A Day in the Life

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

**"A Day in the Life"** is a song released by the English rock band The Beatles, and is the finale track of their eighth album, *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* (1967). The song is written and sung by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney. For the climax, the band hired an orchestra of fourty musicians, dressed them in tuxedos and funny hats, and told them they had 24 bars to ascend from the lowest note on their instruments to the highest note closest to E major. The song has often been rated as The Beatles' best, with reviewers calling it “one of the most ambitious, influential, and groundbreaking works in pop music history,” and, “perhaps one of the most important single tracks in the history of rock music.” Lennon took his lyrical inspiration from the death of Tara Browne, heir to the Guinness Family fortune, who died in a car crash at the young age of 21 and was a good friend of the band’s members. He also used random newspaper stories; for instance, the “4,000 holes” line was from a real story in The Daily Mail about potholes in Blackburn.

## Lyrics

[Verse 1]

I read the news today—oh, boy

About a lucky man who made the grade

And though the news was rather sad

Well, I just had to laugh

I saw the photograph

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

[Verse 2]

I saw a film today, oh boy

The English Army had just won the war

A crowd of people turned away

But I just had to look

Having read the book

[Refrain]

I'd love to turn you on(Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten)

[Bridge]

\*alarm clock rings\*

Woke up, fell out of bed

Dragged a comb across my head

Found my way downstairs and drank a cup

And looking up I noticed I was late

Found my coat and grabbed my hat

Made the bus in seconds flat

Found my way upstairs and had a smoke

And somebody spoke and I went into a dream

[Interlude]

Ahh-ah-ah-ah

Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ahh

[Verse 3]

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

[Refrain]

I'd love to turn you on

[Outro]

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

Never could be any other way

## Personnel

* Paul McCartney – lead vocal (middle-eight), piano (throughout and final chord), bass guitar
* George Harrison – maracas
* Ringo Starr – drums, congas, piano (final chord)

**Add****itional mu****sicians**
* Mal Evans – alarm clock, counting, piano (final chord)
* George Martin – orchestral arrangement, harmonium (final chord)
* Erich Gruenberg, Granville Jones, Bill Monro, Jurgen Hess, Hans Geiger, D. Bradley, Lionel Bentley, David McCallum, Donald Weekes, Henry Datyner, Sidney Sax, Ernest Scott, Carlos Villa – violin
* Francisco Gabarro, Dennis Vigay, Alan Delziel, Alex Nifosi – cello
* Cyril Mac Arther, Gordon Pearce – double bass
* John Marson – harp
* Roger Lord – oboe
* Basil Tschaikov, Jack Brymer – clarinet
* N. Fawcett, Alfred Waters – bassoon
* Clifford Seville, David Sandeman – flute
* Alan Civil, Neil Sanders – French horn
* David Mason, Monty Montgomery, Harold Jackson – trumpet
* Raymond Brown, Raymond Premru, T. Moore – trombone
* Michael Barnes – tuba
* Tristan Fry – timpani
* Marijke Koger – tambourine

## Info

* A 41-piece orchestra played on this song. The musicians were told to attend the session dressed formally. When they got there, they were presented with party novelties (false noses, party hats, gorilla-paw glove) to wear, which made it clear this was not going to be a typical session. The orchestra was conducted by Paul McCartney, who told them to start with the lowest note of their instruments and gradually play to the highest.
* The beginning of this song was based on two stories John Lennon read in the *Daily Mail* newspaper: Guinness heir Tara Browne dying when he smashed his lotus into a parked van, and an article in the UK Daily Express in early 1967 which told of how the Blackburn Roads Surveyor had counted 4000 holes in the roads of Blackburn and commented that the volume of material needed to fill them in was enough to fill the Albert Hall. Lennon took some liberties with the Tara Browne story; he changed it so he "Blew his mind out in the car."
* Regarding the article about Tara Browne, John Lennon stated: "I didn't copy the accident. Tara didn't blow his mind out. But it was in my mind when I was writing that verse." At the time, Paul didn't realize the reference was to Tara. He thought it was about a "stoned politician." The article regarding the "4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire" was taken from the UK *Daily Express*, January 17, 1967 in a column called "Far And Near."
* John's friend Terry Doran was the one who completed John's line, "Now they know how many holes it takes to fill..." Terry told him "fill the Albert Hall, John."
* When EMI issued *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band* in Southeast Asia, "*A Day in the Life*," "*With a Little Help from My Friends,*" and "*Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds*" were excluded because of supposed drug references.

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Beatles\_discography
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt.\_Pepper%27s\_Lonely\_Hearts\_Club\_Band
3. ↑ https://genius.com/The-beatles-a-day-in-the-life-lyrics
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-beatles/a-day-in-the-life
5. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/beatles-a-day-in-the-life-10-things-you-didnt-know-191427/
6. ↑ https://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-sgt-pepper-bbc/