Once again I am losing my mind?
I have always had in the back of my head that the worst rhyme that ever could be created in the English Language was the one in this song where “need” is rhymed with “Leis” (pronounced “leezh”) which doesn’t actually exist as a word but listening to the song as a kid I thought is made since as an action form of to be at leisure. Then in my teens I realized it’s not a word and it’s probably a Britisher psuedo-French form of pronouncing Leisure.
But then today I heard it on the radio and it was clear as day, “a Life of ease” And everybody I asked looked at me like I was holding a severed head.
Did I imagine the whole thing or is there a version where the sound of the word starts with a fucking L?
It always bothered me that Ringo sang/Paul wrote (not interested in assigning blame here) “every one of us has all we need”, when “…all he needs” was just as easy, comes closer to rhyming, and is more grammatical.
Also, they were the goofy one and the cute one respectively, not the grammatical one.
That was Pete Best. And a lot of good it did him.
There actually are two versions of “Yellow Submarine”: the stereo and mono mixes. The most notable difference between them comes at the very beginning of the song. In the stereo version, Ringo sings the opening words “In the” unaccompanied, and first strum of the guitar occurs on the word “town.” In the mono mix, the guitar is present from the very beginning. No difference in lyrics, though.
Not with “Yellow Submarine” (yep, you’re crazy) but I regularly find myself listening to oldies and understanding lyrics that had always been a melodic slurry.
It can’t be because my hearing is suddenly getting better. Got to be the crystal clarity of modern CDs, digital broadcasting and advanced speaker design. My first radio was a crystal set I made from a kit and listened to using a single earbud. Who knew what Al Jolson was singing?
I can imagine how the alliteration of “and we live a life” where the L-words follow the beat of the song could lead you to anticipate another L-word on the last downbeat of the line.