THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

51-Beatles-Strawberry Fields Forever.

1967-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 0.10. Whenever the young John Lennon (1940-1980) (see also best songs solo 927-473-456-168 and 20) was stressed or needed a break, he would go to his ‘happy place’,’Strawberry Field.’

Strawberry Field was the name of the Salvation Army children’s home close to John Lennon’s childhood home in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool. One of Lennon’s childhood treats was to attend the garden party held each summer, where a Salvation Army Brass Band played, but John’s Aunt Mimi (1906-1991) did not like him going there as she felt he would mix with the wrong crowd. When John and his Aunt would argue about him going John would say,’What are you going to do, hang me?’ Hence the line in the song ‘Nothing to get hung about.’

Shortly before his death in 1980 John Lennon said in an interview,’Strawberry Fields is a real place. After I stopped living at Penny Lane, I moved in with my Auntie who lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden, and doctors and lawyers, and that ilk living around… not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all the Beatles stories. In the class system, it was about half a class higher than Paul, George and Ringo, who lived in government-subsidised housing. We owned our house and had a garden. They didn’t have anything like that. Near that home was Strawberry Fields, a house near a boys’ reformatory where I used to go to garden parties as a kid with my friends Nigel and Pete, we would go there and hang out and sell lemonade bottles for a penny. We always had fun at Strawberry Fields. So that’s where I got the name, but I used it as an image. Strawberry Fields forever.’

John Lennon wrote ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ at a very difficult time in his life, the Beatles (see also best songs 599-319-238-218-141-80-10 and 5) had just agreed to quit touring, and there was no new Album planned. All four band members were pursuing solo projects, with Lennon in Spain filming for ‘How I Won the War,’ he was also having problems bonding with the other cast members.

‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ signified a major change in the Beatles musical style, which confused the contemporary Pop audience, many of the bands fans, and music critics alike. In time ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ would be seen as a landmark song, becoming highly influential on the emerging Psychedelic Rock genre. The songs promotional film which nowadays would be called a video, is also considered groundbreaking.

‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ was the first new song written after the Beatles seventh studio Album ‘Revolver,’ (1966) and just ahead of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967.) The Beatles record label ‘Parlophone’ wanted something to release between Albums, so ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ which was written by John Lennon was issued as a double ‘A’ sided single, along with the Paul McCartney (see also best songs 646 and 107) composition ‘Penny Lane.’ The release stalled at Number 2 on the UK top 40, behind the Engelbert Humperdink song ‘Release Me,’ bringing to an end a run of 11 consecutive Number 1 singles in the UK. Although the Beatles easily outsold Humperdink, chart rules at that time stipulated that sales of double ‘A’ sided songs would only count as 50% of there total sales.

John Lennon considered ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ to be his finest work with the Beatles. The majority of the songs subject is about his thoughts during his childhood. Lennon has said,’I was different all my life. The second verse goes, ‘No one I think is in my tree.’ Well, I was too shy and self-doubting. Nobody seems to be as hip as me is what I was saying. Therefore, I must be crazy or a genius – “I mean it must be high or low.”

‘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 all right that is, I think, it’s not too bad.’