"Yesterday"

This week I have decided to do “Yesterday, by Paul McCartney and the Beatles. This song was the first solo record by any one of the Beatles, seeing as how Paul was the only one involved in the recording, although the entire band plays the instrumental part of the song. At concerts and performances, this is a very popular song. Even today, with George, and John passed away, Paul will still play this song on request.

“Yesterday,” was written by Paul McCartney, in 1965. This song is one of the top covered songs of all times throughout the world. It can be found on the Beatles' album HELP!. Paul was taking a nap one day and woke up with a song stuck in his head. Many people suffer from this everyday. The one thing that stuck out about this, was that no one had ever heard of the song he had stuck in his head. It was later that Paul and the band realized that he had dreamt up the song. He wrote down what he could remember and then together the band filled in the rest.

"Yesterday" Lyrics

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, I yesterday came suddenly
Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is a song found on the Beatles popular album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hears Club Band.  This song is a combination of the work of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Lennon received inspiration for this song from his son Jules. Lennon’s son was the inspiraion for multiple songs on the Beatles’ albums. The inspiration for this particlar song was from a painting Julian did at nursery school. The picture was of his friend Lucy, and the background was a sky with stars that looked like diamonds. 

The Lucy the song is referring to is Lucy O’Donnell. Jules remained friends with her up until her death in  2009, when Lucy was diagnosed with a terminal case of Lupus.

The songs intitials ironically spell LSD, or if you use all six words, the intials spell LITSWD. Many people including Rolling Stones Magazine, believe that the song hints and refers to LSD.  In 2004, McCartney addressed the issue of drugs in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper: "'Day Tripper,' that's one about acid. 'Lucy In The Sky,' that's pretty obvious.” While many people, including McCartney believed that the song referred to drugs, Lennon reassured that the song does not have anything to do with drugs.  It’s been said that Lennon checked he intials of all the songs the Beatles ever wrote after “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” to avoid any other incidents or stories trying to relate their songs with drugs.

“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.

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.

Picture yourself on a train in a station,

With plasticine porters with looking glass ties,

Suddenly someone is there at the turnstyle,

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

 

"Yellow Submarine"

This week, I've decided to decipher the song "Yellow Submarine." "Yellow Submarine," was written in 1966 by Paul McCartney, with Ringo Starr leading the vocals, on their Revolver album. The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, and  remained at number 1 for four weeks and charted for 13 weeks. Paul's original intention was for the lead vocals to be for Ringo, which they did. I was thinking of it as a song for Ringo, which it eventually turned out to be, so Paul wrote it as he started making a story,  telling the  young kids where he'd lived. It was a song that he wanted the children to pick up on easily. The song was originally written about many different colored submarines, but eventually became only yellow.

 He explained shortly after it was released in 1966: "'Yellow Submarine' is very simple but very different. It's a fun song, a children's song. Originally we intended it to be 'Sparky' a children's record. But now it's the idea of a yellow submarine where all the kids went to have fun. I was just going to sleep one night and thinking if we had a children's song, it would be nice to be on a yellow submarine where all your friends are with a band."  Paul purposely used short words in the lyrics because he wanted kids to pick it up early and sing along. Ringo sang lead, as he did on many of the lighter Beatles songs, including "Octopus's Garden" and "Act Naturally." Originally, Ringo had a spoken intro to go with the children's story theme, but this was discarded. Ringo did eventually get his chance to narrate for children: he was voice talent on the UK cartoon Thomas The Tank Engine.

A very basic deciphering of this song for a more higher level of thinking, can be concluded by the lyrics. The Beatles opened their minds to the world ("So we sailed up to the sun") and capitalized on their knowledge through their insightful music ("Till we found the sea of green"). Unlike the wavering beliefs of individuals(which is represented through the waves), they stayed true to what they believed in (beneath the waves) ("And we lived beneath the waves"). Though they received a lot of attention (bright yellow), the Beatles were the ones looking out at the people (submarines) ("In our yellow submarine"). They need each other to maintain the power they have achieved ("As we live a life of ease, Everyone of us has all we need"). They're watching you as they interpret you. ("We all live in our yellow submarine").

In the town where I was born
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
So we sailed on to the sun
Till we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
And our friends are all aboard
Many more of them live next door
And the band begins to play
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
{Full speed ahead Mr. Boatswain, full speed ahead
Full speed ahead it is, Sgt.
Cut the cable, drop the cable
Aye, aye, Sir, aye, aye
Captain, captain}
As we live a life of ease
Every one of us has all we need
(One of us, has all we need)
Sky of blue and sea of green
(Sky of blue, sea of green)
In our yellow submarine
(In our yellow, submarine, aha)
We all live in a yellow submarine
A yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
A yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine