# Morse code in 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and other songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169 "2005-11-21T23:50:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/21 "2005-11-22T05:27:01Z")
> [@max yasgur](#): > > B-52’s Planet Claire has some morse code, too. Yup, but (apparently), it’s mainly gibberish: [http://www.aesham.com/fun1.html](http://www.aesham.com/fun1.html) (Of course, the rest of the tune has a serious meaning, even if the allegory is a bit obvious. Of course the trees are red. The air is **pink** , for God’s sake.) ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/22 "2005-11-22T06:02:59Z")
Bowie’s original demo for “Space Oddity” fades out with the guitar playing S-O-S. Can’t remember if the produced version has it too. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/23 "2005-11-22T11:07:08Z")
There was a very popular TV comedy in the UK from 1973-1978 called [“Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em”](http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0069634/), starring Michael Crawford (just say “Ooooh, Betty” in an effeminate voice to a Brit). The title music was “some mothers do ave em” spelt out in Morse. ---
**Author:** ![circus\_electrique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@circus\_electrique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/circus_electrique)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/24 "2005-11-22T11:14:36Z")
> [@Dark Side of the Floyd](#): > > At the end of _London Calling_. But… I’m not sure what it says. S.O.S. (. . . - - - . . . ) I love it - the song fades out and it’s like a mayday call from a sinking city. It really fits in with the song thematically, rather than just being a neat in-joke. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/25 "2005-11-22T11:36:51Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > There was a very popular TV comedy in the UK from 1973-1978 called [“Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em”](http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0069634/), starring Michael Crawford (just say “Ooooh, Betty” in an effeminate voice to a Brit). > > The title music was “some mothers do ave em” spelt out in Morse. No it wasn’t. Oh, and by the way, there never was a ‘Seaman Staines’ in _Captain Pugwash_ either. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/26 "2005-11-22T12:16:30Z")
As a minor note, the Morse dots at the top of _Spy vs Spy_ pages in Mad Magazine spelled out BY PROHIAS, at least until strip creator Antonio Prohias’ death in 1998. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/27 "2005-11-22T12:24:32Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > The beginning of Beethoven’s 5th symphony is morse code for V. Yep. And that’s why in Alan Moore’s _V for Vendetta_ the fifth features so prominently. At least in the comic book. Cowboy Mouth, in _Everyone is Waiting_ uses the ‘SOS’ morse during the fadeout. A bit hackneyed but appropriate in context. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/28 "2005-11-22T12:35:31Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > The theme tune to the British TV show _Inspector Morse_ contained morse code that spelt out M-O-R-S-E, (though I’m told it was badly done and actually spelt TTORSE). Rumour has it that in the incidental music of some of the episodes there are clues to the murders spelled out in morse code. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/29 "2005-11-22T14:09:32Z")
> [@hammos1](#): > > No it wasn’t. Oh, and by the way, there never was a ‘Seaman Staines’ in _Captain Pugwash_ either. Oh yes it effing was. I noted it down and checked once. Who said anything about Captain Pugwash? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/30 "2005-11-22T14:34:43Z")
Well, it is a reoccurring rumor. Hence the preemptive strike against your bringing it up. Oh, and “Windpower” by Thomas Dolby has dits and dahs, but it doesn’t really mean anything, though it does include a genuine-sounding shipping forecast by the BBC’s John Marsh. (Thanks to [Andy J](http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Lot/8142/music/tmdr.html) for the info.) ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/31 "2005-11-22T15:22:46Z")
And [here’s](http://ben.oxhut.co.uk/ronnie/morse.html) proof. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/32 "2005-11-22T15:39:29Z")
Joe Walsh’s first solo LP/CD, [“ **Barnstorm** ”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000006XAF/qid=1132673723/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-8809806-7046409?v=glance&s=music) (actually very nice, but it is evidently no longer available in the US) had Morse Code in one song. I think the song was _“Giant Behemoth”_. The code translated to “Register and Vote”. ---
**Author:** ![Skipper\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Skipper\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skipper_Too)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/33 "2005-11-22T18:32:46Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > The theme tune to the British TV show _Inspector Morse_ contained morse code that spelt out M-O-R-S-E, (though I’m told it was badly done and actually spelt TTORSE). morse for M is - - morse for T is - So one could hear two T’s instead of one M When I learned morse the first letters I learned were eishtmo because of their pattern . … … … - – — all . and - in ascending order just a mnemonic device that is still with me today, oh and r in morse is .-. or R for Race car, silly but I still remember them that way ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/34 "2005-11-22T19:13:49Z")
_Three dits, four dits, two dits, dah St. Mary’s High School Rah, rah, rah!_ ---
**Author:** ![VegaBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ee7513/32.png) [@VegaBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegaBean)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/35 "2005-11-23T20:38:03Z")
Wan’t there a song Telstar in the 50’s with lots of code chatter? ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/36 "2005-11-23T22:36:53Z")
In the 1997 Broadway musical _Titanic_, there’s [Bride’s Song,](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/7937/bridesong.html) a duet in which a marriage proposal is sent by wireless. It’s a lovely song but somebody more expert than me needs to tell whether or not the dits and dahs spell anything. If they do, I guess it would be GMOM or GNOM (Good Morning/Night Old Man). FWIW, Jack Phillips, Harold Bride’s colleague, didn’t survive the disaster and is on the Wireless Operator’s Memorial in Battery Park here in NY. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/37 "2005-11-23T22:49:26Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > The beginning of Beethoven’s 5th symphony is morse code for V. Really? The symphony was first performed in 1808, and Morse Code wasn’t developed until the 1830’s. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/38 "2005-11-23T23:03:29Z")
The BBC also exploited the Morse code V in Beethoven’s fifth - the four notes were used to introduce their World War Two broadcasts, representing V for Victory. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/39 "2005-11-23T23:12:15Z")
I see the connection now. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169/40 "2005-11-24T02:00:07Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Really? The symphony was first performed in 1808, and Morse Code wasn’t developed until the 1830s \* Really. I didn’t say it was deliberately written that way, did I? Nevertheless it starts with dit-dit-dit-dah, and as Usram expounds this was picked up on and used by the British in WWII. - extraneous apostophe removed. I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morse-code-in-strawberry-fields-forever-and-other-songs/332169.md?page=3)