The Beatles: songs/albums and lyrics (words)

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< Up	Britain / Music / Beatles / Songs
The music and words of the Beatles


Sections:	Introduction
	Albums
	Song lyrics
	Films and documentaries
	Links

Related pages:	Liverpool (places connected with the Beatles)
	London (places connected with the Beatles)

Buy products connected with the Beatles:

Book ; Music CD ; Poster ; Sheet music ; Video/DVD

INTRODUCTION

The music, words and films of the Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

John Lennon
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Paul McCartney
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The Beatles
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ALBUMS

Original albums

	Please Please Me Original UK release date: March 1963 Label: Parlophone Date: October 1993		With the Beatles Original UK release date: November 1963 Label: Parlophone Date: October 1993
	A Hard Day's Night Original UK release date: July 1964 Label: Parlophone Date: November 1998		Beatles for Sale Original UK release date: December 1964 Label: Parlophone Date: November 1988
	Help! Original UK release date: August 1965 Label: Parlophone Date: November 1988		Rubber Soul Original UK release date: December 1965 Label: Parlophone Date: November 1998
	Revolver Original UK release date: August 1966 Label: Apple Date: November 1998		Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Original UK release date: June 1967 Label: Parlophone Date: June 1992
	Magical Mystery Tour Original UK release date: November 1967 Label: Parlophone Date: September 1987		White Album Original UK release date: December 1968 Label: Parlophone Date: August 1987
	Yellow Submarine (soundtrack) Original UK release date: January 1969 Label: Parlophone Date: August 1987		Yellow Submarine (remastered) Label: Parlophone Date: September 1999
	Abbey Road Original UK release date: September 1969 Label: Apple Date: November 1988		Let It Be Original UK release date: May 1970 Label: Parlophone Date: November 1988
	Let It Be...Naked Original UK release date: November 2003 Label: Apple Date: November 2003

Collections

	1962-1966 : The Red Album Label: Apple Date: October 1993		1967-1970 : The Blue Album Label: Apple Date: October 1993
	The Beatles Anthology Volume 1 Label: Parlophone Date: November 1995		The Beatles Anthology Volume 2 Label: Parlophone Date: March 1996
	The Beatles Anthology Volume 3 Label: Parlophone Date: October 1996		1 Label: Parlophone Date: November 2000
	Past Masters Volume 1 Label: Parlophone Date: March 1988		Past Masters Volume 2 Label: Parlophone Date: March 1988

SONG LYRICS

Notes about the words or tunes of some of the most famous Beatles songs. Whereas the early songs were mainly simple love songs, the later ones became more personal, reflecting the lives of Paul and John. The date shown is the year in which the song was written.

For the lyrics to all of the Beatles songs, see: http://www.beatlefans.com/beatles_lyrics.htm

Ticket to Ride (1965)
The title is a play on words. As well as the verb "to ride", Ryde is a town on the Isle of Wight (off the south coast of England, near Southampton). John and Paul visited Ryde together in 1960.

Yesterday (1965)
This song is believed to be about the death of Paul's mother from cancer. After she died, he said "What are we going to do without her money?" - later he regretted his words ("I said something wrong"). He wants his mother to be alive again ("I long for yesterday"). You can also interpret the song as being about the end of a love affair, but in fact Paul was in a happy relationship at the time he wrote this.

Eleanor Rigby (1965)
This song was inspired by a newspaper story about a lonely person. It is likely that the names came from the graveyard at St Peter's Church, Woolton, Liverpool, which is in the area where John and Paul met. There is a grave there named Eleanor Rigby, and another one of Mr McKenzie, his wife and daughter (the song refers to a priest called Father McKenzie).

Yellow Submarine (1966)
"Yellow submarine" was a nickname for a drug in the 1960s. The song is probably a reference to a hallucination when high on drugs, although you can also take it as a simple children's song. John's father was a sailor, and was usually away at sea.

Strawberry Fields Forever (1966)
In this song, John remembers Strawberry Field, in Woolton, Liverpool (he changed the name to Strawberry Fields to make it sound better). This is a home for children who have been taken away from their parents, run by the Salvation Army, and is close to where John's childhood home. John used to play music when he was a child. In this song Strawberry Field is seen as an ideal, safe and free place. This was in contrast to the unhappiness, danger and lack of freedom John was experiencing. He was feeling a lot of pressure after fierce reaction to a comment he made that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, and was thinking about leaving the Beatles at this time.

Penny Lane (1966)
In this song Paul recalls the area where he grew up. Like Strawberry Field, Penny Lane is in Woolton, Liverpool. The song creates a picture of ordinary life in a busy part of town, and introduces some of the local characters who lived and worked there. Perhaps Paul was missing the ordinary life he used to enjoy here, just as John was missing the happiness of his days at Strawberry Field.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (1967)
Many people believe that the initials of the words in the song title are a reference to the drug LSD (Lucy - Sky - Diamonds). John says however the words were inspired by his 3-year old son Julian, who came back from school with a painting he had drawn of a girl in his class called Lucy.

Hey Jude (1968)
Paul has said that he was inspired to write this song by John's 4-year old son, Julian Lennon. John and Julian's mother had split up, and Julian was left alone with his mother. The title was originally "Hey Jules". Perhaps to protect the child's privacy, the title was later changed to "Hey Jude" (Jude is an abbreviation of the woman's name Judith), and the words altered to refer to a woman starting a relationship.

Let It Be (1968)
At a time when the Beatles were arguing and there was a lot of tension between them, Paul had a dream in which his dead mother (called Mary) appeared and told him that eveything would be alright. Paul turned this experience into a song. The choice of the words "let it be" gives the song a religious theme - this is the common translation for the word "amen" which is said at the end of a Christian prayer. "Mother Mary" clearly refers to Paul's mother, but also suggests the mother of Jesus Christ. Mary is an important symbol in the Catholic religion, and is associated with many miracles.

	Hard Day's Write Author: Steve Turner Publisher: Carlton Books Date: June 2000		Beatles for Sale Author: David Rowley Publisher: Mainstream Publishing Date: May 2002
	The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook Author: Rikky Rooksby Publisher: Omnibus Press Date: January 2000		Here, There, and Everywhere: The 100 Best Beatles Songs Authors: Stephen Spignesi, Michael Lewis Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Date: May 2004

FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

Films

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

Help! (1965)

Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

Yellow Submarine (1968)

Let It Be (1970)

A Hard Day's Night (1964) (DVD); Video
Starring: The Beatles
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Date: September 2002

Yellow Submarine (1968) (DVD); Video
Starring: The Beatles
Studio: Mgm Home Ent. (Europe) Ltd
Date: February 2000

The Beatles Anthology

The Beatles Anthology was a television series about the life of the Beatles, created with the cooperation of Paul, George and Ringo, and also with the help of Yoko Ono. This is available as a series of DVDs or videos. A large book has also been produced based on the interviews in the television series. This contains extensive quotes from all of the members of the band, together with hundreds of photographs.

The Beatles Anthology (5 DVDs)
Starring: The Beatles
Studio: EMI
Date: March 2003; Videos

The Beatles Anthology (book)
Author: The Beatles
Publisher: Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated
Date: October 2000

LINKS

Words to number 1 singles: Britain/Music/Lyrics
British pop music: Britain/Music/Pop
UK music festivals: Life/Entertainment/Festivals

Home page: Home

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