A Day in the Life: The Beatles Song Partially Inspired by Potholes

There may be a lot of potholes in your town/county/state, but it's unlikely that they inspired a line in one of the most famous songs in rock history. Far from Abbey Road, but just up the road from Penny Lane, the terrible road conditions of Blackburn, Lancashire in the UK were newsworthy in the mid-1960's.

This newspaper article was one of the inspirations for a new song by the Beatles at the height of their popularity after they stopped touring.

"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, released on their 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." The song was co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and is considered one of the most innovative and experimental pieces in the Beatles' catalog.


Hand-written lyrics by John Lennon to "A Day in the Life". Image via Reuters.


Image

A short article in the Daily Mail, "The holes in our roads" noted the prevalence of potholes in Blackburn. That prompted the line "Four-thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire" from the Beatles song "A Day in the Life".


"I read the 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..."

At that, I kind of understand wanting to transport yourself in newspaper taxis. Although of the potholes, by now I'm sure some have gone, and some remain.

One of, if not the greatest, songs by one of, if not the greatest, bands of all time had lyrical influences from a newspaper John Lennon was reading, and included another lyrical set straight from the papers about an accident involving Tara Browne that had recently occurred:

"He blew his mind out in a car

He didn't notice that the lights had changed

A crowd of people stood and stared

They'd seen his face before

Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords"

The genius at hand was being able to turn a relatively benign set of objects into an incredible bit of music. So next time you complain about the potholes in your area, just remember they could eventually be fodder for some amazing music, assuming psychedelic rock turns you on like a dead man.

"A Day in the Life" is widely considered one of the greatest musical achievements of the Beatles, and its innovative structure, haunting lyrics, and powerful musical arrangements have made it one of the most iconic and enduring pieces of the band's legacy. Maybe potholes aren't such a bad thing after all.

The Walrus was Paul. 

Thanks as always for reading!

Location: Blackburn, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Abandoned Route 66 in McCook, IL

Image
Route 66, the iconic "Main Street of America," weaves through the heart of the United States, connecting communities and embodying the spirit of adventure. However, not all sections of this historic highway have stood the test of time. While much of the former US 66 is drivable in one way or another, especially in Illinois, there are some parts are not.  One of the first such roadblocks for would-be travelers heading from Chicago to Los Angeles via the Mother Road, now known as Joliet Road, comes just outside of Chicago in McCook, IL, where the former highway is closed between 55th St and East Ave, and has been for over two decades. (Link to the location on our Ghost Towns Map ) Image: Google Maps at 55th and Joliet Rd in McCook, IL The land that the quarry would eventually take over was part of Stinson Airport in the early days of Route 66, dating back to before 1930. ( Abandoned Airports map ). 1938 USGS Aerial Imagery The quarrying on the south side of the road would...
Read more

The Underwater Water Slide: Fly Over at Durinrell TikiBad

Image
Have you ever wished to experience being transferred from one pool of liquid to another via a pipe? Had you visited the Dutch water park known as Durinrell , also known as Tikibad before 2010, you would have had the chance. Half water slide, half war crime, this was a unique water slide that was filled to the brim with water, leaving riders completely submerged throughout the journey. Image:  XtremeRidesNL Known as the Fly Over was an underwater water slide, which is exactly how it sounds, and transported riders from one pool to another using the water as propulsion. Built in 1994, riders dove underwater to access the slide, using gravity to transport them upwards via the Communicating Vessels Principle . Riders would be completely underwater for about 15-20 seconds. This is how I imagine those 15-20 seconds felt like while riding the slide. The slide was built to drain water in five seconds or less in case a rider got stuck in the slide or had a medical emergency, but the threat...
Read more

Railroad Vocabulary: A List of Words and Phrases Used in the Industry - Updated February 2024

Image
As somebody who enjoyed watching trains, but was not an employee of the railroad industry ( at least growing up ), when I would interact with railfans and historians, there was often a lot of technical jargon that applied only to the railroad industry thrown back and forth that made it difficult for a newcomer to understand what they were talking about. For example, what is a dinky? It's actually a passenger train. This non-inclusive language seems to keep the loop closed to members of the community, and to uncouple (no pun intended) that technical jargon and help make it easier for people to communicate with people in the industry, I am creating a list of railroad vocabulary that I'm hoping will make the industry more transparent.  BNSF 2361 . Image: Matt Flores While I ultimately believe that such technical jargon has no place outside of perhaps technical communications between employees, I know quite well that I alone am not going to stop people from communicating in a non-i...
Read more