Past Masters is a two-disc compilation originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band’s catalogue on compact disc.

Every song released commercially by the band that wasn’t on the Beatles’ 12 original UK albums or the US Magical Mystery Tour LP is included in this set. Mark Lewisohn provides background information in the liner notes. Most of the Past Masters set is made up of A- and B-sides from the band’s singles, including single versions of songs that appeared on the band’s albums in a different format. A UK-only EP, two German-language tracks, a song recorded for the American market, and a charity compilation track are also included.

Past Masters is the Beatles’ 14th (and final) major release, despite not being a studio album. The Beatles’ core catalog was standardized in 1987, followed by official re-releases in 2009.

Past Masters Vol. 2 contains 15 tracks from British singles with B-sides.
It includes “Wildlife” version of “Across the Universe” (from the charity album No One’s Gonna Change Our World) and the 1970 stereo mix of “The Inner Light” previously available only on a limited edition 1981 EP.

Past Masters Vol. 2 tracklist

(All songs written and composed by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted).

1. Day Tripper
2. We Can Work It Out
3. Paperback Writer
4. Rain
5. Lady Madonna
6. The Inner Light (Harrison)
7. Hey Jude
8. Revolution
9. Get Back
10. Don’t Let Me Down
11. The Ballad of John and Yoko
12. Old Brown Shoe (Harrison)
13. Across the Universe
14. Let It Be
15. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)

Past Masters is a two-disc compilation originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band’s catalogue on compact disc.

Every song released commercially by the band that wasn’t on the Beatles’ 12 original UK albums or the US Magical Mystery Tour LP is included in this set. Mark Lewisohn provides background information in the liner notes. Most of the Past Masters set is made up of A- and B-sides from the band’s singles, including single versions of songs that appeared on the band’s albums in a different format. A UK-only EP, two German-language tracks, a song recorded for the American market, and a charity compilation track are also included.

Past Masters is the Beatles’ 14th (and final) major release, despite not being a studio album. The Beatles’ core catalog was standardized in 1987, followed by official re-releases in 2009.

Past Masters Vol. 1 contains 18 songs originally released between 1962 and 1965:

• eleven tracks from UK singles (including B-sides)
• Both tracks from the German single “Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand” / “Sie Liebt Dich”
• Four tracks from the Long Tall Sally EP
• The US-only track “Bad Boy”, from the album Beatles VI

Past Masters Vol. 1 tracklist

(All songs written and composed by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted).

1. Love Me Do
2. From Me to You
3. Thank You Girl
4. She Loves You
5. I’ll Get You
6. I Want to Hold Your Hand
7. This Boy
8. Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
9. Sie Liebt Dich
10. Long Tall Sally (Johnson/Penniman/Blackwell)
11. I Call Your Name
12. Slow Down (Williams)
13. Matchbox (Perkins)
14. I Feel Fine
15. She’s a Woman
16. Bad Boy (Williams)
17. Yes It Is
18. I’m Down

The Beatles 1967-1970 album, also called the Blue Album, is a compilation of songs from those years. This double LP was released in April 1973 along with 1962–1966 (the “Red Album”). 1967–1970 topped the US Billboard albums chart and reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. It was re-released in September 1993 on CD, charting at number 4 in the United Kingdom.

The album was instigated by Apple Records manager Allen Klein during his final months before being dismissed from that position. As with 1962–1966, the compilation was created by Apple and EMI/Capitol Records in response to a bootleg collection titled Alpha Omega, which had been sold on television the previous year. Print advertising for the two records made a point of declaring them “the only authorized collection of the Beatles”. The success of the two official double LP compilations inspired Capitol’s repackaging of the Beach Boys’ 1960s hits, starting with the 1974 album Endless Summer.

• Release date: April 2, 1973
• Label: Apple Records
• Genre: Rock, psychedelia
• Length: 99:40

The Beatles 1967-1970 tracklist

DISC 1 – SIDE A
(February 1967 – September 1967)

1. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. Penny Lane
3. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. With a Little Help from My Friends
5. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
6. A Day in the Life
7. All You Need Is Love

DISC 1 – SIDE B
(October 1967 – October 1968)

1. I Am the Walrus
2. Hello Goodbye
3. The Fool on the Hill
4. Magical Mystery Tour
5. Lady Madonna
6. Hey Jude
7. Revolution 1

DISC 2 – SIDE A
(November 1968 – August 1969)

1. Back in the U.S.S.R.
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison)
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Get Back
5. Don’t Let Me Down
6. The Ballad of John and Yoko
7. Old Brown Shoe (Harrison)

DISC 2 – SIDE B
(September 1969 – May 1970)

1. Here Comes the Sun (Harrison)
2. Come Together
3. Something (Harrison)
4. Octopus’s Garden (Starkey)
5. Let It Be
6. Across the Universe
7. The Long and Winding Road

The Beatles released Magical Mystery Tour as a double EP in the United Kingdom and as an LP in the United States. This album includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. In the UK, the EP was released on 8 December 1967, while the Capitol Records LP was released on 27 November and includes five additional songs originally released as singles that year. The eleven-track LP was released by Parlophone in the UK in 1976.

The Beatles continued the experiments that typified Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and the psychedelic sound they had pursued since Revolver (1966) when recording their new songs. The project was initiated by Paul McCartney in April 1967, but after the band recorded the song “Magical Mystery Tour“, it lay dormant until the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in late August. As the Beatles furthered their association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, they recorded alongside filming and editing.

According to some biographers, the sessions were aimless and unfocused, with the band members overindulging in sound experimentation and exerting greater control over production. McCartney contributed three songs to the soundtrack, including “The Fool on the Hill“, while Lennon and Harrison contributed “I Am the Walrus” and “Blue Jay Way“, respectively. As well as “Hello, Goodbye“, issued as a single with the soundtrack record, and incidental music for the film, “Flying” was also produced during the sessions. As part of their desire to experiment with record formats and packaging, the EP and LP included a 24-page booklet containing song lyrics, colour photos from film production, and cartoonist Bob Gibson’s colour illustrations.

Although the Magical Mystery Tour film was widely criticized in the media, the soundtrack was a critical and commercial success. As a result, it topped the EPs chart compiled by Record Retailer and reached number 2 on the magazine’s singles chart (later the UK Singles Chart). In 1969, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and topped Billboard’s Top LPs chart for eight weeks. When the Beatles’ catalog was standardized internationally in 1987, Magical Mystery Tour became the only Capitol-produced LP to replace the band’s intended format.

• Release date: November 27, 1967
• Genre: Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock
• Label: Parlophone

Magical Mystery Tour tracklist

SIDE A

1. Magical Mystery Tour
   (Lennon/McCartney)
2. The Fool on the Hill
   (Lennon/McCartney)
3. Flying (instrumental)
   (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)
4. Blue Jay Way
   (Harrison)
5. Your Mother Should Know
   (Lennon/McCartney)
6. I Am the Walrus
   (Lennon/McCartney)

SIDE B

1. Hello, Goodbye
   (Lennon/McCartney)
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
   (Lennon/McCartney)
3. Penny Lane
   (Lennon/McCartney)
4. Baby You’re a Rich Man
   (Lennon/McCartney)
5. All You Need Is Love
   (Lennon/McCartney)

• Published in 1967
• Author: Lennon/McCartney
• Track 11 on “Magical Mystery Tour“
• Track 6 on “Yellow Submarine“
• Track 7 on “The Beatles 1967-1970” (Blue Album)

PAUL 1967: “We had been told we’d be seen recording it by the whole world at the same time. So we had one message for the world– Love. We need more love in the world.”

PAUL circa-1994: “‘All You Need Is Love’ was John’s song. I threw in a few ideas, as did other members of the group, but it was largely ad libs like singing ‘She Loves You’ or ‘Greensleeves’ or silly little things like that at the end, and we made those up on the spot.”

About “All You Need Is Love”

“All You Need Is Love” was released in July 1967 as a non-album single. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. EMI Studios in London filmed the band performing the song as Britain’s contribution to Our World, the first live multinational multi-satellite television production on 25 June 1967. Over 400 million people in 25 countries watched the program via satellite. Signs and streamers decorated the studio during the broadcast, and members of the Rolling Stones, Who, and Small Faces wore psychedelic clothing. The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, described the performance as their “finest.”

For the show’s international audience, Lennon’s lyrics were intentionally simplistic, capturing the utopian ideals associated with the Summer of Love. The single reached the top of the sales charts in Britain, the United States, and many other countries, and became an anthem for the counterculture’s embrace of flower power.

The release of “All You Need Is Love” coincided with the peak of the Beatles’ popularity and influence following the release of their album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As part of the orchestral arrangement, George Martin incorporates a portion of the French national anthem and ends with excerpts from Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood”, “Greensleeves”, and Bach’s Invention No. 8 in F major, and the Beatles’ 1963 hit “She Loves You“.

“All You Need Is Love” was later included on the US Magical Mystery Tour album and was used as a moral in Yellow Submarine, a 1968 Beatles animated film. Despite its association with the Summer of Love ethos and Lennon’s legacy as a humanitarian, numerous critics found the song’s message naive in retrospect, particularly during the 1980s. In honor of the Beatles’ Our World performance, Global Beatles Day is celebrated every year on 25 June.

Meaning of “All You Need Is Love”

The central message of “All You Need Is Love” is one of universal love, unity, and peace. The song’s lyrics are straightforward and repetitive, emphasizing the simple but profound idea that love is the most important and powerful force in the world. The chorus repeats the phrase “All you need is love” several times, along with the assertion that “Love is all you need.”

The song was written as a contribution to Our World, a live global television broadcast that took place on June 25, 1967. The Beatles were asked to perform a song that would be understood by people all around the world, and they chose “All You Need Is Love” to convey a message of unity and harmony.

“All You Need Is Love” is celebrated for its positive and timeless message, and it has become an iconic anthem for peace and love. It remains one of The Beatles’ most famous and beloved songs.

Personnel

• John Lennon – lead and backing vocals, harpsichord, banjo.
• Paul McCartney – bass, double bass, backing vocals.
• George Harrison – lead guitar, violin, backing vocals.
• Ringo Starr – drums.

How to play “All You Need Is Love” on bass

The bassline in “All You Need Is Love” is one of the defining features of the song. It was played by Paul McCartney and contributes significantly to the song’s catchy and uplifting feel. It is relatively straightforward, making it accessible for beginners while still providing an enjoyable challenge for more experienced players. The bassline in “All You Need Is Love” is a prime example of McCartney’s ability to create memorable and effective basslines that complement the song’s overall musicality.
The following video features “All You Need Is Love” bass cover with tab:

“All You Need Is Love” Karaoke

Here is the karaoke version of “All You need is Love” to practice singing the song:

• Published in 1967
• Author: Lennon/McCartney
• Track 10 on “Magical Mystery Tour“

JOHN 1968: “In ‘Baby You’re a Rich Man’ the point was, stop moaning. You’re a rich man and we’re all rich men, heh, heh, baby!”

JOHN 1980: “That’s a combination of two seperate pieces, Paul’s and mine, put together and forced into one song. One-half was all mine. (sings) ‘How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people/ Now that you know who you are…’ Then Paul comes in with, (sings) ‘Baby you’re a rich man,’ which was a lick he had around.”

About “Baby You’re A Rich Man”

As the B-side to “All You Need Is Love” single, “Baby You’re A Rich Man” was released in July 1967. Paul McCartney added a chorus to John Lennon’s unfinished song, “One of the Beautiful People”. The song is probably the best-known pop song to use a clavioline, a monophonic keyboard instrument that foreshadowed the synthesizer. An Indian shehnai-like sound was created by Lennon playing the clavioline on its oboe setting. Unlike previous EMI recordings, this song was entirely recorded and mixed at Olympic Sound Studios in London.

“Baby You’re A Rich Man” was written after Lennon attended 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, an all-night festival held in London’s Alexandra Palace that emerged as a critical event in the counterculture movement. In combination with the chorus, his lyrics address the “beautiful people” of the 1960s hippie movement and emphasize the universality of non-material wealth. Also, the lyrics can be interpreted as a message to the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, or as a comment on fame. During the Summer of Love, George Harrison performed “Baby You’re A Rich Man” in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district in August 1967. Later, the track appeared on the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour album. The movie Yellow Submarine used parts of it in 1968.

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Baby You’re A Rich Man” peaked at number 34. Billboard described the song as “an Eastern-flavored rocker with an infectious beat and intricate lyrics”, while Pitchfork described it as “a second-rate take on John Lennon’s money-isn’t-everything theme.” Rolling Stone ranked “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” 68th on its list of the “100 Greatest Beatles Songs.” It has been covered by the Fat Boys, Kula Shaker, and others. The Beatles recording was featured at the end of the 2010 film The Social Network.

Meaning of “Baby You’re A Rich Man”

The lyrics of “Baby You’re a Rich Man” have been subject to various interpretations. The song features a repeated refrain of the title, suggesting a sense of affirmation or reassurance to an unidentified “baby.” The lyrics also touch on themes of materialism and societal expectations, with lines like “How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?“

Some interpretations suggest that the song may be a commentary on the superficiality and emptiness often associated with material wealth and fame. The title phrase, “Baby You’re a Rich Man,” could be seen as both a statement and a question, inviting reflection on the nature of true wealth and happiness.

“Baby You’re a Rich Man” is considered one of The Beatles’ more enigmatic and thought-provoking songs, leaving room for multiple interpretations and reflecting the band’s willingness to explore diverse musical and lyrical themes.

Personnel

• John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, piano, clavioline.
• Paul McCartney – backing vocals, bass, piano.
• George Harrison – backing vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, handclaps.
• Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, maracas, handclaps.

How to play “Baby You’re A Rich Man” on piano

In “Baby You’re a Rich Man”, the piano plays a prominent role in shaping the song’s distinctive sound. The chord progressions in this song are notable for their unconventional and somewhat psychedelic qualities, which were characteristic of the Beatles’ experimental phase. The piano often interacts with the vocal lines, creating an intricate interplay between the two. This adds depth and complexity to the song’s overall sound. The timbre of the piano in “Baby You’re a Rich Man” is distinct. It has a bright, percussive quality that complements the song’s energetic and upbeat atmosphere.

The piano part, like much of the instrumentation in the song, reflects the band’s foray into psychedelia during this period. It incorporates unconventional chord voicings and progressions that contribute to the song’s distinctive sound. The Beatles were known for their willingness to push the boundaries of conventional music, and this is evident in the piano part of “Baby You’re a Rich Man.” It employs various techniques that were less common in mainstream pop music at the time.

The piano in “Baby You’re a Rich Man” is a vital component of the song’s unique sound, contributing to its experimental and psychedelic character. It’s worth listening to the track to fully appreciate the interplay between the piano, vocals, and other instruments in this Beatles classic.

The following video features a piano cover with score of “Baby You’re a Rich Man”:

How to play “Baby You’re A Rich Man” on bass

The bassline for “Baby You’re A Rich Man” was played by Paul McCartney and is more than just a rhythmic foundation; it incorporates melodic elements that complement the song’s overall musical texture.

McCartney’s basslines frequently features syncopation and rhythmic variation, and this song is a great example of that. He often played off the beat, creating a lively and dynamic feel. He was also known for using a pick when playing bass, which can result in a punchier and more defined sound compared to using fingers. The bassline in “Baby You’re a Rich Man” interacts with the other instruments in the song in a way that contributes to the overall psychedelic and experimental atmosphere of the track.

The following video features a bass cover of “Baby You’re A Rich Man” with tab:

“Baby You’re A Rich Man” karaoke

For those who want to sing “Baby You’re A Rich Man”, the following video presents the karaoke version of the song:

• Published in 1967
• Author: Lennon/McCartney
• Track 8 on “Magical Mystery Tour“
• Track 1 on “The Beatles 1967-1970” (Blue Album)

JOHN 1968: “Strawberry Fields was a place near us that happened to be a Salvation Army home. But Strawberry Fields– I mean, I have visions of Strawberry Fields. And there was Penny Lane, and the Cast Iron Shore, which I’ve just got in some song now, and they were just good names– just groovy names. Just good sounding. Because Strawberry Fields is anywhere you want to go.”

PAUL 1974: “That wasn’t ‘I buried Paul’ at all– that was John saying ‘Cranberry sauce.’ It was the end of Strawberry Fields. That´s John´s humor. John would say something totally out of sync, like cranberry sauce. If you don´t realize that John´s apt to say cranberry sauce when he feels like it, then you start to hear a funny little word there, and you think, ‘Aha!’”

JOHN 1980: “Strawberry Fields is a real place. After I stopped living at Penny Lane, I moved in with my auntie who lived in the suburbs… not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all the Beatles stories. Near that home was Strawberry Fields, a house near a boys’ reformatory where I used to go to garden parties as a kid with my friends Nigel and Pete. We always had fun at Strawberry Fields. So that’s where I got the name. But I used it as an image. Strawberry Fields Forever. ‘Living is easy with eyes closed. Misunderstanding all you see.’ It still goes, doesn’t it? Aren’t I saying exactly the same thing now? The awareness apparently trying to be expressed is– let’s say in one way I was always hip. I was hip in kindergarten. I was different from the others. I was different all my life. The second verse goes, ‘No one I think is in my tree.’ Well, I was too shy and self-doubting. Nobody seems to be as hip as me is what I was saying. Therefore, I must be crazy or a genius– ‘I mean it must be high or low,’ the next line. There was something wrong with me, I thought, because I seemed to see things other people didn’t see. I thought I was crazy or an egomaniac for claiming to see things other people didn’t see. I always was so psychic or intuitive or poetic or whatever you want to call it, that I was always seeing things in a hallucinatory way. Surrealism had a great effect on me, because then I realized that the imagery in my mind wasn’t insanity; that if it was insane, I belong in an exclusive club that sees the world in those terms. Surrealism to me is reality. Psychic vision to me is reality. Even as a child. When I looked at myself in the mirror or when I was 12, 13, I used to literally trance out into alpha. I didn’t know what it was called then. I found out years later there is a name for those conditions. But I would find myself seeing hallucinatory images of my face changing and becoming cosmic and complete. It caused me to always be a rebel. This thing gave me a chip on the shoulder; but, on the other hand, I wanted to be loved and accepted. Part of me would like to be accepted by all facets of society and not be this loudmouthed lunatic musician. But I cannot be what I am not.”

About “Strawberry Fields Forever”

“Strawberry Fields Forever” was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with “Penny Lane“. The song was a departure from the group’s previous singles and offered a new listening experience for the contemporary pop audience. The song initially divided music critics and the group’s fans, but it had a significant impact on the emerging psychedelic genre. Likewise, the accompanying promotional video is recognized as a pioneering work.

The song was inspired by Lennon’s childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children’s home in Liverpool. In November 1966, the band spent 45 hours in the studio, spanning five weeks, creating three versions of the song. This final recording combined two different versions, which differed in tempo, mood, and key. Featuring reverse-recorded instrumentation, Mellotron flute sounds, an Indian swarmandal, tape loops and a fade-out/fade-in coda, George Martin’s arrangement features cello and brass. The band used experimental techniques like reverse effects, jump-cuts, and superimposition for the promotional film.

This was the first song the Beatles recorded after the completion of Revolver it was intended to be included in their upcoming publication Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The group was forced to release the single as a result of pressure from their record company and management for new product, and then continued their policy of not including previously released singles on their albums. The band’s double A-side charted at number 2 on the Record Retailer chart, ending a four-year run of chart-topping singles. “Strawberry Fields Forever” reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Despite the band’s displeasure, the song appears on the US Magical Mystery Tour album.

In Lennon’s opinion, “Strawberry Fields Forever” was the best work he had ever done with the Beatles. Central Park was named after the song after Lennon’s murder in New York City. The discarded first version of the song appeared on the outtakes compilation Anthology 2 in 1996; in 2006, a new version appeared on Love. Richie Havens, Todd Rundgren, Peter Gabriel, Ben Harper, and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs featuring Debbie Harry have all covered the song. A version by the Madchester group Candy Flip reached the top ten in the UK and Ireland in 1990.

Meaning of “Strawberry Fields Forever”

The lyrics of “Strawberry Fields Forever” are known for their dreamlike and enigmatic quality. The song is thought to be inspired by Lennon’s childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children’s home near his aunt’s house in Liverpool. The lyrics evoke a sense of nostalgia and yearning for a time and place from Lennon’s past. The repeated refrain “Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields” invites the listener to join Lennon on a journey back to those cherished memories.

The song’s imagery and symbolism have been the subject of much interpretation and analysis. Some have suggested that “Strawberry Fields Forever” reflects Lennon’s longing for a sense of belonging and his desire to escape from the pressures of fame and adult responsibilities.

Overall, “Strawberry Fields Forever” is considered one of The Beatles’ most significant and influential works, showcasing Lennon’s introspective songwriting and the band’s experimentation with studio techniques.

Personnel

The Beatles

• John Lennon – vocals, rhythm guitar, bongos, Mellotron (end)
• Paul McCartney – Mellotron (take 7 portion), bass guitar, piano, lead guitar (end), timpani, bongos
• George Harrison – lead guitar (take 7 portion), slide guitar, swarmandal, timpani, maracas
• Ringo Starr – drums, percussion
• Uncredited – tack piano

Additional musicians

• George Martin – cello and trumpet arrangement
• Mal Evans – tambourine
• Neil Aspinall – güiro
• Terry Doran – maracas
• Tony Fisher – trumpet
• Greg Bowen – trumpet
• Derek Watkins – trumpet
• Stanley Roderick – trumpet
• John Hall – cello
• Derek Simpson – cello
• Norman Jones – cello

• Published in 1967
• Author: Lennon/McCartney
• Track 6 on “Magical Mystery Tour“
• Track 8 on “The Beatles 1967-1970” (Blue Album)

PAUL 1967: “Everyone keeps preaching that the best way is to be ‘open’ when writing for teenagers. Then when we do we get criticized. Surely the word ‘knickers’ can’t offend anyone. Shakespeare wrote words alot more naughtier than knickers!”

JOHN 1967: “We chose the word (knickers) because it is a lovely expressive word. It rolls off the tongue. It could ‘mean’ anything.”

GEORGE 1967: “People don’t understand. In John’s song, ‘I Am The Walrus’ he says: ‘I am he as you are he as you are me.’ People look for all sorts of hidden meanings. It’s serious, but it’s also not serious. It’s true, but it’s also a joke.”

JOHN 1968: “We write lyrics, and I write lyrics that you don’t realize what they mean till after. Especially some of the better songs or some of the more flowing ones, like ‘Walrus.’ The whole first verse was written without any knowledge. With ‘I Am the Walrus,’ I had ‘I am he as you are he as we are all together.’ I had just these two lines on the typewriter, and then about two weeks later I ran through and wrote another two lines and then, when I saw something, after about four lines, I just knocked the rest of it off. Then I had the whole verse or verse and a half and then sang it. I had this idea of doing a song that was a police siren, but it didn’t work in the end (sings like a siren) ‘I-am-he-as-you-are-he-as…’ You couldn’t really sing the police siren.”

JOHN 1980: “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. It’s from ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter.’ ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ To me, it was a beautiful poem. 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, shit, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, ‘I am the carpenter.’ But that wouldn’t have been the same, would it? (singing) ‘I am the carpenter…’”

About “I Am the Walrus”

Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, “I Am the Walrus” was released as the B-side to the single “Hello, Goodbye” and on the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album. This song is featured in the film during a segment where the band mimes to the recording.

John Lennon wrote the song to confound listeners who had been considering serious scholarly interpretations of the Beatles’ lyrics. He was partly influenced by two LSD trips and Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter” from 1871. The producer George Martin arranged and added orchestral accompaniment with violins, cellos, horns, and clarinets. Various nonsense lines and loud whoops were also sung by the Mike Sammes Singers, a 16-voice choir of professional studio vocalists.

Having reached number one and number two simultaneously on the British singles chart with “Hello, Goodbye” and the Magical Mystery Tour EP in December, “I Am the Walrus” holds the distinction of reaching those positions simultaneously. BBC banned the song shortly after its release because it contained the line “Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down”.

“I Am the Walrus” was probably inspired by Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, a hit song during the summer of 1967 and Lennon’s favorite at the time. Lennon had been working on three song ideas, one of which was inspired by a police siren at his home in Weybridge; he wrote “Mister cit-y police-man” to the rhythm and melody of the siren. Second, a short rhyme about Lennon sitting in his garden, and third, a nonsense phrase about sitting on a corn flake. The three songs couldn’t be finished separately, so he combined them into one. Also included in the lyric was the phrase “Lucy in the sky”, referring to an earlier Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds“.

Meaning of “I Am the Walrus”

The lyrics of “I Am the Walrus” are famously surreal and abstract, filled with vivid and often nonsensical imagery. The song is thought to have been influenced by Lennon’s interest in wordplay and his desire to confound and challenge listeners’ attempts to find concrete meaning in his lyrics.

Lennon once mentioned that the inspiration for the song came from hearing about a teacher who had instructed his students to analyze Beatles songs in class. He decided to write a song that would be deliberately difficult to decipher, to showcase the absurdity of trying to find deep meaning in pop lyrics.

The title, “I Am the Walrus,” itself has been subject to much speculation. However, Lennon later stated that he chose the term “walrus” because he liked the sound of it.

“I Am the Walrus” is a prime example of Lennon’s more experimental and avant-garde songwriting, and it remains a beloved and iconic track in The Beatles’ catalog. It’s a song that invites interpretation but resists any definitive explanation.

Personnel

The Beatles

• John Lennon – lead vocals, electric piano and Mellotron
• Paul McCartney – bass guitar, tambourine
• George Harrison – electric guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums
• Orchestrated, directed and produced by George Martin

Session musicians and singers

• Session musicians – strings, brass, and woodwinds
• Mike Sammes singers – backing vocals
• Ray Thomas – backing vocals
• Mike Pinder – backing vocals
• Engineered by Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott

• Published in 1967
• Author: Harrison
• Track 4 on “Magical Mystery Tour“

GEORGE 1968: “Derek Taylor got held up. He rang to say he’d be late. I told him on the phone that the house was in Blue Jay Way. And he said he could find it okay… he could always ask a cop. So I waited and waited. I felt really nackered with the flight, but I didn’t want to go to sleep until he came. There was a fog and it got later and later. To keep myself awake, just as a joke to pass the time while I waited, I wrote a song about waiting for him in Blue Jay Way. There was a little Hammond organ in the corner of this house which I hadn’t noticed until then… so I messed around on it and the song came.”

About “Blue Jay Way”

George Harrison wrote “Blue Jay Way” for the Beatles’s Magical Mystery Tour EP and album, which were released in 1967. Harrison named the song after an address in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, where he stayed in August 1967 before going to the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco. As Harrison struggled to stay awake after flying from London to Los Angeles, the lyrics describe his wait for music publicist Derek Taylor to find Blue Jay Way through fog-covered hills.

As with several of Harrison’s compositions from this period, “Blue Jay Way” incorporates elements of Indian classical music, despite the Beatles using only Western instruments, including a drone-like Hammond organ part played by Harrison. As part of the group’s psychedelic period, the track makes extensive use of studio techniques such as flanging, Leslie rotary effect, and reversed tape sounds. This song appears in the Beatles’ 1967 television film Magical Mystery Tour, in a sequence that visually re-creates the song’s haziness and dislocation.

Harrison’s situation on that first night in Los Angeles is entirely reflected in the lyrics to “Blue Jay Way“. During the conversation, he mentions that he has been battling sleep and advises Taylor to ask a policeman for directions to Blue Jay Way. The song’s author Jonathan Gould describes it as “darkly funny,” with the singer’s concern over his friends’ tardiness almost resembling a “metaphysical crisis.” Harrison’s refrain “Please don’t be long” is central to the composition’s “extraordinary sense of yearning and melancholy”.

Some reviewers have dismissed the song as monotonous, but others have praised its dark mood and yearning quality. “Blue Jay Way” was described as “a haunted house of a hit, adding an ethereal, creepy mythos to the City of Angels”. In addition to its continued connection to Los Angeles, the song was one of the first Beatles tracks used by cult leader Charles Manson as the basis of his Helter Skelter theory of a countercultural revolution based on race. Bud Shank, Colin Newman, Tracy Bonham, and Siouxsie and the Banshees have all covered the song.

Meaning of “Blue Jay Way”

The lyrics of “Blue Jay Way” reflect Harrison’s feelings of disorientation and frustration while waiting for some friends to arrive at his rented house on Blue Jay Way. The song has a dreamlike and somewhat eerie quality, with a haunting melody and trippy musical effects. “Blue Jay Way” is often interpreted as a reflection of Harrison’s experiences with Eastern spirituality and the psychedelic culture of the 1960s. The song is known for its distinctive sound and remains a notable track in The Beatles’ catalog.

Personnel

• George Harrison – lead vocals, Hammond organ, backing vocal
• John Lennon – backing vocal, Hammond organ
• Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
• Unnamed session musician – cello

“Blue Jay Way” karaoke

For those who want to try singing “Blue Jay Way”, here is a video with the karaoke version of the song:

• Published in 1967
• Author: Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey
• Track 3 on “Magical Mystery Tour“

PAUL circa-1994: “‘Flying’ was an instrumental that we needed for (the film) ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ so in the studio one night I suggested to the guys that we made something up. I said, ‘We can keep it very, very simple, we can make it a 12-bar blues. We need a little bit of a theme and a little bit of a backing.’ I wrote the melody, otherwise it’s just a 12-bar backing thing. It’s played on the mellotron, on a trombone setting. It’s credited to all four (Beatles), which is how you would credit a non-song.”

About “Flying” (instrumental)

“Flying” is an instrumental which first appeared on the 1967 Magical Mystery Tour release (two EP discs in the United Kingdom, an LP in the United States). One of the few songs credited to all four members of the band.

Besides being the first instrumental the Beatles wrote since “12-Bar Original” in 1965, it was also the first song credited as being composed by all four members of the group, “Harrison/Lennon/McCartney/Starkey”. As with “12-Bar Original”, it followed the classic twelve-bar blues progression.

Under its original title of “Aerial Tour Instrumental”, “Flying” was recorded on 8 September 1967 with mellotron, guitar, bass, maracas, drums, and tape loop overdubs on 28 September. After the 28 September session, John Lennon and Ringo Starr created tape loops to replace the traditional New Orleans jazz coda that originally ended the recording. While the loops extended the song to 9 minutes and 38 seconds, the track was cut down only to 2 minutes and 17 seconds. A part of the loops was combined with an element of the ending jazz sequence to create “The Bus”, an incidental piece that was used in the TV movie at various points.

Lennon plays the main theme on his mellotron, accompanied by McCartney and Harrison (on guitars, with an overdub by McCartney on bass) and Starr (on maracas and drums). Lennon and Starr created a variety of tape effects to accompany the Beatles’ melody without lyrics. In the film, the music is accompanied by colour-altered images of Iceland landscapes taken from an aircraft, as well as some unused footage from Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. This is the same version heard on the soundtrack of the Magical Mystery Tour film.

On some Beatles bootleg albums (such as Back-track 1), a different version features an added Hammond organ and strange whistling noises. The jazz-inspired ending is also present in this version, which runs around 2:08. Mark Lewisohn speculated this coda was “seemingly copied straight from an unidentifiable modern jazz record”, but it was played on a mellotron.

Meaning of “Flying” (instrumental)

Given the absence of lyrics, the meaning of “Flying” is open to interpretation and is largely subjective. The song is characterized by its dreamy and atmospheric quality, featuring overlapping melodies played on Mellotron and other instruments. The title “Flying” may evoke a sense of freedom, imagination, or the sensation of soaring through the air. The music itself has a hypnotic quality, which could be seen as a representation of the sensations one might experience during flight.

“Flying” is often appreciated for its evocative and calming nature. While it doesn’t have explicit lyrics, the music itself can conjure feelings of tranquility, wonder, and perhaps the sensation of floating or gliding through the air.

Personnel

• John Lennon – wordless vocals, Mellotron, Hammond organ, sound effects
• Paul McCartney – wordless vocals, bass, guitar
• George Harrison – wordless vocals, guitar
• Ringo Starr – wordless vocals, drums, maracas, sound effects