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“A Day In the Life” Artist: The Beatles “A Day in the Life” is the grand finale of the Beatles’ celebrated “concept” album. It turns a narration on the morning paper, a Music / Lyrics by John Lennon recently viewed film, and a morning’s work commute into a surreal and Paul McCartney vision of the nature of daily life. The song’s refrain caused a contro- versy because of its use of drug-related slang (“I’d love to turn Label: Parlophone, England; you on,” heard at 1:39 and 3:45), and it was initially banned by Capitol, U.S.A. (1967), the BBC. from the LP Sergeant Pepper’s Musical Style Notes Lonely Hearts Club Band “A Day in the Life” features use of multiple-track recording and tape manipulation, the use of an orchestra as a key part of the musical composition rather than simple background “color,” and diverse sec- tions of simple musical forms combined into more complex musical structures. It begins as a simple rock ballad, written by John Lennon, with acoustic guitar and piano, drums, and Lennon’s solo vocal. At the end of the third verse, we hear the refrain “I’d love to turn you on,” the orchestra enters, and a huge crescendo (increase in vol- ume) begins. In fact, the orchestra had been recorded separately, and this tape was played backward and overlaid on multiple tracks. At the crescendo’s climax, the orchestra abruptly ends, and Lennon’s lyric reflections are replaced by an uptempo “bridge” section (written by Paul McCartney, originally as a separate song). Notice the style change: The bridge shows McCartney’s music-hall influence and sounds more like a show tune than a rock ballad. When he arrives at the words “And I went into a dream,” a transitional “dream sequence” occurs, featuring a heavily processed reverberant vocal on the syllable “ah” and orchestral accompaniment. Taking advantage of the Listening Guide 15 Guide Listening relatively new technology of “stereo” recording, producer George Martin also “pans” the voice from one speaker to another, creating the illusion of movement. This section ends abruptly, transitioning into a reprise of the opening verse’s musical texture and melody and Lennon’s fourth verse. At the end of the fourth and final verse and the refrain “I’d love to turn you on,” the “backward” orchestra passage begins again, increasing in volume until it ends abruptly, followed by the enormous crash of a full-orchestra chord, which fades very slowly to the end of the recording.

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Musical “Road Map” TIMINGS COMMENTS LYRICS

0:00–0:12 Introduction: acoustic guitar, piano, bass

0:12–0:44 Verse 1—the vocalist is John Lennon. I read the news today, oh boy . . . About a lucky man who made the grade . . .

0:44–1:05 Verse 2—drums are added. He blew his mind out in a car . . . He didn’t notice that the lights had changed . . . 1:05–1:11 Slight melodic variation at the end of verse: “Nobody was really sure . . . ”

1:11–1:39 Verse 3 I saw a film today, oh boy . . . The English army had just won the war . . .

1:39–2:16 Infamous tag line “I’d love to turn you on . . .” I’d love to turn you on . . . Note the tremolo in the pitch of the voice. The sound of the orchestra fades in (see above style notes). Notice that the bass continues its steady beat and does so right into the next section. The “backward” orchestral track continues and ends abruptly at 2:16, providing a transition to the “bridge” section.

2:16–2:34 “Bridge” section, verse 1 Woke up, got out of bed . . . 15 Guide Listening 2:18 Instrumentation: bass, drums, and piano dragged a comb across my head . . . 2:33 The vocalist is now McCartney. Sound effects: alarm clock Sound effects: hurried “panting”

2:35–2:48 “Bridge” section, verse 2 Found my coat and grabbed my hat Made the bus in seconds flat . . .

2:48–3:18 Musical “dream sequence” (see above style notes) “ahhhh . . . ” Instrumentation: orchestra added to texture. Vocals are “panned” (the sound moves from one speaker to another, creating the illusion of movement). End of “dream sequence” provides transition back to original verse form.

3:18–3:44 Verse 4 I read the news today, oh boy . . . Instrumentation: bass, drums, guitar, piano, maracas Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire . . . The vocalist is now Lennon.

3:44–4:21 Reprise of “I’d love to turn you on . . . ” lyric, with “backwards” I’d love to turn you on . . . orchestral track Orchestra rises in pitch and creates large crescendo (increase in volume), then stops abruptly at climactic point, followed by . . .

4:21 The orchestra strikes a huge, full chord, which fades until 5:04.

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