Question: I have seen many different song sheets for the Beatles Song *Norwegian Wood* using time signatures of 3/4, 6/8 and 12/8. My question is, why are they all different, why is there no consensus? What I hear in the original are 2 different time signatures (and 2 different modes): the verses with a kind of 3/4 feel and the chorus 12/8. Shouldn't the time signatures convey to the way you interpret the song?

[![Original lead sheet](https://i.stack.imgur.com/w1rN7.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/w1rN7.png) original lead sheet
[![3/4 Piano arrangement](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8C1ZM.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8C1ZM.png) some piano arrangement
[![6/8 Piano arrangement](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1nBNs.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1nBNs.png) another piano arrangement

Answer: 
Well, they are pretty much the same thing, just differently grouped. Note that the 3/4 is taking a different base unit, so here 1/4 is what would be 1/8 in the other cases. So clearly our base is a 3-divided unit. 6/8 combines two such 3-divided units, 12/8 combines 4 such units. 3/4 is one such unit. So basically you get

```
1 2 3 . 1 2 3 . 1 2 3 . 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 . 1 2 3 . 1 2 3 . 1 2 3 | ...

```

and

```
1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | ...

```

and

```
1 2 3 . 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 . 1 2 3 | ...

```

You need to keep in mind that we are dealing with very conventional music, i. e. symmetric phrases. We can always interpret a four bar phrase of single units as a single bar of four units and the other way round. Thus you get different ways to bar the whole thing.
All good discussion. The three-pattern of the song fits in to all those time signatures. But what does it *feel* like? Does it feel like a waltz? Does it feel like a triplet march?

I prefer the 12/8, because it feels like two-bar phrases from the chord and melody movement, and can live with 6/8.