3 Beatles Songs That Sound Completely Different Once You Know the Backstory

The Beatles wrote many different types of songs throughout their careers. They wrote simple love songs at the beginning and, at the end, some deliberately nonsensical ones. Mixed in with those Beatles songs were tracks with rich backstories. The three songs below are read one way at face value and take on an entirely different slant once you know the story behind them.

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“Dear Prudence”

On the surface, the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” reads like any one of their off-kilter, yet understandable love songs. Throughout the Beatles’ tenure, they created characters for their songs: Jojo, Eleanor Rigby, and Maxwell, to name a few. But that isn’t the case for “Dear Prudence.”

This track was inspired by Prudence Farrow, the sister of actress Mia Farrow, who took enlightenment to the extreme. When the Beatles and the actress were studying under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Farrow would lock herself in her room, meditating for hours on end. The Beatles began to worry about her, leading John Lennon to write this song to coax her out of hiding. The backstory makes “Dear Prudence” even more touching than it already was.

“Martha My Dear”

“Martha My Dear” is another Beatles love song that isn’t exactly as it seems. Martha, my love / Don’t forget me / Martha, my dear. These lyrics instantly bring some romantic attachment to mind. In actuality, this song was written for Paul McCartney’s English sheepdog, Martha.

According to McCartney, “Martha My Dear” was about “a dear pet of mine…I remember John [Lennon] being amazed to see me being so loving to an animal. He said, ‘I’ve never seen you like that before.’ I’ve since thought, you know, he wouldn’t have. It’s only when you’re cuddling around with a dog that you’re in that mode, and she was a very cuddly dog.”

“While My Guitar Gently Weeps”

There’s nothing particularly uneven about “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” There’s a psychedelic tinge to it for sure, but it’s easy to see where George Harrison got the idea, being a guitarist and all. But, there was actually some profound spirituality behind this Beatles hit.

Harrison reportedly opened up the I Ching, a Chinese divination text, and saw the words “gently weeps” on the page. He used that phrase as a jumping-off point for this guitar-forward hit. Knowing the backstory gives this song even more mystique than it already had.

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