The Beatles were hitmakers of the highest order, but they weren’t without their weird moments either. Mixed in with their pop-friendly offerings were off-kilter masterpieces. Revisit three Beatles songs below that feel as if they came from another planet.
Videos by American Songwriter
“A Day in the Life”
“A Day in the Life” is innovative, even by today’s standards. The disjointed track mashes up two different ideas from Paul McCartney and John Lennon into one masterpiece.
This song feels impossibly complex. For mere mortals, it’s hard to come up with any idea of how these two came up with this Frankenstein track. Even more uneasiness is added to the song by an orchestra conducted by McCartney.
“That was too puzzling for them, and orchestras don’t like that kind of thing,” McCartney said of his less-than-traditional conducting methods. “They like it written down, and they like to know exactly what they’re supposed to do…so that’s why it sounds like a chaotic sort of swirl. That was an idea based on the avant-garde stuff I was into at the time.”
“I Am the Walrus”
“I Am the Walrus” is an oddball song to say the least. There’s nothing that really grounds this Beatles hit in reality. And that’s by design.
By the time this song was released, the Beatles were being analyzed worldwide for their songwriting techniques. Lennon wanted to throw people off their scent with this song, purposefully making it confusing as all get out. Because it’s so strange, it feels like it must come from some far-off galaxy where the line I am the eggman, they are the eggmen / I am the walrus, goo-goo g’joob makes sense.
“Strawberry Fields Forever”
“Strawberry Fields Forever” epitomizes the Beatles’ psychedelic era. Few songs better highlight the rock movement’s otherworldly style and intrigue. Listening to this song can feel like a kaleidoscopic trip from another planet.
Let me take you down / ‘Cause I’m going to strawberry fields / Nothing is real / And nothing to get hung about / Strawberry fields forever, the iconic chorus reads. It’s impossible not to feel a little disoriented while listening to this Beatles fan favorite.
[RELATED: 2 Rock Bands That Actually Beat The Beatles at Some of Their Most Iconic Career Moments]
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