Strawberry Fields Forever: John Lennon Song

Rolling Stone Magazine cited John Lennon as saying he often considered "Strawberry Fields Forever" his greatest accomplishment with the Beatles. (posted on Rolling Stone's online News Blog on December 9, 2004). ~ This lens is about John Lennon's song "Strawberry Fields Forever," about the meaning behind the words, the complex musical structure, the influence the song had on fellow musicians, and the mass hysteria caused by the "I buried Paul" rumor following the release of the album in 1967.

WHERE THE NAME OF THE SONG CAME FROM

"Strawberry Fields Forever" was written by John Lennon in 1966, and was named after the Strawberry Field orphanage, where he would play on the grounds as a boy.

It was a large Victorian building run by the Salvation Army

and located on Beaconsfield Road in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool, England. John grew up near the orphanage and he loved to play in the woodlands behind it.

All that is left of the Strawberry Field orphanage today is this gate.

"IT'S NOTHING TO GET HUNG ABOUT. STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER."

Both John's mother and his aunt disapproved of his involvement with the kids at the Strawberry Fields Orphanage, thinking they were wild and would be a bad influence on John. Often, when he was about to go out of the house, his aunt or mother would ask him where he was going. John would reply: "It's nothing to get hung about." That is how the phrase in the song came about.

John Lennon was raised mostly by his mother and later his aunt.

This is where John lived with his Aunt Mimi in Woolton, England. John's bedroom was above the front door.

In the famous 1980 Playboy interview with John Lennon & Yoko Ono, John says: "Strawberry Fields is a real place. After I stopped living at Penny Lane, I moved in with my auntie who lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden and doctors and lawyers and that ilk living around... not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all the Beatles stories. In the class system, it was about half a class higher than Paul, George and Ringo, who lived in government-subsidized housing. We owned our house and had a garden. They didn't have anything like that."

"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 would go there and hang out and sell lemonade bottles for a penny. 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.'"

John goes on to say: "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'" and explaining that the song was 'psycho-analysis set to music.'"

"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."

Please see the following sites for further information:

• John Lennon's 1975 Interview with Rolling Stone

• Beatles Number 9 (comprehensive Beatles Fan Site)

• Strawberry Field Song Facts

• Strawberry Fields Forever: John 1968

• beatlesbeatlesbeatles.com!

• Strawberry Field Orphanage Closes

WAS IT A RUMOR OR WAS IT A FACT??!

The fourth verse of "Strawberry Fields Forever" fades out and fades in again with dissonant melodies and with John Lennon saying "cranberry sauce" - although world over, many people instead heard the controversial words "I buried Paul." Many fans feared that Paul had died. Suddenly a rumor was born - & THIS ONE SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE!

The media was more than willing to support the hysteria and even the most conservative newspapers followed suit, adding fuel to the fire.

Paul McCartney went on television to show the world that he was very much alive. However, the rumors were well underway by then and although a large number of people gave a heavy sigh of relief, others believed the Beatles had found a look-alike to fill in for Paul and it wasn't really Paul they were watching on TV.

Suddenly the rumors took a new direction and proof of Paul's death was to be "found" in the symbolism of the Beatles album cover art and by playing certain phrases backwards. The year was 1967. Somehow listening to music backwards didn't seem that out of the ordinary.

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For years the source of the rumor was a great mystery. Because of it, the Beatles sold more records than ever before.

A number of people thought the Beatles or the record company started the rumor. Others speculated it was because of a car accident Paul was involved in a few days before. Some people also believed that the rumor started over the radio.

Finally, Russ Gibb, a DJ for Detroit's underground station WKNR-FM, spoke up. He said the rumor started when he aired a call from an Eastern Michigan University student who pointed out that at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever," John Lennon says "I buried Paul." The student also said that when the song "Revolution 9" is played backwards, you can clearly hear "Turn me on, dead man." The DJ said he played both songs over the radio and the phone lines instantly went crazy. Russ Gibb confessed that he took it from there, and the press jumped in wholeheartedly.

For more information, please see 'Paul Is Dead' Hoax.

In 1974 Paul McCartney said, "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."

This rare and early fab photo of Paul McCartney and John Lennon is hanging on the wall of a bar in Clarion, PA.

Photograph from Flickr

JOHN LENNON & PAUL McCARTNEY

John Lennon and Paul McCartney shared a common nostalgia for their childhood years in and around Liverpool, England. Although both are credited with the writing of "Strawberry Fields Forever" & "Penny Lane," actually it was John Lennon who wrote the former, while Paul McCartney wrote "Penny Lane."

"Strawberry Fields Forever" was originally recorded in 1967 for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but it was instead released in the USA as a single, backed with Paul McCartney's "Penny Lane." It was later included in the album "Magical Mystery Tour" (1967).

UNITING TWO DIVERSE VERSIONS OF THE SONG; INTRO. OF THE INSTRUMENTS

TWO VERSIONS OF THE SONG

There were actually two versions of "Strawberry Fields Forever." One version was light and slow, while the other version was quite intense. John decided he liked both versions equally but because they were so complicated, there was no way to re-record so John asked Producer George Martin to splice the two versions together.

At first glance, this seemed impossible because they were in completely different keys and tempos, and yet with a stroke of genius, George Martin pulled it off. Working with engineer Geoff Emerick, they devised a plan to speed up the first version and slow down the second, creating a smooth transition which enabled them to fully realize their artistic potential.

TWO UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS WERE ADDED

One of the instruments used in Strawberry Fields was a keyboard instrument called the Mellotron. The keyboard triggered tape loops containing string, brass, voice and other assorted sounds, and has been described as 70 tape-recorders in a box.

If you would like to know more about the Mellotron, please click here: Rebirth of the Cool: Mellotron and Mellotron, Mellotron VST & Samples.

George Harrison brought in an exotic indian instrument called a Swordmandel (Swarmandela), which was similar to a harp. This was used as a transition at several points in the sound tract.

The final version included other effects as well such as tape loops, backwards cymbals and heavy use of compression and equalization.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER MUSICAL STRUCTURE

This section is quoted from Wikipedia. For those of you who are not interested in the technical aspects, please skip to the following module.

"The song is written in the key of B-flat major. It begins with an introduction written by Paul McCartney, who played it on a mellotron keyboard, and then continues to the refrain. A half-measure complicates the meter of the verses, as well as the fact that the vocals begin in the middle of the first measure. The first verse comes after the refrain, and is eight measures long. The verse starts with an F major chord, which "deceptively" turns into a G minor (vi). According to the musicologist Alan Pollack, the "approach-avoidance tactic" is encountered in the verse, as the V chord never resolves into an I chord directly as expected. Instead, at the end of the verse, the V chord turns into an I chord after passing through the E-flat major (IV) chord."

"In the middle of the second chorus, the 'funereal brass' is introduced, stressing the ominous lyrics. After three verses and four refrains, the line "Strawberry Fields Forever" is repeated three times, and the song fades out with a guitar, cello, and an Indian stringed instrument known as a swarmandal. After a few seconds, the song fades back in to the mellotron playing dissonant notes, scattered drumming, and John Lennon saying, 'cranberry sauce.'"

from Wikipedia

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For those of you interested in reading more on the technical aspects of this complex recording, this paper by Joseph Brennan goes into it at detail: Strawberry Fields Forever: Putting Together the Pieces.

Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to strawberry fields,

Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry fields forever...

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.

It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out.

It doesn't matter much to me.

Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to strawberry fields,

Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry fields forever...

No one, I think, is in my tree. I mean, it must be high or low.

That is, you can't, you know, tune in, but it's all right.

That is, I think it's not too bad.

Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to strawberry fields,

Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry fields forever...

Always, no, sometimes think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream.

I think er, no, I mean, er, yes, but it's all wrong.

That is, I think I disagree.

Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to strawberry fields, Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry fields forever

Strawberry fields forever

Strawberry fields forever

The year was 1967. It was called "the most elaborate pop hoax in history" and it generated an astounding amount of rumors, conjectures and deductions for the Beatles.

It all began in 1967 when a DJ in Detroit aired a call from a student named "Tom" who said Paul was dead and proof was to be found at the end of the song "Strawberry Fields Forever." The telephone lines went crazy. The fans were hysterical and the media frenzy began.

Have you heard about the "John Is Dead" controversy before?

THE SONG SHOOK UP HIS CONTEMPORARIES AND RAISED THE ANTE

Brian Wilson of the "Beach Boys" was driving his car when "Strawberry Fields Forever" came on the radio: He pulled his car over to the side to listen closely to the song. The passenger who was riding with him reported that when the song was over, Brian shook his head and he said, "They already did it. They already did what I wanted to do."

Mark Lindsay, singer/saxophonist of the successful group "Paul Revere & The Raiders" heard the song on the radio, bought it, and then listened to it at home with his producer at the time, Terry Melcher. When the song ended, Lindsay remarked: "With that single, The Beatles have raised the ante. What are we going to do now?"

Rolling Stone Magazine cited John Lennon as saying he often considered "Strawberry Fields Forever" his greatest accomplishment with the Beatles. (posted on Rolling Stone's online News Blog on December 9, 2004).

There were two versions of "Strawberry Fields Forever," which producer George Martin edited together using variable speeds to make the final version.

There was a "Strawberry Fields Forever" video in the works that was supposed to be something of a sequel to "Yellow Submarine" but it was abandoned when it was about 3/4 complete.

In 1990, British dance group "Candy Flip" recorded an electronic version of Strawberry Fields Forever. It was a major hit in the UK and the USA. Their version can be found here.

Michael Jackson had owned the rights the Beatles' music, but a couple of years before his death, he put up the Beatles' Catalog as collateral to borrow against. Technically the Beatles' catalog is now owned by the estate of Michael Jackson, Sony and Barclays, Jackson's biggest creditor.

eonline has this to say: "It could very well be years before anyone figures out what exactly Michael Jackson owned, owed and bequeathed-other than a big old tangle of drama." In other words, it's currently a real mess.

Beatle John Lennon with second cousins from Levin (from left; Susan, Helen & Mark Parker),

23 June 1964, Evening Post staff photographer

Ref.#: EP/1964/2089-F, B&W original negative,Dominion Post Collection

Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand

• Left to Right: John Lennon and George Harrison

• Regarding their jackets, the Beatles started the fashion craze in the USA for Nehru jackets and Nehru shirts in the late 60's and early 70's.

• Are they wearing makeup for the stage and/or television? George looks like he has it on but probably both of them do.

Art Session: John Lennon | Paul McCartney | George Harrison

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