The Beatles - Norwegian Wood - Lyrics Meaning

Norwegian Wood was released in 1965. It featured the sitar, an Indian string instrument. The Beatles included the sitar in several of their songs. Norwegian wood was the first pop song to feature this instrument.

In the opening line, "I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me" implies that the woman in the song actually took advantage of the singer, rather than him "having her". John Lennon admittedly tried to write about an affair he was having without his wife finding out. He thought this would be a clever way to disguise what the song was really about.

In the song, the girl's apartment was done in Norwegian Wood. The couple sat up late talking and drinking wine. The man was "biding his time", in other words, waiting for the chance to sleep with the woman. She told him that she had to go to bed because she had get up for work in the morning. He was left to sleep in the bathtub. When the man woke up the next morning, the woman was gone. Being quite unhappy about the situation, the man gets revenge by burning the place down.

Norwegian wood is an inexpensive type of pine wood that was frequently used in decorating. The last line of the song, "Isn't it good, Norwegian Wood" may refer either to how well the wood smells or how well it burns.