Julia

Half of what I say is meaningless
But I say it just to reach you, Julia.
Julia, Julia, oceanchild, calls me
So I sing a song of love, Julia
Julia, seashell eyes, windy smile, calls me
So I sing a song of love, Julia.
Her hair of floating sky is shimmering,
Glimmering,
In the sun.
Julia, Julia, morning moon, touch me
So I sing a song of love, Julia.
When I cannot sing my heart
I can only speak my mind, Julia.
Julia, sleeping sand, silent cloud, touch me
So I sing a song of love, Julia.
Hum hum hum hum… calls me
So I sing a song of love for Julia, Julia, Julia.



- Released October 13, 1968

-One of the most touching and sensitive song by the band is about John Lennon's mother, Julia Lennon.

- Julia visited Mimi's house nearly every day, where they would chat over tea and cakes in the morning room or stand in the garden when it was warm. On the evening of 15 July 1958, Nigel Wally went to visit Lennon and found Julia and Mimi talking by the front gate. Lennon was not there, as he was staying at Julia's house in Blomfield Road. Wally accompanied Julia to the bus stop further down Menlove Avenue, with Julia cracking jokes along the way. At about 9:30, Wally left her and she crossed the road to the central reservation between the two traffic lanes, which was lined with hedges that covered disused tram tracks. Five seconds later, Wally heard "a loud thud", and turned to see Julia's body "flying through the air"—Julia's body landed about 100 feet from where she had been hit. He ran back to get Mimi and they waited for the ambulance, with Mimi crying hysterically. Julia was struck and killed by a Standard Vanguard car (LKF 630) driven by an off-duty constable, PC Eric Clague, who was a learner-driver. Clague later said: "Mrs Lennon just ran straight out in front of me. I just couldn't avoid her. I was not speeding, I swear it. It was just one of those terrible things that happen." Clague was acquitted of all charges and given a short suspension from duty. When Mimi heard the verdict she was so incensed that she shouted "Murderer!" at Clague. Clague later left the Police force and became a postman. Ironically, in 1964, part of his round was to deliver bags of fan mail to the McCartney's house at 20 Forthlin Road, after The Beatles became successful. Reference

- Sections of the song were adapted from lines from the poem Sand And Foam by the then-fashionable Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran. The opening words of Julia were taken from Gibran's lines, "Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you." Reference

Lennon also adapted the lines "When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind" from Gibran's "When life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind". Other imagery, including 'seashell eyes', was also taken from Gibran. Reference

- 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. Reference

- Author's Note: Many of my findings during my research say that "ocean child" is the Japanese meaning of the name, Yoko. However, according to this source, the name "Yoko" actually means "positive child" This however does not take away the fact Lennon was still referencing Yoko as "ocean child" in the song, I am merely correcting other sources to say that "ocean child" is not the Japanese meaning of the name, Yoko.

- John Lennon's boyhood home on Menlove Avenue.

- During his solo career, after leaving The Beatles, John Lennon penned another very moving song about his mother, Julia. You can watch and listen to this profoundly emotional song here. And might I add, an excellent and very touching video.

Penny Lane

In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of ev’ry head he’s had the pleasure to know.
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say ‘Hello’.
On the corner is a banker with a motorcar,
The little children laugh at him behind his back.
And the banker never wears a mac
In the pouring rain - very strange.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back
In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass
And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.
He likes to keep his fire engine clean,
It’s a clean machine.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
A four of fish and finger pies
In summer meanwhile back
Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray.
And though she feels as if she’s in a play
She is anyway.
In Penny Lane, the barber shaves another customer,
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim
And then the fireman rushes in
From the pouring rain - very strange.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile
Penny Lane is in my and in my eyes,
There beneath the blue suburban skies...
Penny Lane!



- Released February 17, 1967

- Penny Lane is named after James Penny who was a wealthy 18th century slave owner. Reference

- McCartney and Lennon grew up in the area and they would meet at Penny Lane junction to catch a bus into the center of the city. Reference

- The barber shop mentioned in the song was, according to McCartney, a shop owned by a Mr. Bioletti, who has claimed to have cut hair for Lennon, McCartney, and George Harrison when they were children.

- The fire engine in the song ("It's a clean machine") was probably from the fire station at the top of Rose Lane, a short walk away along Allerton Road.

- The line about the banker with a motor car probably refers to an employee of the Penny Lane branch of Barclays Bank, which was situated on one of the corners of the junction.

- a "mac" is a waterproof raincoat. Reference

- The "Pretty nurse" is believed to be Beth Davidson, the wife of Pete Shotton

- The 'shelter in the middle of a roundabout' refers to the old bus shelter, formerly a cafe/restaurant with a Beatles theme but now derelict and abandoned, despite its popularity as a tourist attraction. This is also Penny Lane Bus Terminus and is officially on Smithdown Place.

- The mysterious lyrics "Four of fish and finger pies" are British slang. "A four of fish" refers to fourpennyworth of fish and chips, while "finger pie" is sexual slang of the time, apparently referring to intimate fondlings between teenagers in the shelter, which was a familiar meeting place. Reference

Helter Skelter

When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again.
Do you, don’t you want me to love you.
I’m coming down fast but I’m miles above you.
Tell me tell me tell me come on tell me the answer.
Well you may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer.
Helter skelter helter skelter
Helter skelter.
Will you, won’t you want me to make you.
I’m coming down fast but don’t let me break you.
Tell me tell me tell me the answer.
Well you may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer.
Look out helter skelter helter skelter
Helter skelter
Look out, cause here she comes.
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
And I get to the bottom and I see you again.
Well do you, don’t you want me to make you.
I’m coming down fast but don’t let me break you.
Tell me tell me tell me the answer.
Well you may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer.
Look out helter skelter helter skelter
Helter skelter
Look out helter skelter
She coming down fast
Yes she is yes she is.



- Released November 22, 1968

- Paul McCartney wanted to write the "loudest, nastiest, sweatiest rock number we could" after reading a Pete Townshend interview describing a Who track (possibly "I Can See For Miles") as "The most raucous rock 'n' roll, the dirtiest thing they'd ever done." This was the result. Some historians of popular music now believe that this song was a key influence on the development of heavy metal. McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008: "Just reading those lines (of the Townshend interview) fired my imagination. I thought, Right, they've done what they think was the loudest and dirtiest; we'll do what we think. I went into the studio and told the guys, 'Look, I've got this song but Pete said this and I want to do it even dirtier.' It was a great brief for the engineers, for everyone- just as fuzzy and as dirty and as loud and as filthy as you can get it is where I want to go. I was happy to have Pete's quote to get me there." Reference

- Helter Skelter, the ride in England, South Wales.
Author's Notes: The sad thing about this song is how people are so easily reminded of Charles Manson and his manic disciples. Charles Manson was nothing more than a lowly, ex-convict song-writer who drugged and manipulated women and men on a forlorn desert ranch. He confused a song about an amusement park ride with "angels" beckoning him to slaughter. First of all, angels, don't whisper into your ears to slaughter others- demons do. (If they even do that at all). Frankly, he'd done too much acid and was frustrated with Dennis Wilson's inability to help him get his songs published. He was a freak and his popularity is not something to behold.

I Am the Walrus

I am he
As you are he
As you are me
And we are all together.
See how they run
Like pigs from a gun
See how they fly. I’m crying.
Sitting on a cornflake - waiting for the van to come.
Corporation teeshirt, stupid bloody
Tuesday man you been a naughty boy
You let your face grow long.
I am the eggman oh, they are the eggman -
Oh I am the walrus GOO GOO G’JOOB.
Mr. City policeman sitting pretty little policeman in a row,
See how they fly
Like Lucy in the sky
See how they run. I’m crying - I’m crying I’m crying.
Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye.
Crabalocker fishwife pornographic
Priestess boy you been a naughty girl,
You let your knickers down.
I am the eggman oh, they are the eggmen -
Oh I am the walrus. GOO GOO G’JOOB.
Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun,
If the sun don’t come, you get a tan from
Standing in the English rain.
I am the eggman, oh, they are the eggmen -
Oh I am the walrus. G’JOOB, G’GOO, G’JOOB.
Expert texpert choking smokers
Don’t you think the joker laughs at you? Ha ha ha!
See how they smile,
Like pigs in a sty,
See how they snied. I’m crying.
Semoline pilchards climbing up the Eiffel Tower.
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man you should have seen them
Kicking Edgar Allen Poe.
I am the eggman oh, they are they eggmen -
Oh I am the walrus GOO GOO GOO JOOB
GOO GOO GOO JOOB GOO GOO
GOOOOOOOOOOOJOOOOOB.




- Released November 27, 1967

- "I Am the Walrus" was made up of three distinctly different songs--the first is the beginning of the song, which John was given the idea of by hearing a distant police siren. The second song was about John sitting in his garden at home ("sitting in an English garden..."). The third was a song which was invented after John learned that a teacher was having his students study Beatles songs for meaning. John created the song with nonsense lines such as "elementary penguins", "sitting on a cornflake", and "crabalocker". John later said "Let (the students) work that one out." Reference

- When Lennon decided to write confusing lyrics, he asked his friend Pete Shotton for a nursery rhyme they used to sing. Shotton gave them this rhyme, which Lennon incorporated into the song:
"Yellow matter custard, green slop pie, all mixed together with a dead dog's eye.
Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick, then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick." Reference

- The song's opening line, "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together" is based on the song "Marching To Pretoria," which contains the lyric, "I'm with you and you're with me and we are all together." Reference

- Here's the song, "Marching to Pretoria"




- I am the Walrus 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. Reference

- Eric Burdon, lead singer of The Animals, is claimed by some to be the 'Eggman'. The reason for this is that Burdon was known as 'Eggs' to his friends, originating from his fondness for breaking eggs over naked girls. Burdon's biography mentions such an affair taking place in the presence of John Lennon, who shouted "Go on, go get it, Eggman... Reference

Correct Lyrics

Eleanor Rigby

Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been,
Lives in a dream.
Waits at the window, wearing a face she keeps in a jar by the door,
Who is it for?
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie, writing the words of a sermon that no-one will hear,
No-one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there,
What does he care?
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name.
Nobody came.
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave.
No-one was saved.
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?




- Released August 8, 1966

- Eleanor Rigby: Paul McCartney said he came up with the name Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron, who had starred with the Beatles in the film Help!. Rigby came from the name of a store in Bristol, Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers, that he noticed while seeing his then-girlfriend Jane Asher act in The Happiest Days Of Your Life. He recalled in 1984, "I just liked the name. I was looking for a name that sounded natural. Eleanor Rigby sounded natural."

- Father McKenzie: Then the name Father McCartney came to me (Paul McCartney), and all the lonely people. But I thought that people would think it was supposed to be about my Dad sitting knitting his socks. Dad's a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name McKenzie

- Note: In June 1990, Sir Paul decided to donate (from his private collection) a document dating from 1911 which had been signed by the 16-year-old Eleanor Rigby. The recipient charity, Sunbeams Music Trust [1], instantly attracted significant international interest from collectors because of the significance and provenance of the document.^[9] The nearly 100-year-old document was sold at auction in November 2008 for 115,000 pounds. ^[10] U.K. newspaper the Daily Telegraph reports that the uncovered document “is a 97-year-old salary register from Liverpool City Hospital.” The name E. Rigby is printed on the register, and she is identified as a scullery maid.

- (This is the original tombstone from the graveyard John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met. In the middle center of the inscription- you can see the name Eleanor Rigby. She died October 1939, aged 44)

Come Together

Here come old flattop, he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball, he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger, he shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me

He bag production, he got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard, he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me

He roller-coaster, he got early warning
He got muddy water, he one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me



- Released October 31, 1969

- Mojo filter: In several songs -- notably "Scarey Day Blues," "Talkin' to Myself," and "Ticket Agent Blues" all by Blind Willie McTell -- a woman has "got a mojo and she's tryin' to keep it hid." The hidden mojo is a metaphor for her hidden genitals and the male singer says that he's "got something to find that mojo with." The bag or purse-like mojo symbolizes female genitalia, and in this very sexualized sense, mojos are more often associated with women than with men. Preston Foster's "I've got my mojo working but it just don't work on you" was not intended as a song for Muddy Waters, and the first recording of that song was by a woman, Ann Cole.


- Spinal Cracker: GEORGE (Harrison) in 1969 was quoted as saying: "Come Together" was one of the last ones to be recorded. John was in an (automobile) accident, so he was off for a period of time. Then when we got back, which was only a week or so before we finished the album, we did this one. I think he wrote it only a month or so ago, so it's very new. It's sort of twelve-bar type of tune, and it's one of the nicest sounds we've got, actually.

- JOHN (Lennon) in an interview in 1969: "'Come Together' changed at the session. We said, 'Let's slow it down. Let's do this to it, let's do that to it,' and it ends up however it comes out. I just said, 'Look, I've got no arrangement for you, but you know how I want it.' I think that's partly because we've played together a long time. So I said, 'Give me something funky and set up a beat, maybe.' And they all just joined in."

- "'Come Together' is me-- writing obscurely around an old Chuck Berry thing. I left the line 'Here comes old flat-top.' It is nothing like the Chuck Berry song, but they took me to court because I admitted the influence once years ago. I could have changed it to 'Here comes old iron face,' but the song remains independent of Chuck Berry or anybody else on earth. The thing was created in the studio. It's gobbledygook-- 'Come Together' was an expression that Tim Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and I tried, but I couldn't come up with one. But I came up with this, 'Come Together,' which would've been no good to him-- you couldn't have a campaign song like that, right? Leary attacked me years later, saying I ripped him off. I didn't rip him off. It's just that it turned into 'Come Together.' What am I going to do, give it to him? It was a funky record-- it's one of my favorite Beatle tracks, or, one of my favorite Lennon tracks, let's say that. It's funky, it's bluesy, and I'm singing it pretty well. I like the sound of the record. You can dance to it. I'll buy it!" (laughs)


- Bag Production: Was a company formed in 1969 by John and Yoko to deal with public relations and fiance. The following notes says: When people want John and/or Yoko and they ask you - please refer them to our office - Diane (a) - Sally - eg. John Peel - Terry Bramwell
C.B.S. - Jack Oliver - etc. otherwise there is no fucking point in Bag Prod. - o.k.
Love
John & Yoko
Author notes: "Come together, right now, over me." This line is most likely the original lyric for when Lennon first penned this song for Timothy Leary's campaign. It's a simple, yet profound message telling potential voters in the late 60's to "come together" and "over me" meaning for all those wanting a new, unorthodox government to bound together and come over to "our" side of the fence. When Leary was arrested and jailed, Lennon decided to take this speech he had written for Leary and incorporate it into a Beatles song.

Interestingly enough, the band at the time, was moving in different directions, particularly as egos began to develop and form. Therefore, Lennon kept "Come together, right now, over me" as a message to the band to "stay together under my direction." This song was, after all, a song about himself- John Lennon.

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she's gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaahhhhh...

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmellow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you're gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaahhhhh...

Picture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaahhhhh...
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaahhhhh...
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (fade out)

- Released June 1, 1967

- According to the Beatles, one day in 1966 Lennon's son, Julian, came home from nursery school with a drawing he said was of his classmate, a girl named Lucy. Showing the artwork to his father, young Julian described the picture as "Lucy — in the sky with diamonds."

- Julian later said, "I don't know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age. I used to show dad everything I'd built or painted at school, and this one sparked off the idea for a song about 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds'." ^[4]

- His son's artwork appears to have inspired Lennon to draw heavily on his own childhood affection for Lewis Carroll's "Wool and Water" chapter from Through the Looking-Glass. At least one lyric was influenced by both Carroll and skits on a popular British radio comedy program (The Goon Show) making references to "plasticine ties", which showed up in the song as "Plasticine porters with looking glass ties". A parody of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", recited by the Mad Hatter, appears in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

- Carroll's work has also been cited as having influenced Lennon's "I Am the Walrus" which refers to a character from Through the Looking-Glass and his two books, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works.

(This is a copy of the original Julian Lennon drawing of his friend, Lucy O'Donnell)

A Day in the Life

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, got 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,
And somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I heard the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though 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.

- Released June 1, 1967

Source = A Day in The Life - An Indepth Analysis

- John Lennon: I was reading the paper one day and noticed two stories. I was writing ‘A Day In The Life’ with the Daily Mail propped in front of me on the piano. One was about the Guinness heir who killed himself in a car. That was the main headline story. He died in London in a car crash. On the next page was a story about four thousand potholes in the streets of Blackburn, Lancashire, that needed to be filled.

- The pot-hole story appeared in the 7 January 1967 issue of the Daily Mail. There was still one word missing in that verse when we came to record. I knew the line had to go: ‘Now they now how many holes it takes to — something — the Albert Hall.’ It was nonsense verse, really, but for some reason I couldn’t think of the verb. What did the holes do to the Albert Hall? It was Terry [Doran - a friend of the Beatles] who said ‘fill’ the Albert Hall. And that was it. Perhaps I was looking for that word all the time, but couldn’t put my tongue on it. Other people don’t necessarily give you a word or a line, they just throw in the word you’re looking for anyway

- Tara Browne was the son of Lord and Lady Oranmore and Browne, whose great-grandfather was the brewer Edward Guinness. Tara went to Eton and, had he lived, would have inherited 1,000,000 at the age of twenty-five. A charming, likeable boy, with a wide grin and his hair brushed forward in a Beatle cut, he was a great friend of Brian Jones and often stayed overnight tripping on LSD with Brian, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg at Brian’s flat in Courtfield Road. In the book Shutters and Blinds Anita described one trip with him: ‘I remember being with Tara Browne on one of the first acid trips. He had a Lotus sportscar and suddenly near Sloane Square everything went red. The lights went red, the trees were flaming and we just jumped out of the car and left it there.’

- Tara died in the early hours of the morning of 18 December 1966, while on his way to visit David Vaughan, who was painting a design on the front of Tara’s Kings Road shop Dandy Fashions. He smashed his Lotus Elan into the back of a parked van while swerving to avoid a Volkswagen which had pulled out in his path in Redcliffe Gardens in Earls Court. He was twenty-one. The coroner’s report on his death was issued in January 1967.