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=123}} According to authors Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin, "'Blue Jay Way' was the only Beatles song to use practically all the effects available at that time."{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=436}}}} Together with the pedal drone supplied by the keyboard parts, the various sound treatments reinforce the sense of dislocation evident in the song.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=236}}

In the case of the reversed-tape technique, a recording of the completed track was played backwards and faded in at key points during the performance.{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=437}} This effect created a response to Harrison's lead vocal over the verses, as the backing vocals appear to answer each line he sings.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=141}} Due to the limits of [[Multitrack recording|multitracking]], the process of feeding in reversed sounds was carried out live during the final mixing session.{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=437}} Described by Lewisohn as "quite problematical",{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=130}} the process was not repeated when the Beatles and their production team worked on the [[monaural|mono]] mix.{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=437}}

==Appearance in ''Magical Mystery Tour'' film==
{{quote box|quote= Given the portentous reading of Taylor and his entourage "losing their way", it was easy to assume that Harrison wasn't being literal, but sermonizing on the idea of being spiritually lost ... ''Magical Mystery Tour'' seems to support that view by framing Harrison, as he sings the song, in a meditation pose refracted through a psychedelic prism.{{sfn|Courrier|2009|p=194}}|source= – Author [[Kevin Courrier]], 2009|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
The song's segment in ''Magical Mystery Tour'' was shot mainly at [[RAF West Malling]], an air force base near [[Maidstone]] in [[Kent]],{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=270}} during the week beginning on 19 September.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}}{{refn|group=nb|With recording on the song incomplete at this point, Harrison mimed to a mix created at Abbey Road on 16 September.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=126}}}} Described by Womack as "the movie's hazy, psychedelic sequence",{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=157}} it features Harrison sitting on a pavement and playing a chalk-drawn keyboard.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=132}} Dressed in a red suit,{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=145}} he is shown [[busking]] on a roadside; next to his keyboard are a white plastic cup and a message written in chalk, reading: "2 wives and kid to support".{{sfn|Woffinden|1981|p=105}} The depiction of Harrison, seated cross-legged, matched his public image as the most committed of the Beatles to Transcendental Meditation and Eastern philosophy.{{sfn|Clayson|2003|p=230}}

[[File:Blue Jay Way MMT film clip.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Harrison performing in the "Blue Jay Way" film sequence]]
The filming took place in an aircraft hangar, with the scene designed to re-create a typically [[smog]]-ridden Los Angeles.{{sfn|Barrow|1999}} Music journalist Kit O'Toole writes that the smoke surrounding Harrison "almost engulf[s] him, mimicking the 'fog' described in the lyrics".<ref name="O'Toole/SomethingElse">{{cite web|url=http://somethingelsereviews.com/2015/07/24/beatles-blue-jay-way-george-harrison/|last=O'Toole|first=Kit|title=The Beatles, 'Blue Jay Way' from ''Magical Mystery Tour'' (1967): Deep Beatles|publisher=Something Else!|date=24 July 2015|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513144843/http://somethingelsereviews.com/2015/07/24/beatles-blue-jay-way-george-harrison/|archive-date=13 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Through the use of prismatic photography,{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=145}} the "Blue Jay Way" segment also shows Harrison's "image refracted as if seen through a [[Fly's eye lens|fly's eye]]", according to author [[Alan Clayson]], who describes the scene as mirroring "the requisite misty atmosphere" suggested by the recording.{{sfn|Clayson|2003|p=230}}{{refn|group=nb|In Gould's description, the effect "yields prismatic projections of George [[yogi]]cally floating on air".{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=456}}}} In its preview of ''Magical Mystery Tour'' in 1967, the ''[[NME]]'' highlighted the segment as one of the film's "extremely clever" musical sequences, saying: "For 'Blue Jay Way' George is seen sitting cross-legged in a sweating mist which materialises into a variety of shapes and patterns. It's a pity that most TV viewers will be able to see it only in black and white."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebeatles.com/album/magical-mystery-tour |title=Magical Mystery Tour |publisher=[[Apple Corps]]/thebeatles.com |access-date=3 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507225254/http://www.thebeatles.com/album/magical-mystery-tour |archive-date=7 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:The Beatles' "Blue Jay Way" cello on display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England, 23 September 2022.jpg|190px|thumb|right|The cello featured in the "Blue Jay Way" film sequence, on display at the [[Liverpool Beatles Museum]]<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Best, Vincent "Roag"|date=June 9, 2020|title=The Beatles' famous Blue Jay Way cello|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pyXDm1X6-0|access-date=4 October 2022|publisher=[[Liverpool Beatles Museum]] on [[YouTube]]}}</ref>]]
At other times during the sequence, the four Beatles alternate in the role of a solo cellist.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=157}} These scenes were filmed on 3 November, on the back [[rockery]]{{sfn|Barrow|1999}} at Sunny Heights, Starr's house in [[Weybridge]], Surrey.{{sfn|Miles|2001|page=282}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/the-beatles-blue-jay-way-is-a-hidden-masterpiece/|title=The Beatles: Blue Jay Way Is a Hidden Masterpiece|last=Sokol|first=Tony|date=13 March 2018|website=[[Den of Geek]]|access-date=4 October 2022}}</ref> [[Tony Barrow]], the band's press officer, recalled that as "a colourful conclusion" to the segment, they set off fireworks that had been bought for the upcoming [[Guy Fawkes Night]] celebrations.{{sfn|Barrow|1999}} The version of "Blue Jay Way" appearing in the 2012 DVD release of ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is an alternative edit and includes some previously unused footage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldminemag.com/features/beatles-restored-magical-mystery-tour-arrives-in-u-s-oct-9|title=Beatles' restored 'Magical Mystery Tour' arrives in U.S. Oct. 9|author=Goldmine staff|work=[[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]]|date=22 August 2012|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114849/http://www.goldminemag.com/features/beatles-restored-magical-mystery-tour-arrives-in-u-s-oct-9|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Toole admires the "Blue Jay Way" sequence as "one of the film's too-few bright spots" and "a perfect representation of the track's hallucinatory qualities".<ref name="O'Toole/SomethingElse" />

==Release and reception==
"Blue Jay Way" was issued in Britain as the final song on the ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]'' double EP on 8 December 1967.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=64}}{{sfn|Riley|2002|pp=xix, 240}} In America, where [[Capitol Records]] combined the six EP tracks with five songs issued on the band's singles throughout the year, creating a full album,<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Billboard staff|title=Beatles' 13th Cap. LP Due Mid-December|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=25 November 1967|page=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PigEAAAAMBAJ&q=Magical+Mystery+Tour&pg=PA6 |access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=285–86}} the release took place on 27 November.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=63}} Reck comments that despite the Beatles' association with the Maharishi and Eastern culture, only two of the six new songs – "Blue Jay Way" and "I Am the Walrus" – directly reflected this interest.{{sfn|Reck|2008|pp=70–71}}

Reviewing the EP for the ''NME'', [[Nick Logan]] considered it to be "Sergeant Pepper and beyond, heading for marvellous places", during which "we cruise down 'Blue Jay Way' with [Harrison] almost chanting the chorus line. A church organ starts this one off and leads us into a whirlpool of sound&nbsp;..."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Nick|last=Logan|title=Sky-High with Beatles|magazine=[[NME]]|date=25 November 1967|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor=Sutherland, Steve|title=[[NME|NME Originals]]: Lennon|year=2003|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=51}}</ref> Bob Dawbarn of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' lauded the record as "six tracks which no other pop group in the world could begin to approach for originality combined with the popular touch".<ref name="CSM/Mojo" /> He said "Blue Jay Way" had the "requisite Eastern overtones" and was a "sinister little tune", which made it the hardest track to appreciate immediately.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Bob|last=Dawbarn|title=Magical Beatles – in Stereo|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=25 November 1967|page=17}}</ref>

Among reviews of the US release, [[Michael Jahn|Mike Jahn]] of ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]'' admired the album as a "description of the Beatles' acquired Hindu philosophy and its subsequent application to everyday life",<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Jahn|first=Mike|title=The Beatles: ''Magical Mystery Tour''|magazine=[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]|date=December 1967}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-magical-mystery-touri Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144632/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-magical-mystery-touri |date=2 April 2015 }} (subscription required).</ref> while ''[[Hit Parader]]'' praised the band for further "widening the gap between them and 80 scillion other groups". The reviewer added, with reference to the concurrently issued ''[[Their Satanic Majesties Request]]'' by [[the Rolling Stones]]: "The master magicians practice their alchemy on Harrison's 'Blue Jay Way', recorded perhaps in an Egyptian tomb, and 'I Am The Walrus', a piece of terror lurking in foggy midnight moors. These two songs accomplish what the Stones attempted."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Staff writer|title=Platter Chatter: Albums from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Cream and Kaleidoscope|magazine=[[Hit Parader]]|date=April 1968}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/platter-chatter-albums-from-the-beatles-rolling-stones-jefferson-airplane-cream-and-kaleidoscope Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131538/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/platter-chatter-albums-from-the-beatles-rolling-stones-jefferson-airplane-cream-and-kaleidoscope |date=2 April 2015 }} (subscription required).</ref>

[[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' rued that, more so than ''Sgt. Pepper'', the soundtrack demonstrated the Beatles' departure from true rock values in favour of studio effects, and he found artifice in the "waft of foggy music" accompanying Harrison's declaration that "There's a fog upon LA". Typically of Harrison's recent songs, Goldstein continued, "Blue Jay Way" was "filled with fascinating tones and textures" but the message was confused and laboured, and he complained that it was sung with a vocal that was "[more] sandpaper than [[Satori]]".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Goldstein|first1=Richard|title=Are the Beatles Waning?|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=62|date=31 December 1967}}</ref> [[Rex Reed]], in a highly unfavourable review of the album for ''[[Stereo Review|HiFi/Stereo Review]]'', said the song "consists of three minutes and fifty seconds of the Beatles sounding as if they are singing under water or gargling with [[Listerine]]" and dismissed it as "boring as hell".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Rex|last=Reed|title=Entertainment (The Beatles ''Magical Mystery Tour'')|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Stereo-Review-IDX/IDX/60s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1968-03-OCR-Page-0113.pdf|magazine=[[Stereo Review|HiFi/Stereo Review]]|date=March 1968|page=117|access-date=6 April 2020}}</ref> By contrast, [[Robert Christgau]] wrote in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' that, despite three of the new songs being "disappointing", ''Magical Mystery Tour'' was "worth buying&nbsp;... especially for Harrison's hypnotic 'Blue Jay Way{{'"}}. Christgau described the track as "an adaptation of Oriental modes in which everything works, lyrics included".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=May 1968|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column3.php|title=Columns|magazine=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629130741/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column3.php|archive-date=29 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Retrospective assessments==
A critic of the Beatles' output immediately post-''Sgt. Pepper'',<ref name="Harris/Mojo">{{cite magazine|last=Harris|first=John|title=The Day the World Turned Day-Glo!|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=March 2007|page=89}}</ref> Ian MacDonald found "Blue Jay Way" "as unfocused and monotonous as most of the group's output of this period", adding that the song "numbingly fails to transcend the weary boredom that inspired it".{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=236}} Writing for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in 2002, [[Greg Kot]] considered it to be "one of [Harrison's] least-memorable Beatles tracks … a song essentially about boredom – and it sounds like it".{{sfn|The Editors of ''Rolling Stone''|2002|p=185}} Similarly unimpressed with ''Magical Mystery Tour'', [[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] describes "Blue Jay Way" as a song that "goes nowhere tiresomely", with a vocal that "sounds as tired and droning" as the musical accompaniment.{{sfn|Riley|2002|pp=236–37, 240}} In Walter Everett's view, the track's combination of unusual musical scales, reversed tape sounds and imaginative engineering makes it "the most mysterious Beatles sound between 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and '[[Glass Onion (song)|Glass Onion]]{{'"}}, but the lyrics are "dull" by comparison.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=141}}

Ian Inglis writes that the emotion Harrison conveys on the track "belies its apparently trivial lyrics" and that, together with the instrumentation and backing vocals, his pleas "create an unusually atmospheric and strangely moving song".{{sfn|Inglis|2010|p=9}} Writing for [[Rough Guides]], Chris Ingham deems the song to be "essential Beatlemusic"; he views it as Harrison's "most haunting and convincing musical contribution of the period", after "Within You Without You", as well as "possibly the most unnerving of all Beatles tracks".{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=48}} In a 2002 review for ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'', [[Charles Shaar Murray]] described the song as "eerie, serpentine" and "a fine and worthy companion for ''Pepper''{{'}}s Within You Without You".<ref name="CSM/Mojo">Shaar Murray, Charles. "''Magical Mystery Tour'': All Aboard the Magic Bus". In: {{harvnb|''Mojo Special Limited Edition''|2002|pp=129–30}}.</ref> Writing in ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' that same year, Carol Clerk called it "a weirdly atmospheric triumph".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Clerk|first=Carol|title=George Harrison 1943–2001|date=January 2002|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|page=46}}</ref>

{{quote box|quote= What could have been a simple, maudlin ditty was transformed by The Beatles' studio process into an exotic, almost mystical journey. Harrison's vocal was treated until it sounded as if it was coming from beyond the grave&nbsp;... Backwards tapes, droning organs, and a cello combined to heighten the Eastern atmosphere – without a single Indian instrument being employed.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=xv, 286}}|source= – [[Peter Doggett]], 2001|width=25%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
In his book ''Indian Music and the West'', Gerry Farrell refers to the song when discussing its author's contribution to popularising Indian classical music,{{sfn|Leng|2006|p=316}} writing: "It is a mark of Harrison's sincere involvement with Indian music that, nearly thirty years on, the Beatles' 'Indian' songs remain among the most imaginative and successful examples of this type of fusion – for example, 'Blue Jay Way' and '[[The Inner Light (song)|The Inner Light]].{{'"}}{{sfn|Farrell|1997|p=188}} Simon Leng writes of the song: "Harrison was working at a sophisticated level of extrapolating Indian scales to the Western setting, something no one else had done … 'Blue Jay Way' explores the structures of Indian music just as 'Within You Without You' debates its philosophical roots."{{sfn|Leng|2006|p=33}} Former ''[[Record Collector]]'' editor [[Peter Doggett]], writing in [[Barry Miles]]' ''The Beatles Diary'', similarly admires the recording, saying that the Beatles rendered the song "an exotic, almost mystical journey" that evokes a mysterious Eastern mood "without a single Indian instrument being employed".{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=xv, 286}} Music critic [[Jim DeRogatis]] ranks "Blue Jay Way" at number 7 in his list of the Beatles' best [[psychedelic rock]] songs.{{sfn|DeRogatis|2003|p=48}}

In a 2009 review for ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'', Dan Caffrey highlights the track among the "stellar moments in the album's first half" and considers it to be "George Harrison's most underrated song". Caffrey adds: "For a piece inspired by the simple act of waiting for a friend to arrive at his Los Angeles home on a foggy night, 'Blue Jay Way' is a haunted house of a hit, adding an ethereal, creepy mythos to the City of Angels."<ref name="Caffrey/CoS">{{cite web|last=Caffrey|first=Dan|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-magical-mystery-tour-remastered/|title=The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour (Remastered)|date=23 September 2009|website=[[Consequence of Sound]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121518/http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-magical-mystery-tour-remastered/|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', [[Chuck Klosterman]] describes the song as being among "the trippiest&nbsp;... material [the Beatles] ever made",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles-32560|last=Klosterman|first=Chuck|title=Chuck Klosterman Repeats The Beatles|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=8 September 2009|access-date=10 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415122008/http://www.avclub.com/article/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles-32560|archive-date=15 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> while [[Mark Kemp]] of ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' views it as "wonderfully wobbly".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|last=Kemp|first=Mark|title=The Beatles: The Long and Winding Repertoire|magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=8 September 2009|page=60|access-date=10 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023065059/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|archive-date=23 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Scott Plagenhoef of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' includes "Blue Jay Way" among the EP's four "low-key marvels", saying: "Few of them are anyone's all-time favorite Beatles songs&nbsp;... yet this run seems to achieve a majesty in part because of that: It's a rare stretch of amazing Beatles music that can seem like a private obsession rather than a permanent part of our shared culture."<ref>{{cite web|last=Plagenhoef|first=Scott|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13436-magical-mystery-tour/|title=The Beatles ''Magical Mystery Tour''|date=9 September 2009|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=26 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912073059/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13436-magical-mystery-tour/|archive-date=12 September 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2001, the song was ranked 39th on ''Uncut''{{'}}s list of "The 50 Greatest Beatles Tracks".{{CN|date=December 2023}} ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine included it in their list of "The 500 Greatest Lost Tracks", published in 2007.{{CN|date=December 2023}} In 2018, the music staff of ''[[Time Out London]]'' ranked "Blue Jay Way" at number 46 on their list of the best Beatles songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs|author=Time Out London Music|title=The 50 Best Beatles songs|website=[[Time Out London]]|date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215173746/https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs|archive-date=15 December 2018|access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref>

==Cover versions and cultural references==
[[Lord Sitar]] included "Blue Jay Way" on his 1968 album of Indian music-style recordings, titled ''Lord Sitar''.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=287}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/8073|title=SpecialRelease: Lord Sitar ''Lord Sitar''|publisher=recordstoreday.com|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925213010/http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/8073|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The artist credit was a pseudonym for London session guitarist [[Big Jim Sullivan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/big-jim-sullivan-dead-at-71/|last=Swanson|first=Dave|title=Guitarist 'Big Jim' Sullivan Dead at 71|publisher=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]|date=2 October 2012|access-date=26 April 2016}}</ref> although rumours circulated that Lord Sitar was in fact Harrison himself,{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=287}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/au/artist/lord-sitar/825016|title=Lord Sitar: Biography|publisher=[[iTunes]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306062533/https://itunes.apple.com/au/artist/lord-sitar/id825016|archive-date=6 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> partly as a result of [[EMI]]/Capitol's refusal to deny the claim.{{sfn|Clayson|2003|pp=209–10}}{{refn|group=nb|Dee Long of the Canadian band [[Klaatu (band)|Klaatu]] covered "Blue Jay Way" on the 2004 tribute album ''It Was 40 Years Ago Today: Tribute to the Beatles''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/it-was-40-years-ago-today-tribute-to-the-beatles-mw0000300966|first=Joe|last=Viglione|title=Various Artists ''It Was 40 Years Ago Today: Tribute to the Beatles''|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830142504/http://www.allmusic.com/album/it-was-40-years-ago-today-tribute-to-the-beatles-mw0000300966|archive-date=30 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1977, seven years after [[the Beatles' break-up]], Capitol had similarly exploited rumours that Klaatu was the four ex-Beatles recording under a new name.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=189–90}}{{sfn|Ingham|2006|pp=292–93}}}} Also in 1968, [[jazz]] saxophonist and flautist [[Bud Shank]], another associate of Ravi Shankar,{{sfn|Lavezzoli|2006|p=61}}{{sfn|Shankar|1999|pages=167, 235}} recorded the song for his album ''[[Magical Mystery]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/magical-mystery-mw0000913829|title=Bud Shank ''Magical Mystery''|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926023446/http://www.allmusic.com/album/magical-mystery-mw0000913829|archive-date=26 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

"Blue Jay Way" was a rare Beatles song released before their 1968 [[The Beatles (album)|self-titled double album]] that [[Charles Manson]] adopted as part of his [[Helter Skelter (Manson scenario)|theory of an impending social revolution]] in the United States,{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1994|pp=322–23}}{{sfn|Sanders|2002|p=27}} a scenario that led to his followers carrying out a series of murders in Los Angeles during the summer of 1969.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|pp=254, 262fn}} Finding parallels between the Beatles' lyrics and the [[Book of Revelation]], and believing himself to be the [[messiah]],{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=115–16}}{{sfn|Courrier|2009|pp=211, 230}} Manson interpreted Harrison's opening verse and chorus as the Beatles calling out to [[Jesus Christ]].{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1994|p=323}}

[[File:Colin Newman b nov 2011.jpg|right|upright=0.6|thumb|[[Colin Newman]] (pictured in 2011) covered the song on his 1982 album ''Not To''.]]
[[Colin Newman]], singer and guitarist with the [[post-punk]] band [[Wire (band)|Wire]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/colin-newman-mn0000113424/biography|last=Neate|first=Wilson|title=Colin Newman|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=5 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423155716/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/colin-newman-mn0000113424/biography|archive-date=23 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> included a cover of "Blue Jay Way" on his 1982 solo album ''Not To''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/not-to-mw0000846817|title=Colin Newman ''Not To''|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423185830/http://www.allmusic.com/album/not-to-mw0000846817|archive-date=23 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2015, the song was his selection for the ''NME''{{'s}} "100 Greatest Beatles Songs" poll. Newman cited the track as an example of how the Beatles were "properly serious about their art" and why they now "need to be rescued from the clammy clutches of the heritage industry".<ref>{{cite web|first=Emily|last=Barker|display-authors=etal|url=http://www.nme.com/photos/100-greatest-beatles-songs-as-chosen-by-music-s-a-listers-100-51/372764#/photo/4|publisher=[[NME|nme.com]]|date=17 March 2015|title=100 Greatest Beatles Songs As Chosen By Music's A-Listers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321000656/http://www.nme.com/photos/100-greatest-beatles-songs-as-chosen-by-music-s-a-listers-100-51/372764#/photo/7|archive-date=21 March 2015|access-date=26 April 2016}}</ref>

[[Borbetomagus]] released a live recording of the song on their 1992 album ''[[Buncha Hair That Long]]'', a version that ''[[Trouser Press]]'' later said "could easily reunite the Beatles for good if it were played in the presence of the surviving trio".<ref>{{cite web|last=Sprague|first=David|year=2007|orig-year=1995|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=borbetomagus|title=Borbetomagus|publisher=[[Trouser Press|trouserpress.com]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224521/http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=borbetomagus|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On their 2003 live album ''[[The Seven Year Itch (Siouxsie and the Banshees album)|Seven Year Itch]]'', [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]] included a reading that, according to ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s reviewer, "transformed [the song] into an apocalyptic howl".<ref>{{cite news|last=Griffiths|first=James|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/oct/10/popandrock.siouxsieandthebanshees|title=Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Seven Year Itch Live|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=10 October 2003|access-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404062118/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/oct/10/popandrock.siouxsieandthebanshees|archive-date=4 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Other artists who have covered "Blue Jay Way" include [[Tracy Bonham]], on her 2007 album ''In the City + In the Woods'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-the-city-in-the-woods-mw0001646503 |title=Tracy Bonham ''In the City + In the Woods'' |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=23 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424082502/http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-the-city-in-the-woods-mw0001646503 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[the Secret Machines]], whose version appears in the [[Julie Taymor]]-directed film ''[[Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe]]'' (2007).{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=157}} Former [[The Cars|Cars]] keyboardist [[Greg Hawkes]] recorded a [[ukulele]] rendition for his 2008 solo album ''The Beatles Uke''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-beatles-uke-mw0000802423|title=Greg Hawkes ''The Beatles Uke''|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424071541/http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-beatles-uke-mw0000802423|archive-date=24 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:LosAngeles03.jpg|270px|thumb|left|[[Downtown Los Angeles]] (viewed from the Hollywood Hills) – the city has continued to be associated with the Beatles' song.]]
Harrison's experience when writing "Blue Jay Way" is referenced in the [[Jonathan Kellerman]] novel ''[[Obsession (novel)|Obsession]]'' (2007), as the lead character, [[Alex Delaware]], waits among the "bird streets" overlooking Sunset Strip.{{sfn|Kellerman|2008|pp=230–31}} The US [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] group [[Death Grips]] included a reversed sample of "Blue Jay Way" as well as a quote from the song's lyrics in their 2012 track "Double Helix", released on ''[[The Money Store (album)|The Money Store]]'',<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title= [[The Money Store (album)|The Money Store]]|others= Death Grips |year= 2012 |type= CD lyrics sheet |publisher= [[Epic Records]]}}</ref> an album that ''[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]]'' magazine described as sounding like "the burning skies of LA's decaying empire".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/death-grips-the-money-store |last=Bennett |first=Matthew |title=Death Grips – The Money Store |publisher=[[Clash (magazine)|clashmusic.com]] |date=23 April 2012 |access-date=26 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118175336/http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/death-grips-the-money-store |archive-date=18 November 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a 2011 interview, music producer and radio host [[Kim Fowley]] identified "Blue Jay Way" as the first song in which a member of the Beatles wrote about America and cited it as evidence of Harrison's standing as "the most American of all the Beatles" during the 1960s. Fowley highlighted this connection – including Harrison's friendships with [[David Crosby]] of the Byrds and other California-based musicians, such as [[Leon Russell]] – as the foundation for rock music's first all-star charity concert, the [[Concert for Bangladesh]], which Harrison staged in New York in August 1971.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/with-a-little-help-from-his-friends-george-harrison-and-the-concert-for-bangla-desh |last=Kubernik |first=Harvey |title=With a Little Help from His Friends: George Harrison and the Concert for Bangla Desh |publisher=[[Rock's Backpages]] |date=July 2011 |access-date=23 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407033428/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/with-a-little-help-from-his-friends-george-harrison-and-the-concert-for-bangla-desh |archive-date=7 April 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|According to former ''Guardian'' music critic [[Geoffrey Cannon]], Harrison performed "Blue Jay Way" with [[Crosby, Stills & Nash]] in their London flat in the late 1960s, shortly before the trio's official formation.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Life in Pop Writing |last=Cannon |first=Geoffrey |publisher=[[Rock's Backpages]] |date=April 2012 |url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/a-life-in-pop-writing |access-date=2 May 2016 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812222917/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/a-life-in-pop-writing |archive-date=12 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Due to the attention created by the Beatles' song, the street signs for Blue Jay Way have long been collector's items for fans visiting the Hollywood Hills.{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=144}}{{sfn|Shea|Rodriguez|2007|p=18}} In May 2015, a lane in the [[Heavitree]] area of [[Exeter]], in the English county of Devon, was named Blue Jay Way after the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Residents-win-right-rename-street-Beatles-song/story-26508838-detail/story.html|last=Vergnault|first=Oliver|title=Residents win right to rename their street after Beatles song|date=15 May 2015|work=[[Western Morning News]]|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222001153/http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Residents-win-right-rename-street-Beatles-song/story-26508838-detail/story.html|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In addition to much of the filming for ''Magical Mystery Tour'' having taken place at various locations in the [[West Country]],{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=600}}{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=394}} the title commemorates the Beatles' three concert appearances at Exeter's ABC Cinema over 1963–64.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Exeter-street-named-Blue-Jay-Way-Beatles-hit-song/story-26503824-detail/story.html|first=Adam|last=Walmesley|title=Exeter street named Blue Jay Way after Beatles 1967 song|publisher=[[Express & Echo|exeterexpressandecho.co.uk]]|date=15 May 2015|access-date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924005112/http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Exeter-street-named-Blue-Jay-Way-Beatles-hit-song/story-26503824-detail/story.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Personnel==
According to Ian MacDonald,{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=236}} except where noted:

*[[George Harrison]] &ndash; lead vocals, [[Hammond organ]], backing vocal
*[[John Lennon]] &ndash; backing vocal, Hammond organ{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=156}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}}
*[[Paul McCartney]] &ndash; backing vocal, bass guitar
*[[Ringo Starr]] &ndash; drums, tambourine
*Unnamed session musician &ndash; [[cello]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
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* {{cite book|last=The Beatles|title=The Beatles Anthology|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco, CA|year=2000|isbn=0-8118-2684-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse}}
* {{cite book| last1=Bugliosi| first1=Vincent| year=1994| last2=with Gentry| first2=Curt| title=Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders| isbn=0-393-08700-X| publisher=W.W. Norton| location=New York, NY| ref={{SfnRef|Bugliosi|Gentry|1994}}| url=https://archive.org/details/helterskeltertru00bugl_0}}
* {{cite book|last1=Castleman|first1=Harry|last2=Podrazik|first2=Walter J.|title=All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York, NY|year=1976|isbn=0-345-25680-8|url=https://archive.org/details/alltogethernowfi0000cast}}
* {{cite book|last=Clayson|first=Alan|title=George Harrison|publisher=Sanctuary|location=London|year=2003|isbn=1-86074-489-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Courrier|first=Kevin|authorlink=Kevin Courrier|title=Artificial Paradise: The Dark Side of the Beatles' Utopian Dream|location=Westport, CT|publisher=Praeger|year=2009|isbn=978-0-313-34586-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Davies|first=Hunter|title=The Beatles'' (rev. edn)''|year=2009|orig-year=1968|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-393-33874-4 }}
* {{cite book|first=Jim |last=DeRogatis|title=Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock|year=2003|publisher=Hal Leonard|location=Milwaukee, WI |isbn=978-0-634-05548-5 }}
* {{cite book|author=((The Editors of ''Rolling Stone''))|title=Harrison|publisher=Rolling Stone Press|location=New York, NY|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7432-3581-5|url=https://archive.org/details/harrison00fine}}
* {{cite book|last=Everett|first=Walter|title=The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York, NY |year=1999|isbn=978-0-19-512941-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Farrell|first=Gerry|title=Indian Music and the West|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|year=1997|isbn=978-0-19-816717-4|url=https://archive.org/details/indianmusicwest00farr}}
* {{cite book|last=Gould|first=Jonathan|title=Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America|publisher= Piatkus |location=London|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7499-2988-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Greene|first=Joshua M.|title=Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Hoboken, NJ|year=2006|isbn=978-0-470-12780-3}}
* {{cite book
| last1=Guesdon
| first1=Jean-Michel
| last2=Margotin
| first2=Philippe
| year=2013
| title=All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release
| publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal|location=New York, NY
| isbn=978-1-57912-952-1
}}
* {{cite book|last=Harrison|first=George|title=I, Me, Mine|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco, CA|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8118-5900-4}}
* {{cite book|first=Chris|last=Ingham|title=The Rough Guide to the Beatles ''(2nd edn)''|publisher=Rough Guides/Penguin|location=London|year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84836-525-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Inglis|first=Ian|title=The Words and Music of George Harrison|publisher=Praeger|location=Santa Barbara, CA|year=2010|isbn=978-0-313-37532-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Kellerman|first=Jonathan|title=Obsession |url=https://archive.org/details/obsession00kell|url-access=registration|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York, NY|year=2008|isbn=978-0-345-45264-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Lavezzoli|first=Peter|title=The Dawn of Indian Music in the West|publisher=Continuum|location=New York, NY|year=2006|isbn=0-8264-2819-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Leng|first=Simon|title=While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison|publisher=Hal Leonard|location=Milwaukee, WI|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4234-0609-9}}
* {{cite book| last=Lewisohn| first=Mark| year=1992| author-link=Mark Lewisohn| title=The Complete Beatles Chronicle| publisher=Hamlyn| location=London| isbn=0-600-61001-2}}
* {{cite book|first=Mark|last=Lewisohn|title=The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962–1970|publisher=Bounty Books|location=London|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7537-2545-0}}
* {{cite book|last=MacDonald| first=Ian| year=1998| title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties| publisher=Pimlico|location=London| isbn=978-0-7126-6697-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years|year=2001|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|isbn=0-7119-8308-9}}
* {{cite book |year=2002 |title=[[Mojo (magazine)#Special editions|Mojo Special Limited Edition]]: 1000 Days That Shook the World (The Psychedelic Beatles – April 1, 1965 to December 26, 1967)|location=London |publisher=Emap|ref={{SfnRef|''Mojo Special Limited Edition''|2002}} }}
* {{cite book|last=Pedler|first=Dominic|title=The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7119-8167-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Reck|first=David|year=2008|chapter=The Beatles and Indian Music|title=Sgt. Pepper and the Beatles: It Was Forty Years Ago Today|editor-last=Julien|editor-first=Olivier|publisher=Ashgate|location=Aldershot, UK|isbn=978-0-7546-6249-5|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=vZ-SB57WBo8C}}}}
* {{cite book|first=Tim|last=Riley|title=Tell Me Why – The Beatles: Album by Album, Song by Song, the Sixties and After|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Cambridge, MA|year=2002|orig-year=1988|isbn=978-0-306-81120-3|url=https://archive.org/details/tellmewhybeatles00rile}}
* {{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Ed|year=2002|title=The Family|location=New York, NY|publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press|isbn=1-56025-396-7|url=https://archive.org/details/family00sand}}
* {{cite book|last=Schaffner|first=Nicholas|title=The Beatles Forever|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York, NY|year=1978|isbn=0-07-055087-5|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesforever00scha}}
* {{cite book|first=Ravi|last=Shankar|title=Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar|publisher=Welcome Rain|location=New York, NY|year=1999|isbn=1-56649-104-5|url=https://archive.org/details/ragamalaautobiog00shan}}
* {{cite book|first1=Stuart |last1=Shea |first2=Robert |last2=Rodriguez |title=Fab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Beatles&nbsp;... and More!|publisher=Hal Leonard |location=New York, NY|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4234-2138-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Tillery|first=Gary|title=Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison|publisher=Quest Books|location=Wheaton, IL|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8356-0900-5}}
* {{cite book| last=Turner| first=Steve| year=1999| title=A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song ''(2nd edn)''| publisher=Carlton/HarperCollins|location=New York, NY| isbn=0-06-273698-1}}
* {{cite book| last=Winn| first=John C.| year=2009| title=That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970| publisher=Three Rivers Press|location=New York, NY| isbn=978-0-307-45239-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Woffinden|first=Bob|title=The Beatles Apart|publisher=Proteus|location=London|year=1981|isbn=0-906071-89-5}}
* {{cite book|last= Womack |first= Kenneth |year= 2014 |title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn= 978-0-313-39171-2 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.thebeatles.com/song/blue-jay-way Full lyrics for the song at the Beatles' official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524154941/http://www.thebeatles.com/song/blue-jay-way |date=24 May 2015 }}
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Blue+Jay+Way,+CA+90069 Blue Jay Way – Google Maps]
* [http://www.electricearl.com/BlueJay.html The REAL Blue Jay Way]

{{Magical Mystery Tour}}
{{Streets in Los Angeles}}
{{Good article}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1967 songs]]
[[Category:The Beatles songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by George Harrison]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:Songs published by Northern Songs]]
[[Category:Songs about Los Angeles]]
[[Category:The Beatles and India]]
[[Category:British psychedelic rock songs]]