In My Life: Beatles Songs About Real People and Places

[Steve M.]

"And I Love Her" - Written by Paul McCartney about Jane Asher.

"I'm A Loser" - Asked if the song was a personal statement, John Lennon replied, with a laugh, "Part of me suspects I'm a loser and part of me suspects I'm God Almighty."

"Think For Yourself" - George Harrison remembered being mad at someone when he wrote this song, but he didn't remember who. "Probably the government."

"I'm Looking Through You" - Written by Paul about a fight with Jane Asher.

"In My Life" - This is self-explanatory.

"Taxman" - Written by George about the economic situation in Britain in 1966, mentioning Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Conservative opposition leader Edward Heath.

"Eleanor Rigby" - Paul claimed he got the name from Help! costar Eleanor Bron ("I can say no more!") and a London bookstore named Rigby's, but the name was eventually found on a headstone in a Liverpool churchyard.
Paul has since admitted it was probably a subconscious choice.

"She Said She Said" - Written by John about Peter Fonda, who told him and George while they were all on acid that he knew what being dead was like because of an accident he'd had as a boy. This was the first - but not the only - time John changed the gender of the protagonist of a song.

"Doctor Robert" - Written by John about either a New York doctor - either Charles Roberts or Robert Freymann - who dispensed pills to celebrity clients, though John later claimed it was about himself because he dispensed pills to the other Beatles while on tour.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" - Written by John about the Salvation Army home where he used to play as a boy.

"Penny Lane" - Written by Paul about Liverpool's central business district. (Penny Lane, like Wall Street or Columbus Circle in Manhattan, refers to an area as well as a street.)

"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" - Written by John about one of his son Julian's nursery school paintings, showing a fellow student, Lucy O'Donnell, silouhetted against a field of diamonds and stars. (Many assumed it was an acrostic for LSD, pointing to the lyrics, which actually came from Lewis Carroll's "Through The Looking Glass.") A misheard lyric inspired New Orleans bandleader John Fred to write the number one hit "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)."

"Getting Better" - Written by Paul about a phrase Jimmy Nicol, who substituted for Ringo Starr on a world tour for a spell, liked to use - "It's getting better."

"She's Leaving Home" - Written by Paul about a story in the newspaper about a runaway from an upper-middle-class household. The "man from the motor trade" was a reference to manager Brian Epstein's friend Terry Doran, a car dealer. (Americans in the Bible Belt interpreted the song as being about a pregnant teenager who gets an abortion - the "man from the motor trade" was thought to mean an abortionist.)

"Being For the Benefit Of Mr. Kite" - Written by John about a circus poster he bought in a second-hand store. The characters, all real, were taken from that poster. Pablo Fanque was a circus promoter in Britain in the 1840's, kind of like P.T. Barnum in America.

"A Day In the Life" - Written by John about several newspaper stories, with a reference to the movie How I Won The War, marking John's acting debut outside the Beatles's movies.

"Baby You're a Rich Man" - Believed to be written about John and Paul about Brian Epstein. It was originally the B-side of "All You Need Is Love" - the last Bealtes record issued before Epstein's death.

"I Am The Walrus" - The walrus was Paul.

"Blue Jay Way" - Written by George about Derek Talyor, who got lost in Los Angeles looking for the house George was staying in on the street that gave the song its title.

"Hey Jude" - Written by Paul about John's son Julian during the Lennons' messy divorce, though some believe Paul was singing about himself and encouarging himself to pursue an American girl he'd met, Linda Eastman.

"Dear Prudence" - Written by John about Mia Farrow's sister while studying Transcendental Meditation in India with the Maharishi; Prudence Farrow (who later became a spiritual adviser to Andy Kaufman) meditated all day and wouldn't come out of her bungalow.

"The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" - Written by John about a young American man who stopped at the Maharishi's compound to visit his mother, who was also studying Transcendental Meditation. The clean-cut, all-American boy liked to go hunting for tigers. This song is heard as both a satire on American machismo and as an animal-rights-activist song.

"Martha My Dear" - Allegedly a farewell song to Jane Asher, Paul supposedly borrowed the name of his English sheepdog to conceal the identity of the second person he was addressing. Or maybe he meant that Jane Asher was a bitch!

"Julia" - Written by John about his mother, the song also included a reference to his new ladylove Yoko Ono - "ocean child" is what her name means in Japanese.

"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me And My Monkey" - The song's title was a reference to an anti-Yoko cartoon John saw depicting her as a monkey digging her claws into John and draining his creative talent. The rest of the song came from a talk the Maharishi gave.

"Sexy Sadie" - Writen by John about Marilyn Monroe. No, I'm kidding - it was about the Maharishi, written after John bcame disillusioned with the guru, with the title - and gender - changed from "Maharishi" after John cooled off.

"Long Long Long" - Considered to be the first of George's many songs about his first wife Pattie.

"Savoy Truffle" - Written by George about Eric Clapton and his addiction to chocolates - Savoy Truffle was a flavor offered by Good News, the British equivalent of Russell Stover.

"Good Night" - Written by John for his son Julian, and given to Ringo to sing.

"Two Of Us" - Written by Paul, either about his friendship with John or his relationship with Linda.

"Let It Be" - Written by Paul about his mother Mary, just as "Julia" was written by John for his mum.

"The Long and Winding Road" - Written by Paul about the highway in Scotland near the farm he'd just purchased there. Subseqently ruined by Phil Spector, this is actually rapper Chuck D's favorite Beatles song.

"For You Blue" - Another song by George about his wife.

"Something" - See "For You Blue."

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" - The lyrics tell it like it is.

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - Written by John about Yoko.

"You Never Give Me Your Money" - Written by Paul about the financial difficulties with the group's Apple company, it was also heard as a direct criticism of Apple manager Allen Klein.

"Mean Mr. Mustard" - Written by John about an unsavory character he read about in the paper.

"Polythene Pam" - See "Mean Mr. Mustard."

"Her Majesty" - Written by Paul about Queen Margarethe II of Denmark. (Kidding - it was about Queen Elizabeth II, of course.)

Did I forget anything?

[Steve M.]

Hey, I did forget one. . . .

"A Day In the Life" also had a reference to Tara Browne, the Guinness heir and friend of the Beatles who died in a car crash, one of the newspaper stories woven into the song.

[Lady T]

Originally Posted by Steve M.

"And I Love Her" - Written by Paul McCartney about Jane Asher.

"I'm A Loser" - Asked if the song was a personal statement, John Lennon replied, with a laugh, "Part of me suspects I'm a loser and part of me suspects I'm God Almighty."

"Think For Yourself" - George Harrison remembered being mad at someone when he wrote this song, but he didn't remember who. "Probably the government."

"I'm Looking Through You" - Written by Paul about a fight with Jane Asher.

"In My Life" - This is self-explanatory.

"Taxman" - Written by George about the economic situation in Britain in 1966, mentioning Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Conservative opposition leader Edward Heath.

"Eleanor Rigby" - Paul claimed he got the name from Help! costar Eleanor Bron ("I can say no more!") and a London bookstore named Rigby's, but the name was eventually found on a headstone in a Liverpool churchyard.
Paul has since admitted it was probably a subconscious choice.

"She Said She Said" - Written by John about Peter Fonda, who told him and George while they were all on acid that he knew what being dead was like because of an accident he'd had as a boy. This was the first - but not the only - time John changed the gender of the protagonist of a song.

"Doctor Robert" - Written by John about either a New York doctor - either Charles Roberts or Robert Freymann - who dispensed pills to celebrity clients, though John later claimed it was about himself because he dispensed pills to the other Beatles while on tour.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" - Written by John about the Salvation Army home where he used to play as a boy.

"Penny Lane" - Written by Paul about Liverpool's central business district. (Penny Lane, like Wall Street or Columbus Circle in Manhattan, refers to an area as well as a street.)

"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" - Written by John about one of his son Julian's nursery school paintings, showing a fellow student, Lucy O'Donnell, silouhetted against a field of diamonds and stars. (Many assumed it was an acrostic for LSD, pointing to the lyrics, which actually came from Lewis Carroll's "Through The Looking Glass.") A misheard lyric inspired New Orleans bandleader John Fred to write the number one hit "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)."

"Getting Better" - Written by Paul about a phrase Jimmy Nicol, who substituted for Ringo Starr on a world tour for a spell, liked to use - "It's getting better."

"She's Leaving Home" - Written by Paul about a story in the newspaper about a runaway from an upper-middle-class household. The "man from the motor trade" was a reference to manager Brian Epstein's friend Terry Doran, a car dealer. (Americans in the Bible Belt interpreted the song as being about a pregnant teenager who gets an abortion - the "man from the motor trade" was thought to mean an abortionist.)

"Being For the Benefit Of Mr. Kite" - Written by John about a circus poster he bought in a second-hand store. The characters, all real, were taken from that poster. Pablo Fanque was a circus promoter in Britain in the 1840's, kind of like P.T. Barnum in America.

"A Day In the Life" - Written by John about several newspaper stories, with a reference to the movie How I Won The War, marking John's acting debut outside the Beatles's movies.

"Baby You're a Rich Man" - Believed to be written about John and Paul about Brian Epstein. It was originally the B-side of "All You Need Is Love" - the last Bealtes record issued before Epstein's death.

"I Am The Walrus" - The walrus was Paul.

"Blue Jay Way" - Written by George about Derek Talyor, who got lost in Los Angeles looking for the house George was staying in on the street that gave the song its title.

"Hey Jude" - Written by Paul about John's son Julian during the Lennons' messy divorce, though some believe Paul was singing about himself and encouarging himself to pursue an American girl he'd met, Linda Eastman.

"Dear Prudence" - Written by John about Mia Farrow's sister while studying Transcendental Meditation in India with the Maharishi; Prudence Farrow (who later became a spiritual adviser to Andy Kaufman) meditated all day and wouldn't come out of her bungalow.

"The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" - Written by John about a young American man who stopped at the Maharishi's compound to visit his mother, who was also studying Transcendental Meditation. The clean-cut, all-American boy liked to go hunting for tigers. This song is heard as both a satire on American machismo and as an animal-rights-activist song.

"Martha My Dear" - Allegedly a farewell song to Jane Asher, Paul supposedly borrowed the name of his English sheepdog to conceal the identity of the second person he was addressing. Or maybe he meant that Jane Asher was a bitch!

"Julia" - Written by John about his mother, the song also included a reference to his new ladylove Yoko Ono - "ocean child" is what her name means in Japanese.

"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me And My Monkey" - The song's title was a reference to an anti-Yoko cartoon John saw depicting her as a monkey digging her claws into John and draining his creative talent. The rest of the song came from a talk the Maharishi gave.

"Sexy Sadie" - Writen by John about Marilyn Monroe. No, I'm kidding - it was about the Maharishi, written after John bcame disillusioned with the guru, with the title - and gender - changed from "Maharishi" after John cooled off.

"Long Long Long" - Considered to be the first of George's many songs about his first wife Pattie.

"Savoy Truffle" - Written by George about Eric Clapton and his addiction to chocolates - Savoy Truffle was a flavor offered by Good News, the British equivalent of Russell Stover.

"Good Night" - Written by John for his son Julian, and given to Ringo to sing.

"Two Of Us" - Written by Paul, either about his friendship with John or his relationship with Linda.

"Let It Be" - Written by Paul about his mother Mary, just as "Julia" was written by John for his mum.

"The Long and Winding Road" - Written by Paul about the highway in Scotland near the farm he'd just purchased there. Subseqently ruined by Phil Spector, this is actually rapper Chuck D's favorite Beatles song.

"For You Blue" - Another song by George about his wife.

"Something" - See "For You Blue."

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" - The lyrics tell it like it is.

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - Written by John about Yoko.

"You Never Give Me Your Money" - Written by Paul about the financial difficulties with the group's Apple company, it was also heard as a direct criticism of Apple manager Allen Klein.

"Mean Mr. Mustard" - Written by John about an unsavory character he read about in the paper.

"Polythene Pam" - See "Mean Mr. Mustard."

"Her Majesty" - Written by Paul about Queen Margarethe II of Denmark. (Kidding - it was about Queen Elizabeth II, of course.)

Did I forget anything?

Wow, cool information..Thanks Steve

[Steve M.]

You're welcome, Lady T! I have a new list coming up!

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by Steve M

"Think For Yourself" - George Harrison remembered being mad at someone when he wrote this song, but he didn't remember who. "Probably the government."

Hmmmm I didnt think the GOVT lied to people to further thier agendas back then....

[Steve M.]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Hmmmm I didnt think the GOVT lied to people to further thier agendas back then....

LOL!