The song's lyrics are about an extramarital affair that John Lennon was involved in, her teasing him all night, so he wakes up in the morning and sets her Norwegian Wood paneling on fire as revenge. This is one of the first recordings by a Western Rock group using an actual sitar, played by George, instead of a guitar effect that sounded similar to one. [Here's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYJM9r2PNHs) an early take of the song and the first 6 minutes of [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5sKxFWhwKA) is a gossip-type retelling of what the song was about.