William Quincy Belle

A random video pops up in my YouTube feed, "Lennon's Poster". What's that? A gentleman by the name of Peter Dean set out to recreate the poster which inspired John Lennon to write this song. It was a lovely trip down memory lane, and I learned behind the scenes details of this iconic piece of music. (The video Lennon's Poster is at the end.)



Published on Jun 19, 2018 by The Beatles
YouTube: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! (Remastered 2009) (2:37)

For the benefit of Mr. Kite,
There will be a show tonight
On trampoline.

The Hendersons will all be there.
Late of Pablo Fanque's Fair.
What a scene!

Over men and horses, hoops and garters,
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
In this way
Mr. K.
Will challenge the world!

The celebrated Mr. K.
Performs his feat on Saturday
At Bishopsgate.

The Hendersons will dance and sing
As Mr. Kite flies through the ring.
Don't be late!

Messrs. K. and H. assure the public
Their production will be second to none.
And of course
Henry The Horse
Dances the waltz!

The band begins at ten to six,
When Mr. K. performs his tricks
Without a sound.

And Mr. H. will demonstrate
Ten summersets he'll undertake
On solid ground.

Having been some days in preparation,
A splendid time is guaranteed for all.
And tonight
Mr. Kite
Is topping the bill!

References

Wikipedia: Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written and composed primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.

Most of the lyrics came from a 19th-century circus poster for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal appearance at Rochdale. It was one of three songs from the Sgt. Pepper album that was banned from playing on the BBC, supposedly because the phrase "Henry the Horse" combined two words that were individually known as slang for heroin. Lennon denied that the song had anything to do with heroin.






Published on Mar 26, 2019 by The HollyHobs
YouTube: How The Beatles Made "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" (5:45)



Published on Oct 15, 2012 by Make Productions
YouTube: Lennon's Poster (3:25)
A short film following the recreation of the Pablo Fanque circus poster that inspired John Lennon to write 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite' for the Beatles album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. Using the traditional methods of wood engraving and letterpress printing, Peter Dean and his team of experts bring to life Lennon's poster. See the finished poster here: https://kiteprint.com


2021-03-25

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Published on Jun 17, 2018 by The Beatles
YouTube: Tomorrow Never Knows (Remastered 2009)

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream
It is not dying, it is not dying

Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining

Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being

Love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing, it is knowing...

... that ignorance and hates may mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing

But listen to the colour of your dreams
It is not living, it is not living

So play the game "Existence" to the end...
... Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning


References

Wikipedia: Tomorrow Never Knows
"Tomorrow Never Knows" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released in August 1966 as the final track on their album Revolver, although it was the first song recorded for the LP. The song marked a radical departure for the Beatles, as the band fully embraced the potential of the recording studio without consideration for reproducing the results in concert.

Wikipedia: Revolver (Beatles album)
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 5 August 1966, accompanied by the double A-side single "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine". The album was the Beatles' final recording project before their retirement as live performers and marked the group's most overt use of studio technology to date, building on the advances of their late 1965 release Rubber Soul. It has since become regarded as one of the greatest and most innovative albums in popular music, with recognition centred on its range of musical styles, diverse sounds, and lyrical content.

Wikipedia: The Beatles
Collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the twentieth century's 100 most influential people, they are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide.

Wikipedia: List of best-selling music artists
Currently, The Beatles are listed at the top of the list as they are considered the highest-selling band based both on sales claims and certified units. Elvis Presley, who is listed the second on the list is considered the highest-selling individual artist based both on sales claims and certified units.

2020-05-07

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I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink
I wonder, should I get up and fix myself a drink?
No no no

I'm so tired, I don't know what to do
I'm so tired, my mind is set on you
I wonder, should I call you? But I know what you would do

You'd say I'm putting you on, but it's no joke
It's doing me harm, you know I can't sleep
I can't stop my brain, you know it's three weeks
I'm going insane

You know I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind

I'm so tired, I'm feeling so upset
Although I'm so tired, I'll have another cigarette
And curse Sir Walter Raleigh
He was such a stupid git

You'd say I'm putting you on, but it's no joke
It's doing me harm, you know I can't sleep
I can't stop my brain, you know it's three weeks
I'm going insane

You know I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind
I'll give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind
I'll give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind


References

Uploaded on Sep 20, 2011 by wirytangent19

Wikipedia: I'm So Tired
"I'm So Tired" is a song by the Beatles from their double-disc album The Beatles (also known as The White Album). It was written and sung by John Lennon, though credited to Lennon–McCartney.

Wikipedia: The Beatles (album)
The Beatles, also known as the White Album, is the ninth studio album by English rock group the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. A double album, its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed (and, on the early LP and CD releases, a serial number).

Wikipedia: The Beatles
Collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the twentieth century's 100 most influential people, they are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide.

Wikipedia: List of best-selling music artists
Currently, The Beatles are listed at the top of the list as they are considered the highest-selling band based both on sales claims and certified units. Elvis Presley, who is listed the second on the list is considered the highest-selling individual artist based both on sales claims and certified units.

2014-04-14

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When I wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, I'm still yawning
When I'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)

Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping

Everybody seems to think I'm lazy
I don't mind, I think they're crazzy
Running everywhere at such a speed
Till they find there's no need (There's no need)

Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away
And after all I'm only sleeping

Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time

Lying there and staring at the ceiling
Waiting for a sleepy feeling...

Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away
And after all I'm only sleeping

Ooh yeah

Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time

When I wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, I'm still yawning
When I'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)

Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping



References

Published on Jun 17, 2018 by The Beatles

Wikipedia: I'm Only Sleeping
"I'm Only Sleeping" is a song by the Beatles from their 1966 studio album Revolver. It was released two months earlier in the United States on the album Yesterday and Today and did not feature on the original US version of Revolver. Credited as a Lennon–McCartney song, it was written primarily by John Lennon.

Wikipedia: Revolver (Beatles album)
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 5 August 1966 in the United Kingdom and on 8 August 1966 in the United States. The album was produced by George Martin and features many tracks with an electric guitar-rock sound that contrasts with their previous LP, the folk rock-inspired Rubber Soul (1965).

Wikipedia: Yesterday and Today
Yesterday and Today is the ninth Capitol Records album release by the Beatles and the eleventh overall American release. It was issued only in the United States, Canada and, in the 1970s, Japan. The album is remembered primarily for the controversy surrounding its original cover image, the "butcher cover" featuring the band dressed in white smocks and covered with decapitated baby dolls and pieces of meat. The album's title is based on the song "Yesterday." Early album cover proofs show the word "Yesterday" in quotes.

The Telegraph - Nov 23/2010
John Lennon penned I'm Only Sleeping lyrics on bill
John Lennon penned the words to Beatles classic I'm Only Sleeping on the back of demand threatening legal action if he did not settle his account for a 1960s carphone, it has emerged.


Wikipedia: List of best-selling music artists
Currently, The Beatles are listed at the top of the list as they are considered the highest-selling band based both on sales claims and certified units. Elvis Presley, who is listed the second on the list is considered the highest-selling individual artist based both on sales claims and certified units.

2014-08-06

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She's not a girl who misses much
Do do do do do do do do, oh yeah
She's well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand
Like a lizard on a window pane
The man in the crowd with the multicoloured mirrors
On his hobnail boots
Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy
Working overtime
A soap impression of his wife which he ate
And donated to the National Trust

Down
I need a fix cos I'm going down
Down to the bits that I left uptown
I need a fix cos I'm going down

Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun

Happiness is a warm gun (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Happiness is a warm gun, mama (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
When I hold you in my arms (Oo-oo oh yeah)
And I feel my finger on your trigger (Oo-oo oh yeah)
I know no one can do me no harm (Oo-oo oh yeah)
Because happiness is a warm gun, mama (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Happiness is a warm gun, yes it is (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Happiness is a warm, yes it is, gun (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Well, don't you know happiness is a warm gun, mama? (Happiness is a warm gun, yeah)


References

Uploaded by The Beatles on Jun 17, 2018

Wikipedia: Happiness Is a Warm Gun
"Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is a song by The Beatles, featured on the eponymous double-disc album The Beatles, also known as The White Album. It is a John Lennon composition, credited to Lennon–McCartney.

Writing and inspiration
According to Lennon, the title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed him: "I think he showed me a cover of a magazine that said 'Happiness Is a Warm Gun.' It was a gun magazine. I just thought it was a fantastic, insane thing to say. A warm gun means you just shot something." The reference, whether or not intermediately from the magazine, was one of many 1960s riffs on Charles M. Schulz's culturally popular saying, Happiness is a Warm Puppy, which began in the Peanuts comic strip and became a widely sold book.

Wikipedia: The Beatles (album)
The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed (and, on the early LP and CD releases, a serial number) on its plain white sleeve.

Wikipedia: The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. They became perhaps the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in the history of popular music.

2012-09-12

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Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind
Possessing and caressing me
Jai Guru Deva OM

Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe
Jai Guru Deva OM

Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of live are ringing through my open ears
Inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on, across the universe
Jai Guru Deva OM

Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Jai Guru Deva
Jai Guru Deva
Jai Guru Deva
Jai Guru Deva
Jai Guru Deva

References

Uploaded by MusicOrGTFO on Mar 22, 2008

Wikipedia: Across the Universe
"Across the Universe" is a song recorded by The Beatles. It was written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the various artists charity compilation album No One's Gonna Change Our World in December 1969, and later, in different form, on Let It Be, the group's final released album.

Wikipedia: No One's Gonna Change Our World
No One's Gonna Change Our World is a charity album released in the UK on 12 December 1969 for the benefit of the World Wildlife Fund.

The compilation was put together by comedian Spike Milligan. It features liner notes by Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The album is largely known by fans of The Beatles as the first release of the song "Across the Universe" - the title of the album comes from a line in this song, "Nothing's gonna change my world." It was also the first release of the Hollies song "Wings", one of the last songs they did with Graham Nash in early 1968.

Wikipedia: Let It Be
Let It Be is the 12th and final studio album released by the English rock band The Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970 by the band's Apple Records label shortly after the group announced their break-up.

Wikipedia: The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, becoming one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music.

allmusic: The Beatles by Richie Unterberger
So much has been said and written about the Beatles -- and their story is so mythic in its sweep -- that it's difficult to summarize their career without restating clichés that have already been digested by tens of millions of rock fans. To start with the obvious, they were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, and introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. Moreover, they were among the few artists of any discipline that were simultaneously the best at what they did and the most popular at what they did. Relentlessly imaginative and experimental, the Beatles grabbed a hold of the international mass consciousness in 1964 and never let go for the next six years, always staying ahead of the pack in terms of creativity but never losing their ability to communicate their increasingly sophisticated ideas to a mass audience. Their supremacy as rock icons remains unchallenged to this day, decades after their breakup in 1970.

Some personal notes
I grew up with The Beatles and I can define periods of my life by the latest album of the day. I got Long Tall Sally for my 13th birthday in 1963, me falling in love with pop music as I started my teen years and my first forays into the world of social slash sexual relations. I got Rubber Soul at Christmas and the songs still remind me of the holidays, sitting at the window watching the snow fall in the yard while listening to the various tracks.

Back then, at high school, there was always this fight about who was better, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Posterity will decide or but maybe it has already decided. The Rolling Stones are, no doubt about it, an influential rock band but unlike many in popular music, The Beatles transcended rock music.

2012-07-25

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