After enjoying one of the most colossally fantastic single years of recording any artist could imagine in 1967, would The Beatles have anything left in the tank for ’68? Well, if they had any doubters, the group quickly answered them with “Lady Madonna,” the crackerjack single that started their output in ’68.
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What is the song about? How did it differ from the material the group had released the previous year? And what rock and roll legend did Paul McCartney hear in his head as he was composing the song? Let’s find out all there is to know about the breathlessly brilliant “Lady Madonna.”
Keeping the Hot Streak Rolling
Knowing they no longer were going to tour freed The Beatles to put all their focus on their record-making in 1967. And what a year it turned out to be. In that 12-month period, they released the landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the ambitious EP Magical Mystery Tour, and incredible singles “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” “All You Need is Love,” and “Hello Goodbye.”
Much of the music they released in that magical year utilized up-to-the-minute technologies and pushed the envelope of what was capable in the studio. Perhaps reacting to that, The Beatles kept it relatively simple with “Lady Madonna.” In fact, the song, with its barreling boogie beat and saxophone solo, sounds almost like a transplanted ‘50s record.
After coming up with the piano lick that distinguishes the track, Paul McCartney immediately thought of one of his rock idols, the great Fats Domino. He even altered his vocal style somewhat in homage to the American legend. (Domino would later have a minor hit with his own version of the song.) The Beatles didn’t abandon all their studio tricks, however. While the sax solo takes place, it sounds like other horns are playing in support of it. But these sounds are actually McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison vocally imitating horns to add some unique flavor to the song.
Lovely “Lady”
Paul McCartney found inspiration for “Lady Madonna” in, of all places, National Geographic magazine. That’s where he saw a photo of a mother tending to her children and was touched by the image. In the book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, McCartney explained how “Lady Madonna” expanded as he wrote it:
“The original concept was the Virgin Mary but it quickly became symbolic of every woman; the Madonna image but as applied to ordinary working class woman. It’s really a tribute to the mother figure, it’s a tribute to women. ‘Your Mother Should Know’ is another. I think women are very strong, they put up with a lot of s–t, they put up with the pain of having a child, of raising it, cooking for it, they are basically skivvies a lot of their lives, so I always want to pay a tribute to them.”
One thing you might note about the lyrics to “Lady Madonna”: When McCartney runs through a week’s worth of this woman’s activity, he never mentions Saturday. He later said he just forgot it when writing the song. Come to think of it, that would have been a tricky fit with the meter of the song anyway.
What is the Meaning of “Lady Madonna”?
“Lady Madonna” looks with loving bewilderment at how mothers everywhere are able to juggle everything put in front of them. When McCartney sings, Wonder how you manage to make ends meet, it’s not just a reference to financial stressors. He’s also talking about the loose ends of life, the ones that can sneak up on a mom with so much on her plate.
That’s why that rundown of the week is so crucial to the overall effect of the song. Little things like missing newspapers or torn stockings can add up to a lot when the well-being of other humans is utterly dependent on you. And yet, that doesn’t stop moms from taking the time to admire what their kids are doing, as is clear in the See how they run refrain.
With “Lady Madonna,” The Beatles continued their hot streak while stepping back from some of the psychedelic edges of their work right before that. That back-to-basics vibe was a priority for them for the rest of their career together, although you could argue that they had a hard time doing any better than what this song was able to accomplish with it.
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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
