Day Tripper

Today's song is "Day Tripper". John wrote the melody and Paul helped with lyrics, and this particular song was meant to be amusing. From Wikipedia:

According to music critic Ian MacDonald, the song "starts as a twelve-bar blues in E, which makes a feint at turning into a twelve-bar in the relative minor (i.e. the chorus) before doubling back to the expected B—another joke from a group which had clearly decided that wit was to be their new gimmick." Indeed, in 1966 McCartney said in Melody MakerDrive My Car" (recorded three days prior) were "funny songs, songs with jokes in. that "Day Tripper" and "

There's also the matter of the lyrics; "day tripper" means a person who takes day trips (like mini holidays), but it also references drugs, and John said of the song, "...you're just a weekend hippie. Get it?" I love the guitar riff in "Day Tripper". It's good fun, and complements the quirky and suggestive lyrics quite well. :) 

That's it for today! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 103

We Can Work It Out

Today's song is "We Can Work It Out". It represents a great collaboration between Paul's optimism ("We can work it out") and John's darker reminders of mortality ("Life is very short, and there's no time / For fussing and fighting, my friend"). This contrast within the same song can be seen in others as well. 

I like this one a lot. It's optimistic, yet cautious--the perfect combination of Paul and John with George and Ringo's energetic playing for support. The lyrics encourage working out your problems with someone rather than giving up, which is pretty good advice (even if the guys didn't follow it themselves all the time). :P

That's all for today! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 102

And Your Bird Can Sing

"And Your Bird Can Sing" is "a hard-edged rocker... memorable for its extended dual-guitar melody, played by George Harrison and Paul McCartney." It's also rather cryptic--the lyrics talk about a bird, which is British slang for girl, but the singer appears to be speaking to a woman already, so it's uncertain. John wasn't overly fond of this one:

Lennon was later dismissive of the song, as he was of many of his compositions at the time, referring to it as "another of my throwaways...fancy paper around an empty box".

I really enjoyed the guitar work in this song. It definitely adds a sharper edge to the tune, and if the lyrics are a little strange, the guitar is still awesome, so who cares? :P 

That's it for now. See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 101

Doctor Robert

Today's song is "Doctor Robert", which was written by John and Paul. Of the song's titular character: "Lennon said that he was Doctor Robert: 'I was the one who carried all the pills on tour ... in the early days'." 

With a rock-and-roll guitar and drums, and a tongue-in-cheek reference to a drug dealer in the lyrics, this song matches the old Beatles with the new in a pretty catchy way. Since I've seen Across the Universe so many times, I picture Bono in a cowboy hat singing "I Am the Walrus". :P Overall, this song is decent--not fabulous, but catchy in its own way and interesting enough to keep your attention throughout. :)

Sidenote: Today is song number 100! Happy birthday to me. :)

That's all for today! See you tomorrow for #101.

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 100

I'm Only Sleeping

Today we start a few songs from the next album, Yesterday and Today. Overall, this album wasn't a hit--it was the only Beatles album to actually lose money for Capitol Records, and its controversial cover featured the guys in white smocks posing with decapitated baby dolls and chunks of raw meat (appropriately dubbed the "butcher cover"). The album was also released only in the United States and Canada. Capitol threw the songs on the record together pretty randomly, which angered the Beatles themselves since they'd always carefully and thoughtfully arranged their songs before.

This album features several songs we've already covered, such as "Drive My Car", "Nowhere Man", "Yesterday", "If I Needed Someone", and "What Goes On". The first new song is "I'm Only Sleeping". The song has been covered several times, mostly famously by The Vines for the soundtrack to the 2001 film I Am Sam (which consisted entirely of covers of Beatles songs). That's actually the version I'm familiar with--before today I thought it was an original song by The Vines. I kind of prefer the Vines version as well; in the Beatles version, John's voice sounds so high and distorted that it's strange. 

There's an interesting section on Wikipedia regarding the interpretation of this song.

The first draft of Lennon's lyrics for "I'm Only Sleeping", written on the back of a letter from 1966, suggests that he was writing about the joys of staying in bed rather than any drug euphoria sometimes read into the lyrics. While not on tour, due to his lack of routine, Lennon would often spend his time sleeping, reading, writing or watching television, often under the influence of drugs, and would often have to be woken by McCartney for songwriting sessions. In a London Evening Standard article published on 4 March 1966, which contained quotes from an interview in which Lennon made his "more popular than Jesus" remark, Maureen Cleave, a friend of Lennon's, wrote, "He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England. 'Physically lazy,' he said. 'I don't mind writing or reading or watching or speaking, but sex is the only physical thing I can be bothered with any more.'"

That's all for today! See you tomorrow. 

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 99