Comments on: Hey Jude, what does that song mean?

Hey Jude, what does that song mean?

GaelFC — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 15:23:19 -0800

Hey Jude, what does that song mean? The Beatles Discography lets you look up almost any Beatles song, and find out about its history and meaning. According to this, one of my favorite Beatles songs, "Paperback Writer," was written after Paul's aunt challenged him to write a song that wasn't about love. And "She's Leaving Home," another favorite, was based on a newspaper article about a runaway 17-year-old girl. and supposedly was attacked in the U.S. as being somehow pro-abortion. I always wondered if there was a real "Polyethene Pam," but I had no idea her name was really Pat, and that she ate plastic. Fascinating stuff.

By: ?!

?! — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 15:28:38 -0800

[This is much more than good.] I now have to find a copy of Sean Connery singing "In my Life"!

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 15:48:51 -0800

Very cool site. I just noticed that the right click (and text highlighting) is disabled, which totally bugs, but a great resource anyway.

By: jaronson

jaronson — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 15:52:12 -0800

I am surprised this has not been posted in the 3+ years of MetaFilter. I am certainly not complaining even if it has been! Thanks, GaelFC. You're one of the good ones. ??? I just thought of "Octopus's Garden", later... [VEP]

By: iconomy

iconomy — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 16:25:03 -0800

Maxwell's Silver Hammer was "Paul's cheerful song about a homicidal maniac". I remember being really upset by that song the first time I heard it. Great link, GaelFC - I can't wait to dig up the dirt on all of my favorite tracks.

By: danger

danger — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 16:34:01 -0800

Hey,.. a great site!! Thanks!!!

By: Steve_at_Linnwood

Steve_at_Linnwood — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 17:05:07 -0800

This is really great! Thanks!

By: synecdoche

synecdoche — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 17:47:22 -0800

Cool link... Should help me waste some more time that should be devoted to my term paper.

By: mcsweetie

mcsweetie — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 18:51:41 -0800

best site ever sdfsadfdas

By: thatweirdguy2

thatweirdguy2 — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 18:59:08 -0800

Is this something you have to have a stereo to appreciate? Seriously, though, what a great site... just spent over an hour reading through the history of Every. Single. Song.

By: MrBaliHai

MrBaliHai — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 19:27:49 -0800

How timely. Went to see a movie tonight, and they were playing songs from the White Album before the film started, so I looked up several of them. I was disappointed that there was no listing for "Bungalow Bill", but otherwise found the site pretty interesting. Thanks.

By: ?!

?! — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 19:42:07 -0800

MrBaliHai: Remember, the actual title is "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill". Try "C"

By: aki

aki — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 20:14:55 -0800

Coincidentally, The Beatles Anthology DVD set is released tomorrow. 5 DVDs with the entire 8 episode Anthology series, and an extra dvd of 81-minutes of never before seen footage, including the casual jams and recording sessions of the Threetles' "Free as a bird" and "Real Love".

By: Espoo2

Espoo2 — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 20:20:29 -0800

Wow! Great link! Thanks!

By: kozad

kozad — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 20:24:44 -0800

I read the first entry (Across The Universe) and gave up. The text claims that the Beatles met Maharishi's teacher. The guru in question died in 1953. Hmmm.

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 20:43:02 -0800

man, I coulda used this when I hosted a Beatles radio show.

By: goddam

goddam — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 20:46:23 -0800

kozad, i found some of the facts to be a bit suspect as well. like helter skelter, they say that manson killed sharon tate "to stop the racial conflict that was 'coming down fast'. but i seem to remember reading that charlie was in fact trying to start a racial conflict with the murders. great site nonetheless.

By: wendell

wendell — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 23:38:22 -0800

Geat link Gael'er, can I put in a plug for your blog, which has been one of my favorite reads since the last millennium...? I was disappointed in the short shrift given the song "Rocky Raccoon", so I Googled up another source and discovered the song's connection to the accident that spawned the Paul Is Dead urban legend. (Nitpickers might want to check Marcos' write-ups of "Across the Universe" and "Helter Skelter".) Second-sourcing never hurts.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 23:56:24 -0800

Thanks Gael, cool resource. And I second wendell's plug for your wonderful website!

By: MrAnonymous

MrAnonymous — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 00:06:10 -0800

Is it just me, or is this site not 100% complete? I mean, it's awesome, but not all songs seem to be there. Like Besame Mucho.

By: wendell

wendell — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 02:27:12 -0800

Besame Mucho? Besame Mucho?!? Is she any relation to SheilaE..... oh, nevermind. I'll deal with Mr. Anony Mouse later. I'm just glad the Discography site DOESN'T go beyond the Beatles, even to coverage of the Ex-Beatles. I mean, does ANYBODY want to hear the story behind "Silly Love Songs"?

By: turaho

turaho — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 03:46:47 -0800

does ANYBODY want to hear the story behind "Silly Love Songs"? And what's wrong with that? I'd like to know. Well here I go again.

By: 111

111 — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 06:52:19 -0800

Excellent.

By: son_of_minya

son_of_minya — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 11:00:18 -0800

About the song "I'm a Loser":

Lennon later said that "Part of me suspects I'm a loser and part of me thinks I'm God almighty." This was the very last time that John played his harmonica on record (because he thought he was turning it into a gimmick).

Great tidbit. I never thought of John Lennon as an angst-ridden manic depressive before.

By: tdismukes

tdismukes — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 11:36:38 -0800

My band has been working on adding "In My Life" to our repetoire. Our keyboard player has been struggling a bit with the piano break in the middle - she'll be happy to hear that "George Martin overdubbed the middle-eight ... by recording it at half speed, then playing it back at double speed. " Cheater!

By: Dick Paris

Dick Paris — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 11:52:28 -0800

I've been enjoying this site all day while listening through all of my Beatles mp3s. Thanks, Gael.