Reception and Legacy
The song is described by writer Mark Lewisohn as "pure Lennon genius ... one of the most original pop music songs recorded to date", and by music critic Richie Unterberger as "undoubtedly the Beatles' greatest lyrical triumph during their folk-rock phase". In 2004, "Norwegian Wood" was ranked number 83 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Cover versions of the song were performed by many artists, including Sergio Mendes, Herbie Hancock, Count Basie, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr., P.M. Dawn, Tangerine Dream and José Feliciano. The British band Cornershop recorded a version of the song in the Punjabi language for the album When I Was Born for the 7th Time.
The standard Japanese translation of the song's title is Noruwei no Mori. The popular 1987 Japanese novel Norwegian Wood, which often mentions the song, takes its name from it. The novel was adapted into a film in 2010, which featured the song.
Read more about this topic: Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
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