Devon picks his favorite Beatle songs from 1963 - 1970

1963 "Love Me Do" is a simple love song. The instruments are basic with only two chords used through out the whole song. The blues-like harmonica played in the song really gives the song a distinct sound.

1963 "Don't Bother Me" was written by George Harrison. Being the first song ever written by him, he regards this song as the worst song he ever written. "Don't Bother Me" was written while George was in the hospital sick.

1964 "A Hard Day's Night" "We went to do a job, and we'd worked all day and we happened to work all night. I came up still thinking it was day I suppose, and I said, 'It's been a hard day... and I looked around and saw it was dark so I said, '...night!' So we came to 'A Hard Day's Night.'"

1964 "No Reply" The song is about a young man who is unable to contact his apparently unfaithful girlfriend, although he knows she is home ("They said it wasn't you, but I saw you peak through your window".)

1965 "You've got to hide your love away" It was rumored that this was the first gay rock song, a message to Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who was gay. In the part of The Beatles Anthology, that covers Epstein's death, this song is played, giving credence to the idea that this song was indeed a song about hiding one's homosexuality.

1965 "Girl" This was one of John Lennon's favorite Beatles songs. He revealed in the January 1971 edition of Rolling Stone, that in this song he was, "in a way, trying to say something or other about Christianity" which he was "opposed to at the time." He explained: "I was just talking about Christianity in that - a thing like you have to be tortured to attain heaven. I'm only saying that I was talking about 'pain will lead to pleasure' in 'Girl' and that was sort of the Catholic Christian concept - be tortured and then it'll be alright, which seems to be a bit true but not in their concept of it. But I didn't believe in that, that you have to be tortured to attain anything, it just so happens that you were."

1966 "She Said, She Said" The song was inspired by actor Peter Fonda, who was dropping acid with John Lennon while they were together at a party at the Playboy Mansion. John was trying to take in the beauty of the girls and the atmosphere, and Peter Fonda was whispering, "I know what it's like to be dead man." John originally wrote it as "He Said He Said" because it did come from Peter, but felt it didn't sound right, so he changed it to "She."

1967 "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" The "Lucy" who inspired this song was Lucy O'Donnell (later Lucy Vodden), who was a classmate of John's son Julian Lennon when he was enrolled at the private Heath House School, in Weybridge, Surrey. It was in a 1975 interview that Lennon said "Julian came in one day with a picture about a school friend of his named Lucy. He had sketched in some stars in the sky and called it Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." The identity of the real Lucy was confirmed by Julian in 2009 when she died of complications from Lupus. Lennon re-connected with her after she appeared on a BBC broadcast where she stated: "I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant… Julian had painted a picture and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school." Confusion over who was the real Lucy was fueled by a June 15, 2005 Daily Mail article that claimedthe "Lucy" was Lucy Richardson, who grew up to become a successful movie art director on films such as 2000's Chocolat and 2004's The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers. Richardson died in June 2005 at the age of 47 of breast cancer. Many people thought this was about drugs, since the letters "LSD" are prominent in the title, and John Lennon, who wrote it, was known to drop acid. In 1971 Lennon told Rolling Stone that he swore that he had no idea that the song's initials spelt L.S.D. He added: "I didn't even see it on the label. I didn't look at the initials. I don't look - I mean I never play things backwards. I listened to it as I made it. It's like there will be things on this one, if you fiddle about with it. I don't know what they are. Every time after that though I would look at the titles to see what it said, and usually they never said anything."

1967 "I Am the Walrus" Lennon explained the origins of this song in his 1980 Playboy interview: "The first line was written on one acid trip one weekend. The second line was written on the next acid trip the next weekend, and it was filled in after I met Yoko. Part of it was putting down Hare Krishna. All these people were going on about Hare Krishna, Allen Ginsberg in particular. The reference to 'Element'ry penguin' is the elementary, naive attitude of going around chanting, 'Hare Krishna,' or putting all your faith in any one idol. I was writing obscurely, a la Dylan, in those days." The idea for the Walrus came from the poem The Walrus and The Carpenter, which is from the sequel to Alice in Wonderland called Through the Looking-Glass. In his 1980 Playboy interview, Lennon said: "It never dawned on me that Lewis Carroll was commenting on the capitalist and social system. I never went into that bit about what he really meant, like people are doing with the Beatles' work. Later, I went back and looked at it and realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, Oh, s--t, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, 'I am the carpenter.' But that wouldn't have been the same, would it?" This song helped fuel the rumor that Paul McCartney was dead. It's quite a stretch, but theorists found these clues in the lyrics, none of which are substantiated:

"Waiting for the van to come" means the 3 remaining Beatles are waiting for a police van to come. "Pretty little policemen in a row" means policemen did show up.

"Goo goo ga joob" were the final words that Humpty Dumpty said before he fell off the wall and died.

During the fade, while the choir sings, a voice says "Bury Me" which is what Paul might have said after he died.

During the fade, we hear someone reciting the death scene from Shakespeare's play "King Lear."

In addition, a rumor circulated that Walrus was Greek for "corpse" (it isn't) in Greek, so that is what people thought of Paul being the Walrus. Also, in the video, the walrus was the only dark costume. 

1968 "Happiness is a warm gun" The title came from an article in a gun magazine John Lennon saw. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" was the slogan of the National Rifle Association. It struck Lennon as "fantastic, insane… a warm gun means you've just shot something." Like the composer Wagner, Lennon felt that a song must have increasing excitement, climax and redemption. The song is built from pieces of several different little songs, with different melodies and rhythms, and one after another, the excitement is increasing. The climax is the falsetto, and finally the redemption is in the continuing call and answer.

When The White Album was released in 1968, it was not commonly known that Lennon was a composer, as many people thought that he was only a lyric writer. After The Beatles broke up, their individual songwriting contributions were revealed in greater detail. 

A popular theory is that Lennon meant for this to be a drug metaphor for doing heroin:

-"Needing a fix"

-"Jump the gun" meaning to cook it up

-"Bang, Bang, SHOOT, SHOOT"

-"When I hold you in my arm, nobody can do me no harm" - heroin addicts tell how when you're on it, nothing can do you no harm and Lennon's overall nature seem to point to this.

1969 "I Want You (She's so heavy)" John Lennon wrote this about Yoko. Lennon was experimenting in heavy rock, so the song has few lyrics and long stretches of repeated chords. John Lennon sang this monofonic, as some of the troubadours sang in the Middle Ages: There is no chord behind the melody, but an instrument follows the singer's melody. The song ends with an orchestra arrangement, which was Lennon's idea, and is very much similar to the end of "Entry of the Gods into Valhalla" in "Das Rheingold" by Richard Wagner. The rhythm was based on Mel Torme's "Coming Home Baby."

1970 "Dig a Pony" There is a false start in this song that was caused by Ringo, as you can see Lennon looking back at him to make sure he's ready before they start again. What caused the hiccup is unclear: if you watch the clip, just as they are getting ready to count into the song, you see Ringo blowing smoke out of his mouth. There is a hesitation and you see him bending over, but it looks like he's already put his cigarette down prior to that. In the 1988 film Imagine: John Lennon, home video footage reveals Lennon being asked about several lines from this song by a young man who was found hiding on the property surrounding Tittenhurst, Lennon's home in Ascot, England. Lennon assures him that the song refers to no specific person and that the lyrics are "nonsense," a lyrical technique he also attributes to unspecified Bob Dylan songs. John stated in 1969 about this song, "I just make it up as I go along."

Paul is dead: Is it really a hoax?

In October of 1969 three weeks after the Beatle's celebrated Abbey Road album release. WKNR-FM's Russ Gibb took a call from a  man who identified himself as only 'Tom'. The Detroit deejay listened as the caller carefully laid out clues hidden in the Beatles' songs and album art. This indicated that Paul McCartney died on November 9, 1966 in an automobile accident. After the evidence was put together, the rumors began to fly and the great hoax came to life. Paul was replaced by a look a like. However, was this really a hoax? Or a well kept secret among the Beatles? 

The clues were pieced together from songs and album covers. Conspiracy buffs came up with this scenario. During the early-morning hours of November 9, 1966, Paul argued with his band mates in the studio while recording songs for their album Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band album. He left in a hurry just before 5 a.m. While driving to a friend's house, Paul picked up a female hitchhiker who couldn't control her excitement when she realized who was behind the wheel. The female passenger began to grab Paul and hug him, causing Paul to lose control of his car and smash into a stone fence. Rita was able to escape the car before it burst into flames killing him. Paul was decapitated and burnt to a crisp, making a positive ID difficult. 

The Great Cover Up.

Paul's death couldn't be leaked to the media. Brian Epstein felt that many fans would be devastated and the end of the Beatles would result from this. In order to keep McCartney's death under wraps, the Beatles would need a look-alike to sub for him. It's said they found the perfect candidate in a actor named William Shears Campbell, the winner of a McCartney look-alike contest who resembled the singer so much that he was supposedly on the Beatles' payroll as a stand-in to throw off fans and the press. This name however can be heard in the 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' song: 

"So let me introduce to you/ The one and only Billy Shears" 

Rubber Soul (U.K.) was rumored to be photographed with distortion because the look-alike replacement didn't fully look like Paul yet. The angle of in which they are standing is rumored also that they group is standing over Paul's grave. The album's name was supposed to be 'Rubber Paul' because the look-alike had undergone plastic surgery to look like Paul. John and the others felt this wasn't the real Paul and began to express it. George Harrison felt the name would reveal too much and thus John renamed the album Rubber Soul. 

Songs from the album that were apparently written about Paul's Death. 

Drive My Car 

You Won't See Me 

Nowhere Man 

Girl 

I'm looking Through You 

Yesterday and Today original album shows the two decapitated doll bodies on both Paul's shoulders. These indicate that Paul was decapitated in the car crash, and why George Harrison is holding a baby's head beside Paul's head. This album cover was later banned because they felt that the album would reveal that Paul is dead. Thus why the album cover was later replaced with this one below. 

The Album cover was replaced with this one shown above. You can see Paul is sitting inside of a trunk that is supposed to symbolize a coffin. Which was to hint that Paul was actually dead. John, George and Ringo are standing outside of the coffin because they are the only three remaining Beatles alive. 

I'm Only Sleeping: The song describes Paul while in his coffin. John said that Paul was only sleeping. 

Doctor Robert: The song is rumored to be about the surgeon who gave performed all the plastic surgeries on the Paul look-alike. 

(Doctor Robert/ You're a new a better man) 

Yesterday was written by John who was mourning the death of Paul. 

Act Naturally was written about the Beatles trying to act like the look-alike Paul was the real Paul. Thus going on with things as if Paul had never died. 

We Can Work It Out was written to show that the Beatles can move on with things even though Paul was dead. 

Revolver album cover was rumored to be drawn on because they feared people would figure out that the Paul look-alike wasn't the real Paul. Also it was rumored that Paul was still undergoing heavy plastic surgery to further make him look like Paul. Thus why you only see half of Paul's face in this album cover. When Paul was discovered in the car crash, one of his eyes had popped out of his face. This is why Paul's face is turned in the album to depict that Paul is in fact dead. The hand over Paul's head is said to be a way of saying someone has passed on, or someone has died. 

Eleanor Rigby was about Paul's funeral. It was only John, George and Ringo who attended Paul's funeral. No one else attended, thus why the song starts with "Ah look at all the lonely people". Father McCartney was going to be used in the song, but was later changed to Father McKenzie. 

"Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from hands as he walks from the grave/ no one was saved." 

Yellow Submarine was written about the grave yard that Paul was buried in. 

"In the land of Submarines" was all the coffins that were in the graveyard. 

"A sky of blue and a sea of green"was the graveyard which the three Beatles stood in during the funeral for Paul. 

I Want To Tell You 

"I want to tell you/ my head is filled with things to say/ when you're near/ all those words they seem to slip away" is indicating that George is having a hard time dealing with Paul being dead. Thus having nothing to say to the look-alike Paul who replaced him. 

Got to Get You into My Life is rumored about look-alike Paul's addiction to Pot, which he developed to deal with all the plastic surgery that he was undergoing. 

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover was depicting Paul's funeral. John inserted a message that indicated that Paul was dead. The statue that sits between the 'L' and 'E' is supposed to spell out the word 'lies'. The Guitar that was made out of flowers below Beatles is supposed to spell out 'Paul'. If you say the phrase 'Hear lies Paul' is being depicted on the album cover. There are only three strings on the guitar which indicates there are only three Beatles. 

On the album cover all there's a picture of Ringo, John and George grieving over the death of Paul. The people in the background were rumored to be all the people who would've attended Paul's funeral if he his death were made public. 

The inner sleeve was supposed to represent the car crash scene. Paul is bloody. 

The back cover of the album shows that Paul is facing away from the rest of the Beatles. The others felt that the look-alike Paul wasn't a real Beatles and asked him to turn away from the camera to show that there were only three 'real Beatles' instead of four. 

Getting Better is about the look alike Paul getting better at trying to be the 'real Paul' who had died. 

She's Leaving Home is about Paul leaving the studio after the argument. They changed it to 'she' so people wouldn't know that they were actually talking about Paul. 

Good Morning, Good Morning "Nothing to do to save his life" is about Paul being seen in the car crash and he was decapitated. So there was nothing they could do to save his life because he was dead.

Lovely Rita is about the hitchhiker Paul had picked up. "Took her home nearly made it" indicates that Paul and Rita were in a car crash and never made it to the destination that Paul was heading to.  

A Day In the Life "I read the news oh boy/ about a lucky man who made the grade" is clearly about Paul being in the car crash. "He blew his mind out in a car" indicates that Paul was decapitated in the car crash. 

Magical Mystery Tour album if turned upside down is supposedly spells out the number to a funeral home which Paul was taken to and was prepared at before he was buried. Paul in this picture is the Hippo with the huge hole in his chest, which depicts Paul's injury from the car crash. 

If you turn the album side ways looking at the back cover. You'll see the word RIP spelled out. Which was dedicated to Paul who was dead. 

Blue Jay Way 

'Paul is bloody' can he heard in the song. 

Strawberry Fields Forever 

'I buried Paul' 

After getting much heat about the clues John was placing in the albums about Paul's Death. The Beatles decided to just throw a blank album cover both front and back. However, that didn't keep John from writing songs to further hint clues that Paul was dead. 

While My Guitar Gently Weeps George is weeping 'Paul' towards the end of the song. 

Don't Pass Me By was written by Ringo and depicts Paul being in the car crash. 'I heard you were in a car crash and you lost your hair', when Paul was in a car crash he lost his head and was severely burned. 

Other songs rumored to be part part of the theory to Paul's Death. 

Why Don't We Do It in the Road? 

Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey

During the recording session of the album The Beatles went to India to see Maharishi. The Beatles thought they could get the spirit of Paul McCartney to enter the body of the fake Paul. However, they were unsuccessful and decided to go back. The look-alike Paul thought they were going to India to learn how to meditate. 

On the cover of the album Abbey Road, the band is photographed crossing Abbey Road in London outside of the British Music Company EMI Abbey Road Recording Studios. Paul is out of step with the other Beatles, barefoot and with his eyes closed. In may countries, including England bodies are buried shoeless. The Beatles are dressed on the cover are as followed: 

Lennon in white is the preacher. 

Starr in black is the undertaker. 

McCartney in the suit and barefoot is the corpse. 

Harrison in the blue jeans and work shirt is the grave digger. 

The license plate on the Volkswagen has 28 IF which is rumored to mean that Paul would've been 28 if he had survived the car crash. 

Maxwell was rumored to be the officer part of the MI5 (British Intelligence Unit) who was assigned to keep an eye out on the Beatles and make sure they kept their mouths shut about the death of Paul. 

Let it Be was the last album released by the Beatles. Paul's picture was shot in red and he faces away from everyone else in the album. This was supposed to mean that Paul wasn't a real Beatle thus he was told to face in an opposite direction. During the photo shooting of the album cover, Paul's chin began to fall apart due to the plastic surgery. This is why they put on the fake facial hair on Paul. They asked the other band members to grow their hair so they looked older to keep Paul from standing out. 

Is Paul really dead? 

A long going rumor that Yoko Ono had broke up the Beatles may actually be false. George decided that the Beatles had to break up because once the rumors were made public about Paul being dead. MI5 were going to kill John, George and Ringo because they revealed the secret to the public. Thus why they had Paul go out publically and reveal that he was in fact alive. During the time of fear, Paul fled to a small farm. John fled to the U.S. and married Yoko Ono in hopes that he would be saved from being killed. George Harrison made huge public appearances and wrote popular albums and songs in hopes that the MI5 wouldn't try to kill him.

"All we are saying is give peace a chance" 

John Lennon started to act insane along with Yoko Ono. He had hoped that if he appeared crazy, the MI5 would have no reason to kill him. Thus why John took interest in Yoko's screaming and calling it a new form of 'expression' in music. The FBI tried to deport John Lennon from the U.S. because the MI5 wanted him in London so John would be more vulnerably to being killed 

Paul McCartney had taken a liking to Linda who was a photographer for the band. George felt that this was too risky because she would find out that Paul really wasn't the real Paul. Paul who was falling for Linda ignored George's warning and continued his relationship with Linda. After a while, Linda slowly discovered that Paul wasn't really Paul and threatened to expose his secret unless he married her and helped her become famous like him. This is why Paul created the band Wings. 

John Lennon had threatened to expose the truth about how Paul McCartney was killed in a car crash and was replaced by a look-alike. George Harrison tried to warn John that if he did this he would be killed by MI5 who were looking for them. However, John didn't take in the warning and was later killed eight days later after talking to George Harrison. 

The biggest question still remains, is Paul McCartney really dead? Well this is certainly a fun theory to poke and and also very interesting to pull apart the lyrics and album covers art to find secret meanings. There is no definite answer whether or not Paul is really dead. We won't really know if Paul is really dead or not because these are merely conspiracy theories that were created by fans who really loved the band. Even to this day the theory is still alive and still going on strong, as many people think the real Paul is buried somewhere near Liverpool in a private unmarked grave. Did the Beatles really reveal that Paul was dead in their songs? Did the Beatles really split because of their fear of being killed by MI5? 

Questions that can't be answered because there are no definite answers. It's a very elaborate theory and will remain a mystery until more evidence is revealed or someone comes forward and speaks out. 

The Beatles will Let it Be

“Two of us riding nowhere spending someone’s hard earned pay…”

Let it Be represented the end of The Beatles. It wasn’t the last recorded album by the band as Abbey Road was. The way the albums were released was in opposite order. This sounds unusual but then again coming from The Beatles nothing surprises me here. Let it Be is a farewell album filled with interesting tracks that showed the band’s further division and further interests of recording together. "Two of Us" is the album starter and probably is one of the rarer songs you’ll hear with both Paul McCartney and John Lennon singing a duet. 

There are a few other songs on the album with McCartney and Lennon singing together in but they don’t quite sound as good as this track. It’s a great opener and certainly an underrated song by the band. "Dig a Pony" is my personal favorite track on the entire album. Its nonsensical lyrics and catchy chorus help drive the song from start to finish. John Lennon described this song as “a piece of garbage”, but then again Lennon also stated this about a lot of his songs:

“I dig a pony now you can celebrate anything you want…”

"Across the Universe" is probably one of the most delicate and underrated song on the album. Lyrically and instrumentally from beginning to finish this song is a good listen.

John’s vocals are not the best but it’s still a great track. "I Me Mine" is sort of a rock waltz type song written by George Harrison. This track is interesting because it’s a lot darker than the other tracks on the album. The message of ego and how people like to brag about themselves is really what this song is all about. During the recording of this song John Lennon and Yoko Ono are dancing around the studio. This can be seen on the film titled Let it Be which was released as a promotional video for the album.

"Let it Be" and "Long and Winding Road" both are the sadder songs on the album. Both have lead vocals by McCartney. There’s nothing wrong with the two songs as they reached number one singles by the band. When you listen to them you get this strange sad feeling that the band really is departing and looking in differ directions. I personally don’t like either track for that simple reason:

“The long and winding road that leads to your door…”

"Get Back" rounds up the album and is a good track. Not one of my personal favorites by McCartney, but the lyrics and instruments are well played in the song. It’s one of those songs that are easily forgettable, but still a good track to listen to. 

Let it Be was the final album release by the band even though technically it wasn’t. It has some songs that showcase the band and their creative lyrics and musicianship. Lyrically some songs are sloppy and just a tad boring. That’s the whole appeal of the album however; it’s like a graduation speech that gets rather emotional and sad in parts. In all this is a great album but not the best...

“Speaking words of wisdom let it be…”

 Devon M

Numero CINCO!

Not often can one come up with a definite answer to a question that can never be fully answered. Well let's back up, the question is - - "What's your top 5 favorite songs?". Yeah, I know that means you'll have to put your thinking caps on for this one! It's really hard trying to go through a steadily growing list of artist and pick your top favorites. You can have several or even hundreds of different artist that you like. But to pick that one to be called a top. That's truly a task beyond tasks. Unless you're just one of those who listen to one artist and like only one song. Then you would be missing the point, and there would be no real reason for you to continue reading. That makes you the weakest link, goodbye! But for those who actually care and are interested in knowing what I picked as my "Top 5". Keep reading and soon you shall discover the truth.

5) Arcade Fire, "Cold Wind" (2005)

Although there is no definite answer to what the true meaning to the song is. There's a sense of mystery hidden behind the lead singer's cracked-vocals. Not featured on any of their studio albums. "Cold Wind" is one of the best songs by Arcade Fire. It's a good Indie song that stands out from the bunch.

4) Nirvana, "All Apologies" (1993)

One of the best songs by Nirvana. Not because it was played on "Six Feet Under". But the songs is still great. Interesting lyrics and a hardcore edgy style music structure. The song was dedicated to Kurt Cobain's wife and daughter. To summarize the song, "peaceful, happy and comfort".

3) Radiohead, "Creep" (1994)

The song starts off rather mellow with depressing lyrics. As the chorus approaches. Jonny Greenwood plays three dead notes on his guitar as the chorus roars in. In retrospect however, just from those "dead notes" being played. That 'human error' really made the song. The whole song itself is very nicely arranged. Although it was considered to depressing to be mainstream. It's still one of the best by Radiohead

2) Flyleaf, "Tiny Heart" (2009)

Flyleaf is known for hardcore edgy rock songs. But going from hardcore loud to mellow alternative sounding isn't easy. But "Tiny Heart" does this with a good sound. The lyrics are very straight forward. With great vocals and nicely done song structure. When you can make a mellow song sound just as good as your hardcore ones. Then you're on the right track.

1) The Beatles, "She Said, She Said" (1966)

This song has an interesting origin. John Lennon and Peter Fonda were on an Acid Trip. When Peter Fonda told John Lennon he knew what it was like to be dead. After this statement. John was freaked out and decided to write a song based on that statement. That's how the song came to life. With backing vocals from George Harrison, this has to be one of the best examples of Acid Rock at its best.

Devon M

'Turn me on dead man'

 The Beatle’s self titled ninth album (White Album is the more popular name) was recorded during a dark time within the Beatles. The band members wanted to explore their unique talents musically and lyrically, which explains why many songs on this album feels more divided compared to their other albums. Back in the U.S.S.R gives you the impression that The Beatles are trying to go after a more Beach Boys parody. Everything from lyrics to music arrangements screams Beach Boys with the song title being a rip off of Chuck Berry’s Back in the USA. During the time of this song’s recording Ringo Starr walked out of the recording studio and announced that he had quit the band after a heated argument among the band members. Dear Prudence is a nice track with a good piano riff. You’d think after the high energy album starter that The Beatles would stay to one trend and that’s Beach Boy-like songs, but then again this is The Beatles we are talking about. Paul McCartney lends a hand in drums and does a darn good job. Lyrically Dear Prudence is a good listen and displays interesting vocals by John Lennon.

“Here’s another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul.”

Glass Onion is one of the weirder tracks of the album. It’s a great track to listen to, with subtle hints that Paul in fact is dead (‘here’s another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul’) in the lyrics. The best part of the song in my opinion is towards the end where it takes a spooky haunting twist in melody. A sound that you sort of hear at the end of a mystery thriller that’s being left at a cliff hanger, this song indeed leaves you wanting more but cuts you off short. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill is a strange track by John Lennon. While on their trip to India for meditation, a guest of the band shot and killed a tiger which gave Lennon the inspiration for the song. Appearing in cameo of the song is Yoko Ono (which everyone knew was coming). While My Guitar Gently Weeps is one of the darker tracks on the album. It sounds almost as if this song doesn’t even belong on the album altogether. George Harrison invited Eric Clapton to play lead guitar in the song in hopes that it would make the band take the song more serious. Towards the end of the song fans thought George was crying out ‘Paul, Paul’ hinting further into the mystery of Paul is Dead theory.

“I need a fix ‘cause I’m going down, down to the bits that I left uptown.”

Happiness Is a Warm Gun is personally my favorite track by John Lennon on this album. John Lennon grabbed inspiration for the song from a magazine that said Happiness Is a Warm Gun. The song itself is literally two songs combined into one. It starts off smooth with fuzzy guitars being heard in the background. Then out of nowhere there’s the distorted guitar solo which helps the song jump into a different mood. After Mother Superior jump the gun the song sort of takes a more doo-wop sound. Many suggested that Lennon’s Vocals are that of a Heroin addict. One needing a fix and parts of the song where he describes holding a syringe in his arm and saying no one can do him any harm once he’s on the drug. Drugs or not this song is really a great listen and is quite different compared to other tracks on this album. Helter Skelter is probably one of the loudest songs The Beatles have on this album. It’s very aggressive and lyrically and vocally. Inspired by The Who I Can See For Miles Paul McCartney took the song and pushed it to another level. The song itself was recorded in total madness, but the end result was a fantastic song that really is in my opinion the finest piece of work from Paul along side Hey Jude.

“It’s been a long, long, long time”

Long, Long, Long is oddly placed next to the louder racier Helter Skelter. This was is one of Harrison’s gentler and quieter songs on the album. It’s quite moody and poetic in lyrics. The song is almost meditative and really does fit quite well next to the other tracks. Towards the end of the song is where it takes a creepy turn. A bottle of wine was left on top of the Leslie Speaker and began to rattle whenever Paul hit a certain note on his organ. Ringo starts pounding on his drums to cover the sound and George sings in a ghostly manner to also try to cover up this sound. This is a sound that is almost ghostly like and is very haunting and weird. This gives the track that moody dark tone that helps it out. George Harrison as a song writer really does shine through on this particular album. Revolution 9 is probably the weirdest song on the entire album, if you can call it a song. This track features a collage of noises and distant cries. You never know where this song is going because each second is different and weirder than the last. For eight minutes you’d forget that you were listening to a Beatle’s record. This track is also one of many tracks by The Beatles that has been subjected to the Paul is Dead theory.

“You say you want a revolution, well you know we all want to change the world”

The The White Album is the most unique album that the band has ever put together. Many songs you can tell were recorded as sort of solo songs rather than the group recording them as a whole. The division of the band and many individual talents really do shine in this album. Despite the tension among the band members, this album is a gem and is worth considering if you are getting into the band and want collage of songs that are distinct and interesting in their own rights.

Devon M

"Roll up, roll up for magical mystery tour step right this way…"

"The fool on the hill sees the sun going down, and the eyes in his head sees the world spinning 'round."

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was the most influential rock album ever released. Even though it had many controversial songs such as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds which to this day many believe is about LSD, and when you initial the song it spells the letters LSD. John Lennon stated the song was about a picture his son Julian drew about a girl he had a crush on named Lucy in his class. (Not going much more than that with this theory.) Magical Mystery Tour is more of a soundtrack rather than a concept album that Sgt Pepper. The album starter is Magical Mystery Tour which gives you the feeling that this album is going to take you on a journey somewhere far from home. The rather cheesy lyrics and somewhat okay instruments help carry this high energy song through without being pretensious or repetitive. The Fool on the hill is probably the best Paul McCartney song on the album. The lyrics are very good and have a real deep meaning behind them. The music video displays Paul running around on an English mountain side in a trench coat being absolutely silly. Maybe Paul was refering to himself as the fool on the hill. After this song the album kind of takes a weird turn with the non-vocal track Flying. This track reminds you of someone on acid looking out of a bus window and thinking that the bus is flying. The vivid music video displays colors and is very trippy indeed, just like the song itself. The structure of the song itself is very good and blends well with the next track Blue Jay Way. George Harrison wrote this song while waiting for a friend to come to his house while he as in California. Blue Jay Way is the name of a street that's located in Hollywood Hill overlooking Sunset Blvd. This street is incredibly hard to find especially when its foggy. 

"Ask a policeman on the street, there's so many there to meet."

George Harrison's vocals were changed in the song to sound very ghostly. The music video is very creepy and trippy as well. While listening to the track, you can smell what The Beatles were smoking while recording this track. It's a great song and is one of the most underrated George Harrison tracks. Your Mother Should Know is the weakest track on the album. There is great vocal harmony and the lyrics are okay. The instruments and the 50's style arrangement to the song is what makes it feel cheesy and bland. I Am the Walrus is a song that is in its own world. The intro of the song sounds as if it were taken from a police siren. The lyrics are very whimsical with a very catchy hook 'I am the walrus goo-goo g'joob'. It's a hard call due to the fact that John Lennon also wrote two other great songs Strawberry Fields Forever and All You Need Is Love. All three songs are great, but the haunting melody of Strawberry Fields Forever and the still to this day debated I buried Paul towards the end of the track is believed to be part of the Paul is dead theory (if you want to read more about that you can click the link above.) Hello Goodbye is probably one of the more pop songs on the album. It's a good song but after awhile the lyrics can get really stellar and reptitive. The song was featured on a Target Commercial and basically ruined its reputation. Magical Mystery Tour was turned into a short film which was weird and trippy as well. This was no surprise because the album itself starts off good, but it turns weird fast and that's not a bad thing because The Beatles are known for their weirdness. This is a solid album with a few weak tracks, but the overall impression is great. If you're trying to get into The Beatles, this is definitely a good track that is worth adding to your starting collection. 

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done."

Best tracks on album. 

Flying 

Blue Jay Way 

I Am the Walrus 

Strawberry Fields Forever

All You Need Is Love 

Devon M 

"Let me tell you how it will be..."

"Ah look at all the lonely people" 

If you put into a melting pot R&B, Rock, Pop and Indian Influenced Music you'll get the seventh album by The Beatles. Revolver is considered the most diverse and underrated Beatles album released. Taxman is possibly one of the best album starters of any Beatle's album. George Harrison wrote this song as an attack against the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour Government of Harold Wilson. The angry tone of the song really helps set the tone and makes it a real enjoyable song to listen to. Eleanor Rigby is by far the most interesting track on the whole entire album. This is one of the many Beatle songs that don't feature any percussion instruments and has a darker more meaningful tone in lyrics and music arrangement. Eleanor Rigby was considered the most important evolution from a pop live-performance band to a more experimental studio-oriented band. The track contains little studio trickery. When Eleanor Rigby was released it came as quite a shock to the pop listeners of 1965. It's bleak message of depression and almost funeral-like backing took number one spot on the pop charts. These bleak lyrical style wasn't the first deviation from love songs from the band, but were some of the most explicit. 

"We all live in a yellow submarine" 

I'm Only Sleeping was John Lennon's take on a his joy of staying in bed and being lazy. This track was the first of the many Beatle songs that featured backwards guitar playing by George Harrison. The lazy tone of the song and the carefree vocals of John Lennon gave the impression to many that it was a drug induced acid trip. Love You To is the Indian Influenced song of the album. George Harrison used Sitar, tabla and a tambura to provide the drone in this track. The lyrics again are very dark and moody. This was one of the first of many Indian Influenced tracks by George Harrison. This is one of my favorite songs by George Harrison in this genre. Yellow Submarine is one of the few tracks that was sung by Ringo Starr. The simple lyrics and studio effect sounds really give the song more of a Children's Song, but the catchy melody and simple memorable chorus helps make the song a enjoyable listen. Yellow Submarine reached number two in the U.S. Pop Charts. It would've made number one but John Lennon remarks towards Christianity hurt the song's chances of reaching number one. 

"She said, I know what it's like to be dead" 

The album favorite is She Said, She Said, which is John Lennon and George Harrison singing duet in. This is one of the first tracks that Paul McCartney didn't appear in. She Said, She Said was written as a last minute song for the album when they seen that the album appeared one track short. I know what it's like to be dead was said by Peter Fonda while tripping on acid. This gave John Lennon inspiration to write the track, changing the male perspective to a female perspective. In my opinion this is the best track on the album. It's quite catchy and flows through from beginning to end very smoothly without being repetitive. For No One is again one of the more dark and rather moody tracks by The Beatles on the album. Paul McCartney sings lead in this song and is also the lead vocals for the song. John Lennon cited that this was one of the favorite songs by Paul and considered it a nice piece of work. Got to Get You into My Life is one of the more R&B inspired songs of the album. Even though the song has been said to be about Paul's addiction to Marijuana. Earth Wind and Fire covered the song in 1978. Got to Get You into My Life wasn't released until six years after the album was released and while The Beatles had split up. It reached number six and was the last single by the band to reach the top ten before Free as a Bird was released in 1995. 

"Turn off your mind relax and float down stream" 

Tomorrow Never Knows is the most experimental track on the entire album. It featured backwards guitar solo and many tape loops that created the trippy sound effects. The lyrics were inspired by Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead by Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert and Ralph Metzner. This track itself is the most interesting due to the fact that it has the most distinct sound out of the whole album. It sounded as if the whole entire band were in the recording studio and decided to have an acid trip while recording the instruments of the song. The  backwards tape loops and guitars give the Psychedelic vibe from beginning to end. An interesting track and again one of the many strange songs by John Lennon. Revolver is one of the most underrated Beatle's album ever released. It blends many genres together in one album and is one of the most diverse albums ever released. It didn't get as much attention as Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road. But this album is a classic and well worth considering if you want to expand your Beatle's collection. 

"Everybody seems to think I'm lazy. I don't mind I think they're crazy."

Favorite Tracks: 

Eleanor Rigby

I'm Only Sleeping

Love You To

She Said, She Said 

Tomorrow Never Knows 

Devon M 

Songfacts (The Beatles) part two

Honey 
This song was a pastiche of the classic 1940's swing and sentimental ballads written by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin or Sammy Cahn. Paul McCartney explained in Barry Miles' biography of the Beatle, Many Years From Now: "Both John and I had a great love for music hall I very much liked that old crooner style - the strange fruity voice that they used, so 'Honey Pie' was me writing one of them to an imaginary woman, across the ocean, on the silver screen, who was called Honey Pie. It's another of my fantasy songs. We put a sound on my voice to make it sound like a scratchy old record. So it's not a parody, it's a nod to the vaudeville tradition that I was raised on."

John Lennon played lead guitar, George Harrison bass. During the White Album sessions, The Beatles often recorded in separate studios recording different parts. One would be doing vocals for a song while the other would do horns or guitar in a different studio. George Martin's assistant Chris Thomas ended up doing much of the work because Martin couldn't be in two places at once.

Scratches were added to an opening line from an old 78 RPM record to give a dated feel.

Beatles producer George Martin scored the brass and woodwind arrangement.

She came into the bathroom window 
Paul McCartney wrote this about a fan who broke into his house. Diane Ashley claims it was her. "We found a ladder in his garden and stuck it up the bathroom window which he'd left slightly open," she said. "I was the one who climbed up and got in."


Now married with four children, Diane keeps a framed photo of herself with Paul on her kitchen shelf and looks back on her days as an Apple Scruff with affection: "I don't regret any of it. I had a great time, a really great time."

Landis Kearnon (known at the time as Susie Landis) gave us the following account:

Here, all this time I thought this song was written about me and my friend Judy. What a surprise to learn there was someone named Diane Ashley who put a ladder up to Paul's house and climbed in through the bathroom window. This and the bit about "quit the police department" being inspired by an ex-cop taxi driver in NYC tells me something I already know about songwriting, which is that many songs are composites. This one obviously was because Diane wasn't the only person having a profound effect on Paul McCartney by crawling in a bathroom window in 1967 (maybe '68 in her case). Judy and I were paid $1500 by Greene & Stone, a couple of sleazy artist managers driving around the Sunset Strip in a Chinchilla-lined caddy limo, to "borrow" the quarter-inch master of "A Day In The Life" off of David Crosby's reel-to-reel, drive it to Sunset Sound studios in Hollywood where Greene & Stone duped it, then put it back where we found it at Crosby's Beverly Glen Canyon pad. Crosby was playing with the Byrds that day in Venice so we knew his house was empty. This was the day after a major rainstorm so the back of his house was one big mudslide. We climbed up it, leaving 8-inch deep footprints and, you guessed it, gained access via the bathroom window, leaving behind footprints and a veritable goldmine of forensic matter. We were really nervous and did not make clear mental notes of how the master reel was on the player, but did have the sense to leave Crosby's front door unlocked while we drove across town and back. After the tape was back on the machine (badly) we changed out of our muddy shoes, drove to the Cheetah in Venice, and hung out with the Byrds into the evening, thinking we were awfully clever and cute. We did not know why Greene & Stone would pay so much money for a copy of a Beatles song, other than the fact that is was a groundbreaking and mind-blowing piece, but found out the next day when we heard "A Day In The Life" on KHJ, I think it was. Greene & Stone had used it as payola to get one of their groups, The Cake, singing "Yes We Have No Bananas," on the air. Which they did, and it sucked, but oh well. By the following day "A Day In The Life" was no longer on the air. And just a day or two after that there was a front page blurb in the LA Times about "A Day In The Life" getting aired one month prior to the release date of the single and the Sgt. Pepper LP, which apparently cost the Beatles plenty and they were suing Capitol or Columbia, whichever the label was, for $2 million... and McCartney was flying in from London to deal with the mess. Oops. Judy and I nearly sank through the floor. Though we were active "dancers" in the various nightclubs on the Sunset Strip, we lay low for a while, not knowing what to expect. In fact, other than a song being written and a GREAT cover by Joe Cocker, nothing happened. We got our money, spent it on groovy clothes, of course (what else was there?) and never heard a word about it.

"I knew what I could not say" and "protected by a silver spoon" seemed to explain why there were no repercussions. My dad was a TV director who had already threatened to bust and ruin David Crosby for smoking pot with and deflowering his daughter; he had clout and David was afraid of him. Judy was from money and influence too. I feel that David knew exactly who had broken in and borrowed the tape but couldn't press charges. He probably wasn't supposed to be playing the master for all his friends and hangers-on, so there must have been hell to pay for him. I always felt bad for the cred it must have cost him with his friend Paul McCartney.

Oh, the bit about "Sunday's on the phone to Monday, Tuesday's on the phone to me" - that was somebody named Sunday, maybe a detective, I can't remember now, calling the producer Billy Monday about the break-in and song leak. Billy Monday, knowing she was a friend of McCartney's, called Tuesday Weld, and it was she who called Paul in London and told him the news. Well, I guess I didn't make this very short after all. But you can't tell me that this incident didn't feed into the overall inspiration for the song. I'm just glad it turned out so cool and hope it made a heap for them in compensation for the publicity costs at the outset.

It was interesting and exciting then, that's for sure. Even though I came of age into that scene and had nothing to compare it to, I still had a sense at the time of being at the epicenter of something big. Some of that was attributable to the hubris of youth, but some of it turned out to be real, as it happened. Now, present time, it makes my day to come across someone who still finds it interesting or even knows what or whom I'm talking about. By the way, I never did get to meet the Beatles, though I was invited to party where they were staying once, when I was 17. My mother wouldn't let me go! I never forgave her.

I lived in LA until 1987 where I was a model, actress, (groupie, but that wasn't professional), marching band manager, religious (Buddhist) leader, newspaper columnist, secretary, copywriter, copy editor, account executive, screenwriter, songwriter, band leader, session singer, textile designer, artist. Since then, in the Santa Fe area and now, since 1992, in Tucson, I continued my artistic and musical endeavors, ran a fabric-painting factory, was a jazz singer for several years (which has mutated to something more individual and artistic of late), have worked numerous odd jobs from pizza delivery to bookstore management, and am now close to completing my first novel, which is set in a Buddhist cult in the early '70s.

In the '70s I traveled halfway around the world on a square-rigged cargo ship, lived and sang in Europe for three years, and, as of 1991, am a mother of one though I never married.

Subsequent to the bathroom window event, my friend and partner in crime, as it were, Judy, went off with a Dick Clark Productions road show (can't remember the name of it but it was something timely) as "Irma the Dancing Girl." Her job, nightly, in each new town, was to put on a bikini, dance, and paint wild, acid abstract canvases with her extremely long blond hair. I, on the other hand, joined a Buddhist cult, which was like living on another planet entirely, and completely disappeared from view, as far as the "scene" was concerned. Judy and I didn't hang out much after we realized the impact of our little romp. We didn't talk about it, but we may have decided at some level that we pushed our combined wildness a bit too far on that one and moved on to "safer" friends. I saw her once in the early '70s. She had been married and divorced, was the mother of one, and that was the last contact we had.

The Beatles recorded this as one song with "Polythene Pam."

The Beatles gave this to Joe Cocker, who released it in 1969. The Beatles released their version first. Cocker's version was used on the soundtrack to the movie All This and World War II, released in 1976. A strange mix of World War II documentary footage set to the music of the Beatles, the movie bombed and has barely been heard of since. Others who covered The Beatles on the soundtrack include Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Tina Turner, Leo Sayer, Frankie Laine and the Bee Gees.

This is part of a suite of songs at the end of Abbey Road. They used bits from many songs they never finished to put the suite together.

McCartney played lead guitar and Harrison played bass. It was usually the other way around.

McCartney said in a documentary shown February 6, 2002 in England that part of the lyric was inspired by sitting in the back of a New York cab. The drivers name was on display (Quitts) saying "Ex Police Department," which inspired the line: "And so I quit the Police Department and got myself a steady job..."

Magical Mystery Tour 
A "Magical Mystery Tour" was a bus trip to an unknown destination. They were popular in England at the time.

Five months after recording this, The Beatles started making a TV special with this as the title track. The special aired in the UK in 1967, but didn't appear in the US until 1976 when it was released in theaters, becoming the fourth Beatles movie. The film, which was an early precursor of today's reality TV shows, didn't go over well with critics or fans.

When they started recording this, they only had the title, a little bit of music, and the first line. Paul McCartney wrote the verses, John Lennon the refrain.

In the 1978 movie The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash directed by former Monty Python member Eric Idle, this song is parodied by the title "Tragical History Tour."

Charles Manson used to refer to life as "A Magical Mystery Tour" after hearing this song. He later warped other Beatles songs ("Helter Skelter," "Piggies," "Blackbird") to explain a race war named Helter Skelter. He used to say that the Beatles were telling it like it is.

Piggies 
George Harrison wrote this song as a takedown of the upper crust, who he felt could be greedy and slovenly. The Beatles were already rich and famous, but came from very humble beginnings - Harrison grew up in a working-class family in Liverpool.

Harrison intended this as social commentary, but many people interpreted it as an anti-police anthem. Charles Manson, in his very disturbed mind, thought the term "damn good whacking" meant against the American police. During the murders of Sharon Tate, the LaBianca's and others, knives and forks were used to stab them because these utensils were mentioned in the song. The words "pig and piggy," were written with the victims' blood on the walls. Harrison was horrified when he learned his song took on another meaning.

John Lennon did not play on this, but he improved this slightly with the line, "Clutching forks and knives they eat their bacon" - adding a touch of cannibalism to the proceedings. This replaced the line, "Clutching forks and knives to cut their pork chops" which can be heard on Anthology 3. The pig noises were his idea.

This keeps the animal theme between "Blackbird" and "Rocky Raccoon" on The White Album.

There was an extra verse that wasn't included on the song. It goes:
"Everywhere there's lots of piggies playing piggie pranks
You can see them on their trotters
At the piggy banks
Paying piggy thanks
To thee pig brother."

Harrison's mother Louise contributed the line: "What they need is a damn good whacking."

Blackbird 
Paul McCartney wrote this about the civil rights struggle for blacks after reading about race riots in the US. He penned it in his kitchen in Scotland not long after an incident in Little Rock, when the federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.


McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008: "We were totally immersed in the whole saga which was unfolding. So I got the idea of using a blackbird as a symbol for a black person. It wasn't necessarily a black 'bird', but it works that way, as much as then you called girls 'birds'; the Everlys had had 'Bird Dog,' so the word 'bird' was around. 'Take these broken wings' was very much in my mind, but it wasn't exactly an ornithological ditty; it was purposely symbolic."

Only three sounds were recorded: Paul's voice, his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar, and a tapping that keeps time on the left channel.

This tapping sound is a bit of a mystery, although in the Beatles Anthology video McCartney appears to be making the sound with his foot. Some sources have claimed it is a metronome.

The birds were dubbed in later using sound effects from the collection at Abbey Road, where the song was recorded.

The guitar accompaniment for this song was inspired by Bach's Bourrée in E minor for lute. This is often played on classical guitar, an instrument Paul McCartney and George Harrison had tried to learn when they were kids. McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008: "We had the first four bars (of the Bourrée in E minor) and that was as far as my imagination went. I think George had it down for a few more bars and then he crapped out. So I made up the next few bars, and (sings his four-note variation Bach's theme) it became the basis of 'Blackbird.'"

This is one of the songs novice guitar players often try to learn, as it's one of the most famous fingerstyle tunes. The singer Donovan claims some credit for teaching The Beatles a technique similar to the one McCartney used here when they were on a retreat to India in early 1968.

Brad Mehldau recorded an instrumental jazz version of this song in 1997.

In 2002, The Doves covered this on the soundtrack to the TV series Roswell.

This was one of five Beatles songs McCartney performed on his Wings Over America tour in 1976.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl told Q magazine that he feels this is the greatest Paul McCartney song. He commented: "It's such a beautiful piece of music, perfect in composition and performance, and in its lyrics and in the range of his voice. Just learning that song made me a better guitar player and gave me a better appreciation of songwriting. To me it's just musical bliss."

At the Academy Awards ceremony in 2016, Dave Grohl performed this song to accompany the "in memoriam" segment, recognizing those in the movie industry who died the previous year.

Blackbird Singing is the title of a book of poems McCartney wrote.

Song facts (The Beatles)

‘Cry baby cry’

The lyrics were inspired by nursery rhymes and the songs Donovan was writing: Donovan's songs were "fairy tale" like. Donovan states, "I think the eventual imagery was suggested by my own songs of fairy tales. We had become very close in exchanging musical vibes." The song was based in part by two nursery rhymes, "Sing A Song Of Sixpence" and "Cry, baby, cry...stick a finger in your eye...etc."

John Lennon said he got the title for the song from an advertisement. The original line from that advertisement was, "Cry, baby cry. Make your mother buy." John told Hunter Davies (the Beatles official biographer) "I've got another (song) here, a few words, I think I got them from an advert - 'Cry baby cry, Make your mother buy.' I've been playing it over on the piano. I've let it go now. It'll come back if I really want it."

At the very end of the song, there is a conversation between George Martin and Alistair Taylor. Here is what's said:

Alistair Taylor: "bottle of claret for you if I'd realized. I'd forgotten all about it George, I'm sorry..."

George Martin: "Well, do next time"

Alistair: "Will you forgive me"?

George: "Mmmm...yes..."

Alistair: "cheeky bitch."

This is one of the songs begun in Rishikesh, India when the Beatles were staying with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

In the song, John mentions the "Duchess of Kircaldy." Kircaldy is in Fife, Scotland and when he was young, Kircaldy was a stop that John always made when in route to visit his relations in Durness. The Beatles also performed in Kircaldy in their early years.

‘Because’

John Lennon got the idea for this song when he heard Yoko to playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on the piano. He asked her to play it backwards, and came up with "Because" based on what he heard. John said, "I was lying on the sofa in our house, listening to Yoko play Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' on the piano. Suddenly, I said 'Can you play those chords backward?' She did, and I wrote 'Because' around them. The song sounds like 'Moonlight Sonata,' too. The lyrics are clear, no bulls--t, no imagery, no obscure references."

The vocals are a 3-part harmony by Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison that was overdubbed twice, creating a 9-part harmony. This is the only Beatles song with three singers throughout.

Lennon said the arrangement was terrible, but McCartney and Harrison felt this was the best track on Abbey Road.

This was the first use of a Moog synthesizer on any recording. Harrison had the instrument specially made, and did his best to figure it out.

The 2006 Love album, which is a soundtrack to the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show of the same name, features an a capella version of this song. The album contains 26 tracks which are made up of 130 separate recordings - some are just a chord or two, and some tracks are superimposed on other tracks.

‘For no one’

Paul McCartney wrote this song sitting in a chalet while on holiday with his girlfriend Jane Asher in Klosters, Switzerland, March of 1966. The working title was "Why Did It Die," and there is speculation that McCartney wrote the song about Asher, who was a successful London actress.

The theory is that Paul wanted her to cater to his schedule, tour with him, and be the "perfect Beatle wife," but Jane had a life and career of her own, hence the "She doesn't need you" lyrics. Paul has never said it was about Jane specifically, however he did say, "I guess there had been an argument. I never have easy relationships with women." He knew what he was getting into when he got involved with Jane, and being that the song was written in 1966 and they didn't break up until 1968, it's likely that if the song was about Jane, it wasn't a serious argument.

When he heard the title, Alan Civil, who played the French Horn on this track, thought it was an orchestral piece called "For No. One"

This was recorded on May 9, 16 and 19, 1966 by only two Beatles - Paul singing and playing the keyboard and bass, and Ringo on percussion.

Maureen McGovern recorded this and "Things We Said Today" as a 2-song medley for her 1992 album Baby I'm Yours.

McCartney used this in his 1984 movie Give My Regards to Broad Street.

Revolver was the last Beatles album to have different US and UK versions. In 2002, Rolling Stone readers voted it the greatest album of all time. The album cover was created by artist Klaus Voormann, who became friends with the band when they were playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany in the early '60s.

‘Good day sunshine’

Paul McCartney wrote this on a sunny day at John Lennon's house. It was influenced by the Lovin' Spoonful, who had a happy hit with "Do You Believe In Magic?"

The actual Lovin' Spoonful hit which inspired this song was "Daydream," a famously carefree, upbeat tune. McCartney confided in interviews that it was intended to evoke "the same traditional, almost trad-jazz feel" and that "Good Day Sunshine" was Paul's effort to write something in the same spirit.

The song was recorded over two days, with the first day being the bass, piano, and drums picked best out of three takes, then the lead vocals (Paul, George, and John) dubbed over that. On day two, Ringo added more drums, producer George Martin added the piano solo on a tape recorder running a step slower so it would sound sped-up, and more harmonies and hand claps were added.

An early use of stereo, the chorus bounces between the left and right channels at the fade.

Covers for this song include Claudine Longet, who charted with it in 1967 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the Scottish singer Lulu on her 1970 album Melody Fair. McCartney himself also rerecorded it for his 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street.

Rolling Stone ranks Revolver at #3 on its 2003 list of "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time," second only to the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. "Good Day Sunshine" received a lot of praise individually from critics, even out of all that.

This song is a popular pick for the wake-up music on space station missions. In November 2005, McCartney himself played it live to the crew of the ISS. Guess you might as well have a sunny, happy number to start your day when you're crammed into living space the size of a bus surrounded by infinite vacuum.

Ringo can be heard to mutter something here on the final verse, right after Paul's "she feels good" line.

‘Why don’t we do it in the road?’

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr recorded this without the other Beatles. It was one of the first Beatles songs recorded without the whole group present, something they would do more often as their relationships deteriorated.

John Lennon said this was one of Paul's best songs. He may have been joking.

This contains only 2 lines of lyrics, and they are probably about sexual tension.

Apparently, McCartney got the idea for this while he was watching a pair of monkeys conducting business: "I was up on a flat roof meditating and I'd see a troupe of monkeys walking along and the male just hopped onto her back and gave her one, as they say in the vernacular. Within two or three seconds he hopped off again, and looked around as if to say, 'it wasn't me,' and she looked around as if there had been some kind of mild disturbance but thought, huh, I must have imagined it. And I thought, bloody hell, that puts it all into a cocked hat, that's how simple the act of procreation is, this bloody monkey just hopping on and off. There is an urge, they do it, and it's done with. It's that simple." McCartney was in India at the time.

This was a very John Lennon kind of song, John was very upset Paul did not include him in the recording of this.

‘It’s only love’

John Lennon once said this was the only song he wrote that he truly hated. Lennon told British journalist Ray Connolly: "It's the most embarrassing song I ever wrote. Everything rhymed. Disgusting lyrics. Even then I was so ashamed of the lyrics, I could hardly sing them. That was one song I really wished I'd never written."

An instrumental version was recorded by George Martin and his orchestra. Martin was The Beatles producer.

The original title was "That's a Nice Hat (Cap)."

George Harrison used a tone pedal on this track to produce an unusual guitar sound.

‘Julia’

John Lennon dedicated this song to Yoko and to his mother Julia, who was struck and killed by a car driven by an off-duty police officer on July 15, 1958, when John was 17. Lennon was raised mostly by Julia's sister Mimi, but starting to see more of his mother at the time of her death.

One of five daughters, nicknamed Judy by the family, Julia met Alf Lennon at the age of 14 while she was working as a cinema usher. Ten years later they married. Julia gave birth to John after 30 hours of labor, and Alf went AWOL when he jumped ship - neither the Navy nor Julia knew of his whereabouts. He later returned but Julia refused to reconcile. She was involved in a couple other relationships; John went to live with his aunt Mimi because Julia could not provide a sound home for the boy.

When John was in is early teens he visited Julia often, and she taught him to play the banjo. John would frequently stay over at Julia's house, and in 1958 Julia was hit and killed by the off duty police officer as she walked home from Mimi's house. John named his first son Julian after her.

Lennon recorded this by himself. He did it completely live with an acoustic guitar and occasional overdubs on the vocals. It is the only song he did completely on his own during his time with The Beatles.

Psychedelic singer Donovan Leitch taught Lennon the fingerpicking guitar style he used on this track. Donovan was with The Beatles in India at the Maharishi's camp in Rishikesh, India in February 1968. When Lennon was in Rishikesh, one of the biggest revelations he had was truly opening up (to himself) regarding the feelings he had for his mother, Julia. In leaning the finger-picking method, it did allow John to dig deeper into his emotions. To quote Donovan: "Learning a new style meant composing in a different way. In his deep meditation sessions, John had opened up feelings for his mother. He found release for these emotions in 'Julia,' the tune he had learned with the new finger style. I remember when I played 'Julia' on my guitar I was struck by how much the images in the song were like the images in my songs. They were very unLennon-like."

Donovan was a great conduit for capturing the wonder and innocence of childhood, as he had released an album of children's songs shortly before the trip to India. In his Songfacts interview, he added: "He [Lennon] was trying to write a song about a childhood he never had, and that was very touching to me. He said, 'You are the guy who writes the children's songs. Can you try and help me with this one?' So I may have added a line there."

The first 18 notes of this song are the same (in different metres, only changing the chords) but it's unlikely that this was done deliberately. If anything was deliberate about those notes, it would be that the number 18 resolves to a 9, which Lennon did slip into some of his tunes, but in this case, it was probably just a happy accident.

In Japanese, the name Yoko means "ocean child," which Lennon included as a line in the song.

Sean Lennon sang this at the special Come Together: A Night For John Lennon's Words And Music, which was held October 2, 2001 at Madison Square Garden.

Paul Shaffer and the Late Show Orchestra would play this every time Julia Roberts was a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman."

In The Anime series Cowboy Bebop, the main character's "girlfriend" is named Julia. The creator named her after this song - most of the episodes are named after songs.

‘Mother nature’s son’

Paul McCartney wrote this in India after the Maharishi gave a speech about nature. The 4 Beatles were attending the camp to learn transcendental meditation, but were not impressed with the results. John Lennon's demo "Child of Nature," which he later re-worked into "Jealous Guy," was similarly inspired by Maharishi's lecture.

McCartney recorded this by himself after the other Beatles had left the studio.

Paul McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008 that Nat King Cole's 1948 standard "Nature Boy" influenced this gentle pastoral, "because that's a song I love." He added: "At that time I considered myself a guy leaning towards the countryside. But I would have to tip a wink to Nature Boy. Though, when you think about it, the only thing they have in common is the word 'nature'- the rest of the link is pretty tenuous."

John Denver recorded this in 1972. He was going to name his album after this song, but changed it when he came up with the song "Rocky Mountain High."

The song's bongo-style percussion sound was achieved by miking up the drums in the Abbey Road corridor.

‘Dear Prudence’

While Mia Farrow inspired such men as Andre Previn, Frank Sinatra and Woody Allen, her sister Prudence left her mark on John Lennon. According to Nancy de Herrera's book, All You Need Is Love, Prudence met The Beatles on a spiritual retreat with their guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in India, which she attended with Mia. When Prudence, suffering depression, confined herself to her room, Lennon wrote this hoping to cheer her up. It did.

According to American flautist Paul Horn, who was also with them in Rishikesh, Prudence was a highly sensitive person, and by jumping straight into deep meditation, against the Maharishi's advice, she had allowed herself to fall into a catatonic state. Horn stated, "She was ashen-white and didn't recognize anybody. She didn't even recognize her own brother who was on the course with her. The only person she showed any slight recognition towards was Maharishi. We were all concerned about her and Maharishi assigned her a full-time nurse."

Prudence Farrow wanted to "Teach God quicker than anyone else," according to John Lennon. She would lock herself in her room trying to meditate for hours and hours. From A Hard Day's Write, by Steve Turner: "At the end of the demo version of Dear Prudence John continues playing guitar and says: 'No one was to know that sooner or later she was to go completely berserk, under the care of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. All the people around were very worried about the girl because she was going insane. So, we sang to her.'"

Prudence Farrow explained years later that she was just trying to take Transcendental Meditation seriously. She said in Mojo magazine, September 2008: "They were trying to be cheerful, but I wished they'd go away. I don't think they realized what the training was all about."

Ringo had left the group as the White Album sessions got very tense, so Paul McCartney played drums. When Ringo came back a short time later, there were flowers on his drum kit welcoming him back.

According to the singer-songwriter Donovan, who was on the retreat in India with The Beatles, he taught John Lennon a "clawhammer" guitar technique that he used on this track. "He was so fascinated by fingerstyle guitar that he immediately started to write in a different color and was very inspired," Donovan said in his Songfacts interview. "That's what happens when you learn a new style."

The clawhammer style, is played with the strumming hand formed into a claw, using the backs of the fingernails to strum down on the strings.

John Lennon's handwritten lyrics were auctioned off for $19,500 in 1987.

Lennon considered this one of his favorites.

Siouxsie And The Banshees covered this in 1983. Their version went to #3 in the UK and became their biggest hit.

This song was in the movie Across the Universe, which was based on The Beatles music. In the movie, Prudence (played by T.V. Carpio) locked herself in a closet after discovering that Sadie and JoJo were together when she thought she loved Sadie. Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), Jude (Jim Sturges), Sadie (Dana Fuges) and Max (Joe Anderson) sing this to make her feel better. It gets her out of the closet and they end the song at a anti-Vietnam War rally.

‘Michelle’

John Lennon invited McCartney over to college parties when he was still in high school, and French culture was a trend. Paul would try to fit in by sitting in a corner and pretending to be French. He would play little tunes in French, but he only knew a few French words so he would groan or make words up. John told him that he should make it into a real song for Rubber Soul, so he asked his friend Ivan Vaughan, whose wife was a French teacher, for a French name and some words to rhyme with it. Vaughan came up with "Michelle, ma belle." McCartney came up with the next line, "These are words that go together well," and Vaughan taught him the French translation, "Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble," which he used in the song as well. When he played it for Lennon, John suggested the "I love you" part in the middle.

This is not based on any particular woman. They chose the name because it sounded good.

None of The Beatles spoke French. They picked up some German when they went there in 1962, but no French.

This won a Grammy in 1966 for Song of the Year, one of just four Grammys The Beatles won while they were still active.

In France, this went to #1.

McCartney mailed a check to Ivan Vaughn's wife, Jan, for helping with the French lyrics.

The French verse is often misheard as "Sunday monkey won't play piano song.”

Paul McCartney said in Observer Music Monthly October 2007: "We used to go to these art school parties because John was at art school and me and George were at the school next door, which is now a performing arts school. John was that little bit older than us, which at that age is impressive. He was a year-and-a-half older than me and you really look up to people like that. But it's funny because I don't think I had that same feeling with Ringo, who I think was a few months older than John. John was a pretty impressive cat - being a year-and-a-half older and going to art school, all that was a pretty cool combination for us. So we'd tag along to these parties, and it was at the time of people like Juliette Greco, the French bohemian thing. They'd all wear black turtleneck sweaters, it's kind of where we got all that from, and we fancied Juliette like mad. Have you ever seen her? Dark hair, real chanteuse, really happening. So I used to pretend to be French, and I had this song that turned out later to be 'Michelle.' It was just an instrumental, but years later John said: 'You remember that thing you wrote about the French?' I said: 'Yeah.' He said: 'That wasn't a bad song, that. You should do that, y'know.'"

The singer-songwriter Michelle Branch was named after this song.

Encouraged by the successful foray into French on this song, Beatles ami Donovan sang a verse of his 1968 hit "Jennifer Juniper" in French.

When Paul McCartney received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song award at a White House ceremony in 2010, he did something he later said he'd been itching to do for a while: sing "Michelle" to the First Lady. President Obama credited McCartney with helping "to lay the soundtrack for an entire generation." For his part, Sir Paul managed to work in a line hinting at his view of American presidential politics. "After the last eight years, " he joked, "it's great to have a president who knows what a library is." McCartney is the third recipient of the award - Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder are previous honorees - which recognizes songwriters "whose careers reflect a lifetime achievement in promoting song as a vehicle of artistic expression and cultural understanding."