Randoms by Rach

Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberry Fields Forever
Album: Magical Mystery Tour, 1967
Lead vocalist: John




Lyrics ▶︎

Let me take you down
'Cause I'm going to strawberry fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry fields forever
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out
It doesn't matter much to me
Let me take you down
'Cause I'm going to strawberry fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry fields forever
No one I think is in my tree
I mean, it must be high or low
That is, you can't, you know, tune in, but it's alright
That is, I think it's not too bad
Let me take you down
'Cause I'm going to strawberry fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry fields forever
Always, no sometimes, think it's me
But you know, I know when it's a dream
I think I know, I mean a yes
But it's all wrong
That is, I think I disagree
Let me take you down
'Cause I'm going to strawberry fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry fields forever
Strawberry fields forever
Strawberry fields forever

John Lennon once said this was his favourite Beatles song. It sounds kind of dream-like and a little psychedelic. And it is like a dream because it is John singing about his childhood and his past struggles and trying to come to terms with everything. The ‘Strawberry Fields’ that gave the song its title was actually a Salvation Army House near to where John grew up. I read that he used to mess around near there and that the women who ran it were always kind and gave him refreshments. And so this song is, partly, John’s yearning for those carefree, comforted times from his childhood, and, partly, his trying to come to terms with all of the pain of his mother’s abandonment and death and his father’s abandonment. It sounds simple and dream-like, but it’s actually very complex.

I think it is interesting how different this song is to ‘Penny Lane,’ which is considered Paul’s song about his childhood (although, that is slightly off because Penny Lane was much nearer to John’s home than Paul’s). ‘Penny Lane’ is a much more upbeat, sweet song. Maybe not as heartfelt, though.