Customer Reviews

A Hard Day's Write, Revised Edition: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

In the music unit my Popular Culture class we look at the songs of the Beatles, specifically those collected on their "Beatles 1" album. Students write a paper looking at the stages of the group as defined by the songs on that album and sometimes they find things on the Internet that talk about how John Lennon and Paul McCartney (and George Harrison for "Something") came to write their songs. Unfortunately that has little to do with putting these songs into distinct chronological stages, but after reading "A Hard Day's Write" you can see where they would be fascinated by some of these stories and forget to just listen to the songs and decide for themselves what they are about and what makes them work.

Steve Turner provides the stories behind every one of the Beatles songs, including "Free As a Bird" and all the songs from "Anthology" and "Live at the BBC" that would not be covered by the other albums. The book is divided into 14 chapters representing 17 albums ("Magical Mystery Tour" and "Yellow Submarine" are combined, as are the three "Anthology" albums). Turner is following the British albums and including those songs that ended up on the two "Masterworks" collections with the albums that were being recorded (e.g., "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "With the Beatles," "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Field Forever" with "Sgt. Pepper"). It does not include the songs by other writers that the Beatles covered during their early years.

Turner makes the point that this is not a book that is attempting to explain what the Beatles "were really trying to say," but tells us about the ideas and inspirations behind these songs, as well as dispelling some of the popular myths connected to some of these songs. You have probably heard about some of these, such as Peter Fonda telling John Lennon "I know what its like to be dead" leading to "She Said She Said," the Victorian poster about "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" and Julian Lennon's drawing of his friend "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." But know you can also learn about the real location of not only "Penny Lane" but also "Blue Jay Way," who was the real "Polythene Pam," and what happened when the Beatles mentioned Denis O'Dell in "You Know My Name."

Nor does Turner present this book as the definitive one on the subject, since that cannot be written until everything the Beatles have to say about their songs is made public. However, he did track down and interview the real-life subjects of these songs as well as going through public records and newspaper archives, and speaking in depth to some of the people who were closest to the Beatles back in the sixties. Turner also provides a brief introduction to each album that talks about where the Beatles were in their careers at that point, such as how "Revolver" represented a significant development in the Beatles' sound since their music was now being created in the studio with no thought for how it could be played in concert (the album came out during their final tour but none of its 14 songs were ever played on stage by the band). So Turner does pay some attention to things other than the individual songs.

The back of the book contains a chronology for the beats from the births of Ringo Starr and John Lennon in 1940 to Paul McCartney filing a suit against the Beatles and Co. to dissolve the partnership, a discography from 1962-1996, a bibliography, and index. There are also over 200 photographs, some in color, many of which are on point with regards to specific songs (e.g., you get to see the gravestone of Eleanor Rigby, the real Bungalow Bill, and the Apple Scruffs who came in through the bathroom window. No matter what level of fan you are of the Beatles you should find plenty of interest and stories you have never heard before. At the very least, you can learn something new about your favorite Beatles songs.

Steve Turner gives the background story behind every Beatles song on all their officially released albums up to Abbey Road. Other books make the same claim, but this one's the best! To me, the most fascinating entries are about John's autobiographical songs, such as 'In My Life' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever.'

The story behind 'A Day In the Life' is riveting and is partly based on a personal tragedy for Paul.

Find out what John's inspiration was for 'Tomorrow Never Knows.' Does Dr. Robert really exist? 'She's Leaving Home' is based on a true story Paul had read about in a newspaper. Which was the first Beatles song not to be about love? Learn how much of an influence Dr. Timothy O'Leary was. Who's Ocean Child ('Julia')? Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is behind a few songs, but not always the way you might think! A song based on a conversation with Peter Fonda? You bet! What's the story of the sitar in 'Norwegian Wood,' and just who is the mysterious woman in whose bathtub John slept? I could go on and on!

The text is very well researched, and includes quotes from people who were involved with the Beatles.

The photos are excellent and add to the realness of the songs. See Eleanor Rigby's gravestone, Matt Busby (from 'Dig It')and the man who 'blew his mind out in a car.'

AHDW is thorough, accurate and FUN to read. If I could, I'd give it 10 stars!

Beware, this is not a high-brow re-evaluation such as Revolution In The Head. Instead, Steve Turner has written an entertaining, humorous and well-informed lowdown on all self-penned Beatle songs. The narrative is of the sort you might find a kindly hippie-uncle giving his wet-behind-the-ears nephew when asked, "so who were those Beatle guys?' We get to hear plenty from Paul who's clear memory of how and why the songs were written sometimes clashes with what John or George had to say. These two are sometimes quite dismissive about the songs whereas Paul seems far more even about it all.
Light is thrown on the old chestnuts; Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, Helter Skelter, Lucy etc. Charles Manson's ravings are included. Boy, he could see apocalypse on a blank page.
The book mirrors the way the guys honed their songwriting skills and matured from the lightweight fun of the early songs into depth and genuine insight from Rubber Soul on.
In conclusion, Mr Taylor has joined the pantheon of great Beatles chroniclers, Hunter Davies, Philip Norman and Ian MacDonald and produced an utterly glorious 'let me take you back...'

First of all, when I saw this book in the bookstore, I thought, "Cool! A book all about how the songs were written!" And, being a songwriter myself, I just knew I HAD to have it! I haven't even read the whole thing yet, and I already know it's the definitive book on the work of the Beatles' songs! Things in the book, like the people who inspired the songs, are cool to find out. It's great to know that ordinary people can inspire extraordinary vision! This is definately a fun book to read! I know I'll keep opening it up from time to time! I hope you like it as much as I did! BTW, feel free to e-mail me and chat about the Beatles! My ICQ # is 2564071.

I have read most of the books on the Beatles and this one is my favorite. It has great photos, is easy to read, and tells the story of the Beatles through each of their songs. I especially liked the update with "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love," from the Anthology. This is a great gift for any real Beatle fan. There is more packed into this 224 page book than you could ever imagine. This book is a true joy!!!... You got to get this one!!!

Never mind the dumb punny title. The subtitle says it much better: "The stories behind every Beatles song." And never mind academic navel-gazing about the metaphors in "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" or nonsensical philosophizing about "Revolution #9." Those of us whose hearts are in the firm grip of the Beatles' rich catalog owe a debt of gratitude to ace British music journalist Steve Turner for this book. Read it for fun and for some insight into the hard work the lads put into the creation of so many deceptively simple little ditties that have deservedly become classics. Enjoy the pictures, too. This book has a couple of hundred very good photos. Books about the Beatles number many hundreds. This one deserves a place near the top of the heap for the quality of the writing and the readable, accessible journalistic format. One quibble, and I'm surprised the editors didn't catch it: there's no alphabetical, page-numbered index of the songs, not in the Table of Contents, not in the Index, either. If you want to find the story behind a specific song such as "In My Life," you have to know which album the song appeared on, and approximately which cut. But that's a minor detail-Beatles afficionados know the songs on every album.

I received this book as a Christmas gift three years ago and am still referring to it constantly. As a die-hard Beatles fan, I not only want to enjoy the music, but I also want to know why the songs were written - who, what, where was the inspiration? Real music fans know that lyrics are the key to an artist's soul. In this book you'll find out what really happens at the end of "Norwegian Wood", who Doctor Robert really was, and where the term Helter Skelter came from. You won't be able to put this down!

John Lennon regarded IN MY LIFE as one of his most important songs. A long poem about the favourite spots of his childhood had gone in front of it. The lyrics remind to the amazing poem of THE OLD FAMILIAR FACES of Charles Lamb [1775-1834], which John possibly knew via the widespread anthology PALGRAVE's TREASURY. It starts: I have had playmates, I have had companions... " sounds rhythmically like "There are places I remember / though some have changed, some forever ..." Steve Turner examines really every Beatle song back to his roots of daily experiences: Who did not know yet, now will discover, that John Lennon has meant (writing about SEXY SADIE) the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He wanted to express with this lines his annoyance over the guru's claim to leadership. Hidden behind the lyrics of the song A DAY IN LIFE is a real road accident, where the enquiry finds the photo of the squashed coupe of the hautevoleé belonging TARA BROWNE. SHE IS LEAVING HOME is based on a true story Paul had read in a newspaper. Who is that woman, who inspired John to the cynical lyrics of NORWEGIAN WOOD (and inspired the Sitar of George Harrison)? More than 200 photographies are shown: Eleanor Rigby's gravestone (that unmarried woman, only watching always other women get married) - the Victorian poster about "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" - Julian Lennon's drawing of his friend "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" - I'm sure, every Beatles-Fan will enjoy this book ...

This book is a classic to me. I finally have all the background to every beatle song in one book. It always fascinated me to understand the idea behind a beatle song. Some were silly while some had a great deal of meaning based on events in each of the beatles lives. An intimate look into their lives. I recommend this for the beatle fan who always wants to know more about the group.

Steve Turner wrote a wonderful book about the stories of the Beatles' songs. Where is "Penny Lane"? Who is she when "I saw her
standing there"? Who is Martha? What does she look like? How interesting they are! I just like to know the stories. There are
also a lot of beautiful pictures which I've never seen before.
If you have a hard day's night, and you want some change to a easy, funny, enjoyable, relaxing time, read this book. I guarantee you will find a lot of fun and joy.