# A Day In The Life- The Beatles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726 "2005-09-08T22:13:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/1 "2005-09-08T22:13:40Z")
Anyone have a clue what these lyrics mean (if anything)? I read the news today oh, boy Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire And though the holes were rather small They had to count them all Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall I’d love to turn you on ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/2 "2005-09-08T22:16:07Z")
From [this](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=129) website: > [@](#): > > The beginning was based on 2 stories John Lennon read in the Daily Mail newspaper: Guinness heir Tara Browne dying when he smashed his lotus into a parked van, and an article in the UK Daily Express in early 1967 which told of how the Blackburn Roads Surveyor had counted 4000 holes in the roads of Blackburn and commented that the volume of material needed to fill them in was enough to fill the Albert Hall. Lennon took some liberties with the Tara Browne story - he changed it so he “Blew his mind out in the car.” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/3 "2005-09-08T22:24:34Z")
Thanks for that- that was super quick. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/4 "2005-09-08T23:43:40Z")
You mean it wasn’t a clue about Paul being dead?!?! :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/5 "2005-09-08T23:46:55Z")
So which film did he see, having read the book and all? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/6 "2005-09-08T23:48:10Z")
The original Daily Mail article Lennon read did not mention the Albert Hall. > [@Daily Mail](#): > > There are 4,000 holes in the road in Blackburn, Lancashire, or one twenty-sixth of a hole per person, according to a council survey. If Blackburn is typical, there are two million holes in Britains roads, and 300,000 in London. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/7 "2005-09-08T23:49:27Z")
BTW, “I’d love to turn you on” is a drug reference, even though it sounds today more like a sex reference. ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/8 "2005-09-08T23:53:41Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > So which film did he see, having read the book and all? [How I Won the War](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061789/) in which he played Pvt. Gripweed. Also a reference to his books [A Spaniard in the Works and In His Own Write.](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/104-3092156-8353569?field-keywords=In+His+Own+Write&mode=blended&tag=mozilla-20&sourceid=Mozilla-search) ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/9 "2005-09-09T00:04:46Z")
If you’re interested in reading his own words about it, [here](http://www.johnlennon.it/lennon_playboy_interview.htm) is the 1980 Playboy Interview of John and Yoko. He also talks about a lot of other interesting stuff. Link is safe for work (except the word "Playboy"might get you in trouble. Heh.) The part about it from the interview: > [@](#): > > PLAYBOY: “A Day in the Life.” > > LENNON: Just as it sounds: I was reading the paper one day and I noticed two stories. One was the Guinness heir who killed himself in a car. That was the main headline story. He died in London in a car crash. On the next page was a story about 4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire. In the streets, that is. They were going to fill them all. Paul’s contribution was the beautiful little lick in the song “I’d love to turn you on.” I had the bulk of the song and the words, but he contributed this little lick floating around in his head that he couldn’t use for anything. I thought it was a damn good piece of work. ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/10 "2005-09-09T00:10:41Z")
> [@davmilasav](#): > > [How I Won the War](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061789/) in which he played Pvt. Gripweed. Also a reference to his books [A Spaniard in the Works and In His Own Write.](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/104-3092156-8353569?field-keywords=In+His+Own+Write&mode=blended&tag=mozilla-20&sourceid=Mozilla-search) So he didn’t **see** the film, he was **in** it? What an arrogant prick. Somebody should shoot that guy. Oh, I’m going to hell for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/11 "2005-09-09T02:02:02Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > So he didn’t **see** the film, he was **in** it? What an arrogant prick. Somebody should shoot that guy. > > Oh, I’m going to hell for that one. I always interpreted that line as “a crowd of people turned away” (the movie was not a critical hit), “but I just had to look…having read the book” (he was in it…read the script). I suppose all I’d have to do is find out whether _How I Won the War_ was a hit or not. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/12 "2005-09-09T03:03:31Z")
When I first heard the song, I thought the ‘4000 holes’ was a reference to graves, and the Albert Hall reference was to evoke imagery of all the dead - enough to fill the Albert Hall. It seemed to fit in with the rest of the themes in the song. I figured it was an obscure reference to some British tragedy, or maybe a statement about the war or something. Turned out to be potholes. Hmph. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/13 "2005-09-09T03:55:27Z")
From what I’ve read, Browne and Lennon knew each other. So perhaps there was a little bit of emotional impact there when Lennon read the article. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/14 "2005-09-09T13:30:02Z")
Don’t get too carried away with literal interpretations. “How I Won the War” may have inspired the second verse of Day in the Life, but I doubt Lennon intended the entire thing to be a coded summation of his involvement with the film and its reception by the public. Keep in mind there was also a real war going on at the time … ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/15 "2005-09-09T15:49:46Z")
John Lennon specialised in lyrics that he included in songs because they sounded deep, when in fact they were doggerel. Opinion is divided if Lennon was among those fooled by them. Some say he knew exactly what he was doing. Paul McCartney, on the other hand, specialises in lyrics that have no such intellectual pretensions. They have a tendancy to the banal, but at least are honest about it. This is one of the reasons why I always prefer McCartney’s contributions to the Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/16 "2005-09-09T18:00:13Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I suppose all I’d have to do is find out whether _How I Won the War_ was a hit or not. I’ve always been curious about this film, it sounds to be of the _Catch-22_ ilk (one of my top 5). Love to see someone put it out on DVD. [mini-rant] Don’t know if this is the thread to say it in, but dang it I’m gon say it, anyway: the structure of “A Day in the Life” _does not work._ The way Lennon’s verse and melody fade and McCartney comes in with his dopey little Paul McCartney ditty (\*Woke up, fell outta bed… \*) is a _cop-out,_ it’s Lennon not having it in him to find a chorus or bridge, so they say, hey. If we stick this fragment of Paul’s in here, it’ll make an artistic statement! “Day in the life,” geddit? No. I don’t. It’s two half-finished songs tacked together in an attempt to be artsy. I’m surprised at you, Beatles. [/mini-rant] Sorry. I been carrying that one for a while. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/17 "2005-09-09T18:05:45Z")
> [@Mal Adroit](#): > > [mini-rant] > Don’t know if this is the thread to say it in, but dang it I’m gon say it, anyway: the structure of “A Day in the Life” _does not work._ The way Lennon’s verse and melody fade and McCartney comes in with his dopey little Paul McCartney ditty (\*Woke up, fell outta bed… \*) is a _cop-out,_ it’s Lennon not having it in him to find a chorus or bridge, so they say, hey. If we stick this fragment of Paul’s in here, it’ll make an artistic statement! “Day in the life,” geddit? No. I don’t. It’s two half-finished songs tacked together in an attempt to be artsy. I’m surprised at you, Beatles.[/mini-rant] You got all the way through the album, and _that_ was the point you were surprised by the half-arsed attempts at ‘artistic statements’? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/18 "2005-09-09T18:12:31Z")
Shee-hut, you’re braver than I am. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/19 "2005-09-09T19:22:50Z")
You are right, it was just two incomplete songs slapped together… But I think it still works (for me at least) > [@](#): > > Keep in mind there was also a real war going on at the time … Not with the English Army… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726/20 "2005-09-09T19:40:10Z")
> [@Mal Adroit](#): > > I’ve always been curious about this film, it sounds to be of the _Catch-22_ ilk (one of my top 5). Love to see someone put it out on DVD. > > [mini-rant] > Don’t know if this is the thread to say it in, but dang it I’m gon say it, anyway: the structure of “A Day in the Life” _does not work._ The way Lennon’s verse and melody fade and McCartney comes in with his dopey little Paul McCartney ditty (\*Woke up, fell outta bed… \*) is a _cop-out,_ it’s Lennon not having it in him to find a chorus or bridge, so they say, hey. If we stick this fragment of Paul’s in here, it’ll make an artistic statement! “Day in the life,” geddit? No. I don’t. It’s two half-finished songs tacked together in an attempt to be artsy. I’m surprised at you, Beatles. > [/mini-rant] > > Sorry. I been carrying that one for a while. You won’t hear an argument from me, either - and I am a HUGE Beatles fan. I would say that Sgt. Pepper is not one of their strongest albums - personally I put Revolver, Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, The Beatles (The White Album) and Help (at least) in front of it. I think what Sgt. Pepper did was get the public - at the time - to accept the concept of the Album as a full-length statement and to really embrace psychedelia as crossing over into the mainstream. The fact that it bounces around was - at the time, near as I can tell - seen as part of that, not as laziness or randomness. Other conceptual CD’s that have come along since do a better job of consciously using cuts, interstitials, etc. make the work of art seem whole. YMMV. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-in-the-life-the-beatles/320726.md?page=2)