"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions. While Lennon’s lyrics were inspired by contemporary newspaper articles, McCartney’s were reminiscent of his youth. The decisions to link sections of the song with orchestral glissandos and to end the song with a sustained piano chord were made only after the rest of the song had been recorded.
The supposed drug reference in the line "I’d love to turn you on" resulted in the song initially being banned from broadcast by the BBC. Since its original album release, "A Day in the Life" has been released as a B-side, and also on various compilation albums. It has been covered by other artists including Sting, Bobby Darin, The Fall, Neil Young, Jeff Beck, The Bee Gees, Robyn Hitchcock, Phish and since 2008, by McCartney in his live performances. The song is frequently listed among the greatest songs ever written.
According to Lennon, the inspiration for the first two verses was the death of Tara Browne, the 21-year-old heir to the Guinness fortune and close friend of Lennon and McCartney, who had crashed his Lotus Elan on 18 December 1966 in Redcliffe Gardens, Earls Court.[3]Lennon's verses were adapted from a story in the 17 January 1967 edition of The Daily Mail, which reported the coroner's verdict into Browne's death.[4]
"I didn't copy the accident," Lennon said. "Tara didn't blow his mind out, but it was in my mind when I was writing that verse. The details of the accident in the song—not noticing traffic lights and a crowd forming at the scene—were similarly part of the fiction."[5]
The third verse contains the line "The English Army had just won the war"; Lennon was making reference to his role in the movie How I Won the War, released on 18 October 1967. In Many Years from Now, McCartney said about the line "I'd love to turn you on", which concludes both verse sections: "This was the time of Tim Leary's 'Turn on, tune in, drop out' and we wrote, 'I'd love to turn you on.' John and I gave each other a knowing look: 'Uh-huh, it's a drug song. You know that, don't you?'.......
A Day in the Life by The Beatles
I read a news today, oh boy,
About a lucky man who made a grade,
And though the news was rather sad,
Well, I just had to laugh.
I saw the photograph.
He blew his mind out in a car,
He didn't notice that the lights have changed,
A crowd of people stood and stared,
They've seen his face before,
Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords.
I saw a film today, oh boy,
The English army had just won the war,
A crowd of people turned away,
But I just had a look,
Having read a book, I'd like to turn you on...
Woke up, fell out of bed,
dragged a comb across my head,
found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
and looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my head,
made the bus in second flat,
found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
and somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I heard a 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.
About a lucky man who made a grade,
And though the news was rather sad,
Well, I just had to laugh.
I saw the photograph.
He blew his mind out in a car,
He didn't notice that the lights have changed,
A crowd of people stood and stared,
They've seen his face before,
Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords.
I saw a film today, oh boy,
The English army had just won the war,
A crowd of people turned away,
But I just had a look,
Having read a book, I'd like to turn you on...
Woke up, fell out of bed,
dragged a comb across my head,
found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
and looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my head,
made the bus in second flat,
found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
and somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I heard a 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.
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