The Fest for Beatles is taking a deep dive into the Revolver album. We got together with Jude Southerland Kessler, the leading authority on John Lennon and co-host of the Beatles radio show “She Said She Said,” to discuss “Yellow Submarine,” track six on side one of the album.
Thank you, Jude and The Fest!
Revolver Deep Dive: Yellow Submarine (excerpt)
A Fresh New Look
Recently, we sat down with Fest friends and noted authors Dr. Bob Hieronimus and Laura Cortner to discover what is going on behind the scenes in “Yellow Submarine.”
Jude Southerland Kessler: Laura and Bob, to me this seems to be the third song in a trilogy of songs about Liverpool, the other two being “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane.” The latter songs are set in the suburbs of Woolton, where John and Paul grew up. (Paul was from Allerton, which is quite close by.) But “Yellow Submarine” is so attuned to Liverpool. Do you see that connection?
Laura Cortner and Dr. Bob Hieronimus: Yes! But your question is prescient because now we can see the connection even more clearly since the release of the box set of Revolver last year. One of the most talked about outtakes in the 50th anniversary of the Revolver album was the new version of the song “Yellow Submarine.” This work tape had never been heard before: it had never been bootlegged; it had not even been rumored about. What is astonishing is the revelation that “Yellow Submarine” is not entirely a Paul song as we have all believed up until now. I think even Paul and John remembered it wrong themselves. This song started as one of those amazing collaborations that the two of them did so well, combining one song fragment John was working on, together with another, seemingly unrelated song fragment that Paul was working on. Somehow, with that particular Beatles magic, the combination and the result is a much greater sum than the parts. John contributed the familiar melody we know from the beginning of “Yellow Submarine” and the first few words, but he was headed into a minor key with very personal lyrics:
“In the place
Where I was born
No one cared
No one cared
“In the town
Where I come from
No one cared
No one cared…”
Listening to these outtakes can change your feelings about this song “Yellow Submarine,” and as you say, you immediately hear it as a song about Liverpool. The fact that they joined this snippet to a child-like sea shanty that Paul was working on about a yellow submarine further compliments your theory. Ringo’s lead vocals with his strong accent creates an echo back to the folk songs the lads must have heard from the sailors on the docks surrounding their childhood homes.
What about the “mad cast party” when “Yellow Submarine” was recorded? How are the Goons and The Beatles connected? Did drugs play a role in the making of the film? Read on at The Fest for more!
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