Prithee the addressee, as in "if it please you," "prithee" accompanies a request which addresses itself to the threat of being answered in the negative, as though the request were against the addressee's wishes. Stated otherwise, the word "please" suggests that the person being addressed is willing to comply with the request, whereas the word "prithee" suggests that he or she is not willing. This switch from stating the speaker's contrary desire to stating the speaker's wish not to impose signaled a cultural shift in the English-speaking world in which politeness became stated negatively rather than positively. Wider repercussions are observable
Is This What You Want? reviews. It peaked at number 29 on Canada's "RPM" 100, but failed to achieve commercial success in Britain (where it failed to chart) and America. Following the completion of the White Album, Harrison and Lomax went to Los Angeles to carry out further work on "Is This What You Want?" The sessions there took place at Sound Recorders Studio from 20 October to 11 November. Seven songs were recorded at this time, six of which were used for the album: "Is This What You Want?", "Speak to Me", "Take My Word", "Baby You're a Lover", "How Can You Say Goodbye"