Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Paperback Writer

"Paperback Writer" is a song written by the Beatles back in 1966. I was, um, younger then, and I remember listening to it and other Beatles songs throughout my life. But I never made the big jump to CDs. I always wanted to replace all my cassettes  with CD but it was expensive and music became less of a focus for me. In the back of my mind, I have always wanted to start my collection, especially the classics, like the Beatles.

Well, over the week-end while shopping at Target, I remembered my goal and started looking for Beatles music, which have been rather scarce the last few years. And there it was. A CD composed of various singles that made it to number 1 and "Paperback Writer" was among them.

Today, for the first time ever, I figured out the first four words of  "Paperback Writer." I've known for some time that the back vocals in the second verse were from the French children's song  "Frère Jacques", but it wasn't till today, that I figured out the first four words.


I'm not sure rather that's funny or sad or some combination of the two and then some. But what a dork.

3 comments:

Magister Christianus said...

I could not help thinking of my many research efforts to discover the actual lyrics of songs I liked. One of my biggest disappointments came with Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" off their 1971 fourth album. The actual lyric begins, "Spend my days with a woman unkind, smoke my stuff and drink all my wine." I was diappointed not only at the approximate rhyme between "unkind" and "wine," but because the lyric was not what I had thought it was. I had long thought Robert Plant was singing, "Spend my days with my woman and kine..." For those not in the know, "kine" is the archaic version of "cattle." Not only would this have been a more precise rhyme with "wine," but it would have painted a more gentle, bucolic picture of a man and a woman on a farm enjoying life. I still think my version would have been better!

eutychus said...

Hey, good to hear from you! A co-worker and I did some of the very same "research" not too long ago on Elton John's "Saturday Nights Alright for fightin'" with some rather hilarious results.
for what its worth, I thought your version was better too. Thanks for the chuckle.

kkollwitz said...

Good lyrics are part of what we give up in a musical world where artists are expected to write, produce, arrange, play and perform. But then, then I recall this gem from the professionals of yore:

"Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu..."

Speaking of the Beatles, you may like this substantial biography:

http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Buy-Me-Love-Beatles/dp/0307353389/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265730004&sr=8-4