Taxman
Written by: George Harrison
Originally recorded by: The Beatles

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
Taxman

'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for (ha ha Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (ha ha Mr. Heath)
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me

 

Documentation

 The music was inspired by the theme song for the popular 1960s TV series Batman. George loved the show. 
This was the first track on Revolver. It was the first song Harrison wrote that was given such prominent position, indicating that he was capable of writing songs as good as Lennon and McCartney's. 
This is a bitter song about how much money The Beatles were paying in taxes. 
Harrison: "Taxman was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes." 
"Mr. Wilson" and "Mr. Heath" are mentioned in the lyrics. They are British Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, who were being scorned in the song for contributing to English tax laws. 

There's always been a lot of confusion over who played lead guitar on this, but Harrison set the record straight in his 1977 Crawdaddy interview: "I helped out such a lot in all the arrangements. There were a lot of tracks though where I played bass. Paul played lead guitar on 'Taxman,' 
In 2002, H&R Block used this in commercials for their tax preparation service. The ads aired shortly after Harrison died. 

Rick covered this song in concert:

11/15/02 Lakewood, OH - Lakewood Civic Auditorium
Footnote - background photo was taken in Lakewood, MO on 11/15/02 by Renata Hearn during the performance of this song.