I read the news today, oh boy About a lucky man who made the grade And though the news was rather sad Well I just had to laugh I saw the photograph He blew his mind out in a car He didn't notice that the lights had changed A crowd of people stood and stared They'd seen his face before Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords
I saw a film today, oh boy The English army had just won the war A crowd of people turned away But I just had to look Having read the book I'd love to turn you on
Woke up, fell out of bed Dragged a comb across my head Found my way downstairs and drank a cup And looking up I noticed I was late Found my coat and grabbed my hat Made the bus in seconds flat Found my way upstairs and had a smoke Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I read the news today, oh boy 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire Although the holes were rather small They had to count them all Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall I'd love to turn you on
Song Notes :
"The Beatles started this with the working title 'In The Life of...' "
"McCartney contributed the line "I'd love to turn you on." This was a drug reference, but the BBC banned it for the line about having a smoke and going into a dream, which they thought was about marijuana"
"This was recorded in 3 sessions: First the basic track, then the orchestra, then the last note was dubbed in"
"McCartney's middle section (Woke up, got out of bed...) was intended for another song"
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever
Living is easy with eyes closed Misunderstanding all you see It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out It doesn't matter much to me Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever
No one I think is in my tree I mean it must be high or low That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right That is I think it's not too bad Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever
Always, no sometimes, think it's me But you know I know when it's a dream I think a "no" I mean a "Yes" but it's all wrong that is I think I disagree Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever Strawberry Fields forever Strawberry Fields forever
Cranberry sauce...
Song Notes :"Lennon wrote this while he was in Spain working on a movie called How I Won The War. He house where he stayed was in Almeria, which is in the southeast corner of the country"
"Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army home in Liverpool where John Lennon used to go. He had fond memories of the place that inspired this"
John's aunt Mimi did not like John going to Strawberry Fields, as it was basically an orphanage and she thought they would lead John astray. John liked going there because having lost his father and later his mother he felt a kinship to the lads. When John and his aunt would argue about his going he would often reply, "What are they going to do, hang me?" Thus the line "Nothing to get hung about."
Lennon (from his 1980 interview with Playboy magazine): "Strawberry Fields is a real place. After I stopped living at Penny Lane, I moved in with my auntie who lived in the suburbs in a nice semidetached place with a small garden and doctors and lawyers and that ilk living around... not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all the Beatles stories. In the class system, it was about half a class higher than Paul, George and Ringo, who lived in government-subsidized housing. We owned our house and had a garden. They didn't have anything like that. Near that home was Strawberry Fields, a house near a boys' reformatory where I used to go to garden parties as a kid with my friends Nigel and Pete we would go there and hang out and sell lemonade bottles for a penny. We always had fun at Strawberry Fields. So that's where I got the name. But I used it as an image. Strawberry Fields forever."Some of the lyrics reflect being misunderstood. Lennon added: "The second line goes, 'No one I think is in my tree.' Well, what I was trying to say in that line is, 'Nobody seems to be as hip as me, therefore I must be crazy or a genius.'"
"There is a memorial to Lennon in Central Park called "Strawberry Fields." It is located across from The Dakota, the building in New York City where Lennon lived"
Hey Jude, don't make it bad Take a sad song and make it better Remember to let her into your heart Then you can start to make it better
Hey Jude, don't be afraid You were made to go out and get her The minute you let her under your skin Then you begin to make it better
And anytime you feel the pain Hey Jude refrain Don't carry the world upon your shoulders For well you know that it's a fool Who plays it cool By making his world a little colder Na na na na na Na na na na
Hey Jude don't let me down You have found her, now go and get her Remember to let her into your heart Then you can start to make it better
So let it out and let it in Hey Jude begin You're waiting for someone to perform with And don't you know that it's just you Hey Jude, you'll do The movement you need is on your shoulder Na na na na na Na na na na yeah
Hey Jude, don't make it bad Take a sad song and make it better Remember to let her under your skin Then you begin to make it better Better, better, better, better, better, oh Yeah
Na, na na na na na na na na na na, hey Jude
Song Notes :"Paul McCartney wrote this as "Hey Jules," a song meant to comfort John Lennon's son Julian as his parents were getting a divorce. The change to "Jude" was inspired by the character "Jud" in the musical Oklahoma!. McCartney loves show tunes"
"This was the Beatles longest single, running 7:11, and at the time was the longest song ever released as a single. It was the first long song to get a lot of airplay, as radio stations still preferred short ones so they could play more of them"
"This was the first song released on Apple Records, The record label owned by The Beatles"
"This is the most commercially successful Beatles song. It was #1 in at least 12 countries and by the end of 1968 had sold more than 5 million copies"
Lennon: "I always heard it as a song to me."
"George Harrison wanted to play a guitar riff after the vocal phrases, but Paul wouldn't let him. Things got tense between them around this time as McCartney got very particular about how Harrison played on songs he wrote"
Paul McCartney on his songwriting partnership with John Lennon in Observer Music Monthly October 2007: "I have fond flashbacks of John writing - he'd scribble it down real quick, desperate to get back to the guitar. But I knew at that moment that this was going to be a good collaboration. Like when I did 'Hey Jude.' I was going through it for him and Yoko when I was living in London. I had a music room at the top of the house and I was playing 'Hey Jude' when I got to the line 'The movement you need is on your shoulder' and I turned round to John and said: 'I'll fix that if you want.' And he said: 'You won't, you know, that's a great line, that's the best line in it.' Now that's the other side of a great collaborator - don't touch it, man, that's OK."
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree There will be an answer, let it be For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see There will be an answer, let it be Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be There will be an answer, let it be Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me Shine until tomorrow, let it be I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be There will be an answer, let it be Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Song Note :"Paul McCartney wrote this song. It was inspired by his mother, Mary, who died when he was 14. Many people thought "Mother Mary" was a biblical reference when they heard it"
Since Let It Be was The Beatles last album, it made an appropriate statement about leaving problems behind and moving on in life. The album was supposed to convey an entirely different message. It was going to be called "Get Back," and they were going to record it in front of an audience on live TV, with another TV special showing them practicing the songs in the studio. It was going to be The Beatles getting back to their roots and playing unadorned live music instead of struggling in the studio like they did for The White Album. When they started putting the album together, it became clear the project wouldn't work and George Harrison left the sessions. When he returned, they abandoned the live idea and decided to use the TV footage as their last movie. While the movie was being edited, The Beatles recorded and released Abbey Road, then broke up. Eventually, Phil Spector was given the tapes and asked to produce the album, which was released months after The Beatles broke up. By then, it was clear "Let It Be" would be a better name than "Get Back."
"McCartney had a dream one night when he was paranoid and anxious. He saw his mom who had been dead for ten years or so; she came to him in his time of trouble, speaking words of wisdom. This brought him much peace when he needed it. It was this sweet dream that got him to begin writing the song"
"John Lennon hated this song because of it's apparent Christian overtones. He made the comment before recording it, "And now we'd like to do Hark The Angels Come." Lennon saw to it that "Maggie Mae," a song about a Liverpool prostitute, followed it on the album"
"This was the first Beatles song released in The Soviet Union. The single made it there in 1972"
I've got a feeling, a feeling deep inside Oh yeah, oh yeah, that's right I've got a feeling, a feeling I can't hide No no no, oh no, oh no Yeah yeah I've got a feeling yeah
Oh please believe me, I'd hate to miss the train Oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah And if you leave me I won't be late again Oh no, oh no, oh no Yeah yeah I've got a feeling yeah I've got a feeling
All these years I've been wandering around Wondering how come nobody told me All that I was looking for was somebody Who looked like you
I've got a feeling, that keeps me on my toes Oh yeah, oh yeah I've got a feeling, I think that everybody knows Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah Yeah yeah I've got a feeling yeah Yeah
Everybody had a hard year Everybody had a good time Everybody had a wet dream Everybody saw the sunshine Oh yeah, oh yeah oh yeah, oh yeah Everybody had a good year Everybody let their hair down Everybody pulled their socks up Everybody put their foot down
Oh yeah Yeah I've got a feeling A feeling deep inside Oh yeah Oh yeah I've got a feeling A feeling I can't hide
Oh no Oh no no no Yeah yeah yeah yeah I've got a feeling I've got a feeling
Everybody had a good year Everybody had a hard time Everybody had a wet dream Everybody saw the sunshine Everybody had a good year Everybody let their hair down Everybody pulled their socks up Everybody put their foot down
Oh yeah Oh yeah I've got a feeling Yeah yeah yeah yeah Oh my soul, so hard
Song Notes :"This is a mix of 2 unfinished songs, Paul McCartney's "I've Got a Feeling" and John Lennon's "Everybody Had a Hard Year." In later years, The Beatles would sometimes cobble together songs from bits they hadn't completed. "A Day In The Life" is a good example"
"This was the last song Lennon and McCartney wrote as a partnership"
Don't let me down, Don't let me down Don't let me down, Don't let me down
Nobody ever loved me like she does Oooo she does..yes she does
And if somebody loved me like she do me Yes she do me Yes she does
Don't let me down, Don't let me down Don't let me down, Don't let me down
I'm in love for the first time Don't you know it's gonna last It's a love that lasts forever It's a love that has no past
Don't let me down, Don't let me down Don't let me down, Don't let me down
And from the first time that she really done me Oooo she done me she done me good
I guess nobody ever really done me Ooo she done me...she done me good
Don't let me down, Don't let me down Don't let me down, Don't let me down
Song Notes :
"John Lennon dedicated this song to Yoko"
"Billy Preston played keyboards. Formerly Little Richard's keyboard player, Preston was one of the few outside musicians (excluding members of orchestras) to play on any Beatles song. George Harrison brought him in to smooth tensions in the studio. He did the same thing during The White Album sessions, when he brought in Eric Clapton. The presence of a musician The Beatles respected had a way of making them put aside their differences"
Love, love, love There's nothing you can do that can't be done Nothin' you can sing that can't be sung Nothin' you can say, but you can learn how to play the game It's easy...
Nothin' you can make that can't be made No one you can save that can't be saved Nothin' you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time It's easy...
All you need is love All you need is love All you need is love, love Love is all you need
Nothin' you can know that isn't known Nothin' you you can see that isn't shown Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be It's easy...
All you need is love All you need is love All you need is love, love Love is all you need
All you need is love All together now All you need is love Everybody All you need is love, love Love is all you need
Love is all you need Love is all you need
Yesterday
Love is all you need Love is all you need
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
Song Notes :"The Beatles wrote this in 2 weeks as a message to the world. It was written and released faster than any other Beatles song"
" 'All You Need Is Love' was a popular saying in the '60s anti-war movement"
"Musically, this song is very unusual. The chorus is only one note, and the song is in a rare 7/4 tempo"
"John Lennon's hand-written lyrics for this song sold for 1 Million pounds in the summer of 2005. Lennon left them in the BBC studios after The Beatles' last live TV appearance, and they were salvaged by an employee"
"This came out in the middle of the Summer of Love (1967). It was a big part of the vibe."
Yesterday All my troubles seemed so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay Oh I believe in yesterday
Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be There's a shadow hanging over me Oh yesterday came suddenly
Why she had to go I don't know She wouldn't say I said something wrong Now I long for yesterday
Yesterday Love was such an easy game to play Now I need a place to hide away, Oh I believe in yesterday
Why she had to go I don't know She wouldn't say I said something wrong Now I long for yesterday
Song Notes :McCartney wrote some of the lyrics during a 5 hour car trip from Lisbon to Albufeira (in Algarve, south of Portugal), on the 27th of May, 1965, when he was on vacation with Jane Asher. The villa where Paul and Jane stayed was owned by Shadows' guitarist Bruce Welch. Bruce said that when he was packing to leave, Paul asked him if he had a guitar because (Paul) was working on the lyrics since the airport. Said Bruce: "He borrowed my guitar and started playing the song we all now know as 'Yesterday'."
"This is the most covered pop song of all time, over 3,000 versions recorded according to The Guinness Book Of World Records"
"McCartney is the only Beatle to play on this. It was the first time a Beatle recorded without the others"
"The working title was "Scrambled Eggs" until Paul could figure out lyrics"
McCartney has consistently talked about how easy this song was for him to compose. In describing it, he has said "I did the tune easily and then the words took about 2 weeks.
Well, shake it up baby now shake it up baby Twist and shout twist and shout Come on, come on, come on, baby now come on, baby Come on and work it on out work it on out
Ooooooooh
Well work it on out now work it on out You know you look so good look so good You know you got me goin' now got me goin Just like I knew you would just like I knew you would
Oooooooh
Well, shake it shake it shake it baby now shake it up baby Twist and shout twist and shout Come on, come on, come on baby now come on, baby Come on and work it on out work it on out You know you twist little girl twist little girl You know you twist so fine twist so fine Come on and twist a little closer now twist a little closer Let me know that you're mine let me know you're mine
Aaaaah, aaaaaah, aaaaaah, aaaaah
Yeah, shake it up baby now shake it up baby Twist and shout twist and shout Come on, come on, come on baby now come on baby Come on and work it on out work it on out Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby yeah shake it, baby Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby yeah shake it, baby Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby yeah shake it, baby
Aaaaah, aaaaah, aaaaaah, aaaaah
Song Notes :"This was the first hit song written by Bert Berns. He went on to write songs for The Drifters, Ben E. King, and Van Morrison. He died of a heart attack in 1967"
A Philadelphia R&B group called The Top Notes originally recorded this in 1961. It was a hit for The Isley Brothers in 1962, which is the version The Beatles emulated. Engineer Norman Smith explained how The Beatles version came about: "Someone suggested they do 'Twist and Shout' with John taking the lead vocal. But by this time all their throats were sore; it was 12 hours since we had started working. John's, in particular, was almost completely gone so we really had to get it right the first time. The Beatles on the studio floor and us in the control room. John sucked a couple more Zubes (a brand of throat lozenges), had a bit of a gargle with milk and away we went."
"The Beatles recorded this in the last few minutes of the Please Please Me session. They had been recording all day, and Lennon's voice was shot. They got it right in the first take, which was fortunate because Lennon's voice probably couldn't have handled another"
I think I'm gonna be sad I think it's today, yeah The girl that's driving me mad Is going away
She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care
She said that living with me Is bringing her down yeah For she would never be free When I was around
She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care
I don't know why she's ridin' so high She ought to think twice She ought to do right by me Before she gets to saying goodbye She ought to think twice She ought to do right by me
I think I'm gonna be sad I think it's today yeah The girl that's driving me mad Is going away, yeah
She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care
I don't know why she's ridin' so high She ought to think twice She ought to do right by me Before she gets to saying goodbye She ought to think twice She ought to do right by me
She said that living with me Is bringing her down, yeah For she would never be free When I was around
Ah, she's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care My baby don't care, my baby don't care My baby don't care, my baby don't care My baby don't care, my baby don't care
Song Notes :
"According to A Hard Day's Write by Steve Turner, many Americans concluded the "ticket" was from British Railways, and "ride" was the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. McCartney confessed to his biographer Barry Miles that they were partly right. Paul had a cousin who ran a bar in Ryde and he and John had visited them there. Paul later mentioned that although the song was primarily about a girl riding out of the life of the narrator, they were conscious of the potential for a double meaning"
"Don Short, who traveled with the Beatles in the '60s, recalled that John coined the phrase "Ticket to Ride" for another meaning - The girls who worked the streets in Hamburg had to have a clean bill of health and the authorities would give them a card saying they were clean. Don later said that although he specifically recalls John telling him that, John could of been joking - you had to be careful with him like that"
John Lennon: "That was one of the earliest heavy-metal records made."
"The brief, but recognizable guitar solo was played by Paul McCartney, who was The Beatles bass player"
The long and winding road that leads to your door Will never disappear I've seen that road before it always leads me here Leads me to your door
The wild and windy night that the rain washed away Has left a pool of tears crying for the day Why leave me standing here, let me know the way Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried Anyway you'll never know the many ways I've tried And still they lead me back to the long and winding road You left me standing here a long, long time ago Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to you door
But still they lead me back to the long and winding road You left me standing here a long, long time ago Don't keep me waiting here (Don't keep me wait), lead me to you door Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Song Notes :"One of the last Beatles songs, Paul McCartney wrote this based on tensions within the band"
McCartney: "I just sat down at my piano in Scotland, started playing and came up with that song, imagining it was going to be done by someone like Ray Charles. I have always found inspiration in the calm beauty of Scotland and again it proved the place where I found inspiration."
"The road McCartney is talking about is the B842 which runs down the east coast of Kintyre and on into Campbeltown near his Scottish farmhouse"
"The Beatles performed this in the movie Let It Be. Both the movie and album were the last The Beatles released. Abbey Road was the last album they recorded"
"This was the only Beatles song where John Lennon played bass. He was ordinarily their rhythm guitarist. Harrison and Ringo had their parts removed by Phil Spector, so they don't appear on this at all"
I give her all my love that's all I do And if you saw my love You'd love her too I love her
She gives me everything And tenderly The kiss my lover brings She brings to me And I love her
A love like ours Could never die As long as I Have you near me
Bright are the stars that shine Dark is the sky I know this love of mine Will never die And I love her
Bright are the stars that shine Dark is the sky I know this love of mine Will never die And I love her
Song Note :"Paul McCartney wrote this about his girlfriend, an actress named Jane Asher. For a while, they were the most popular couple in England. After they broke up in 1968, McCartney married Linda Eastman and Asher became a proficient author. She runs her own business called 'Jane Asher Party Cakes'. "
"Ringo played the bongos, George Harrison played the acoustic guitar solo"
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping While my guitar gently weeps I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping Still my guitar gently weeps I don't know why nobody told you how to unfold your love I don't know how someone controlled you They bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning While my guitar gently weeps With every mistake we must surely be learning Still my guitar gently weeps
Well...
I don't know how you were diverted You were perverted too I don't know how you were inverted No one alerted you
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping While my guitar gently weeps Look at you all... Still my guitar gently weeps
Song Notes :"Eric Clapton played lead guitar on this song. He and George Harrison were good friends, but George had to convince him to come to the studio because Clapton was worried the other Beatles wouldn't want him there. Clapton's presence eased the mood in the studio at a tense time for The Beatles. They were at each other's throats during recording of The White Album, but they all relaxed when Clapton showed up"
"Harrison often had to fight to get his songs on the albums. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were not interested in this at first, but came around when Harrison brought Clapton to the studio"
"According to A Hard Day's Write by Steve Turner, Harrison was reading I Ching, the Chinese book of changes, and decided to write a song about the first words he saw, which were 'Gently Weeps'. "
"This was originally recorded as an acoustic ballad with just Harrison on acoustic guitar and Paul McCartney on organ. This version can be found on some bootlegs and on The Beatles Anthology 3"
"This was the first song Ringo played on after leaving the band in frustration a few weeks earlier. He returned to find flowers on his drums to welcome him back"
"The guitar Clapton used on this was a Les Paul. Later in his career, he switched to a Fender Stratocaster"
"Clapton became good friends with Lennon, and played with him on some of his solo work. When Harrison threatened to leave The Beatles in 1969, Lennon was ready to replace him with Clapton"
Song Notes :"This was one of the very last songs Lennon and McCartney sat and wrote together. They were at Paul's house messing around on the piano"
John Lennon claimed this was not about drugs, but many people didn't believe him, including US vice president Spiro Agnew, who once told a crowd that this song was a "Tribute to the power of illegal drugs." He said the lines, "I get by with a little help from my friends, I get high with a little help from my friends," "Is a catchy tune, but until it was pointed out to me, I never realized that the 'friends' were assorted drugs!"
"Ringo sang lead on this as "Billy Shears," a name chosen because it sounded good. The album was recorded as if Sgt. Pepper was a real band"
"The first line was originally "What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me?" Ringo did not want to sing it, fearing that if they ever did it live he would be pelted with tomatoes"
