The Hidden Meaning and Symbolism in The Beatles’s Strawberry Fields Forever
“Strawberry Fields Forever” is a song of lethargy due to resolving a misunderstood past.
In 1966, The Beatles finished touring and started recording with the intention of making songs that were impossible to perform live. “Strawberry Fields Forever” was the first song in this series of recordings and was their first recording in six months. John Lennon thought it was his greatest accomplishment during his time with The Beatles. When it was released as part of a single with “Penny Lane,” however, it broke their streak of number one hits in the United Kingdom.
What makes “Strawberry Fields Forever” impossible to perform live is that the song itself is the fusion of two different recordings. It was originally recorded in A major at 92 beats per minute. After listening to this recording, Lennon decided to make it livelier and recorded it again in B-flat major at 102 beats per minute and added trumpets and cellos. The cellos were also reverse taped. Lennon liked the first half of the A major version and the second half of the B-flat version, so he had them spliced together at measure 24. After adjusting the pitch, the fused version happened to be at 92 beats per minute. This new fused version developed a dream-like timbre, which is especially prominent in the second half of the song because it is slowed down more than the A major version.
This dream-like timbre relates to the overall theme of the song, which is Lennon remembering and coping with his past. The song’s name refers to a Salvation Army house called Strawberry Fields, where he and his friends would play. He liked the name so much that he used it as an image. The lyrics refer to Lennon’s childhood anxieties placed within the context of a dream as seen in “But you know I know when it’s a dream/Nothing is real.” He claimed to have visions as a child and to see things differently. This behavior made him different from the other children, which isolated him, which was represented in “No one is in my tree.” He saw himself as either crazy or a genius (“I mean, It must be high or low”), but one thing he saw was loneliness. By singing “I think it’s not too bad,” Lennon is stating that he has learned to live with these feelings being different and alone forever.
Because of the deeper underlying message, this song helped to change the way people listened to rock and roll music. These messages even blended with the compositional design of the music. For example, Lennon conveys cynical ambiguity through his chord progressions. The musical ornamentation depicts a dream-like world, and the ambiguous introduction signifies a puzzling past. Despite the indifference, Lennon appears to want companionship as he mentally revisits Strawberry Fields. Therefore, “Strawberry Fields Forever” is a song of lethargy due to resolving a misunderstood past.
REFERENCES
Books
Turner, S. (1994). A Hard Day’s Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song. New York, NY: Harper Perennial. [ML421.B4 T87 2000]
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Larkin, C. (Ed.). (1998). The Beatles. In The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Volume 1. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [http://www.amazon.com/The- Encyclopedia-Popular-Music-Vols/dp/0195313739]
Articles from Scholarly Periodicals
Everett, W. (1986). Fantastic remembrance in John Lennon’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Julia.” The Musical Quarterly, 72(3), 360–393. [JSTOR]
Liner Notes
Taylor, D. (2003). [Liner notes]. The Beatles Anthology: 5 & 6 [DVD]. Los Angeles, CA: Capitol Records Inc. [ML 421.B4 B4135 2003]
Score
Lennon, J., & McCartney, P. (1967). Strawberry Fields Forever. [Musical score]. In The Beatles: Complete Scores (pp. 909–914). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. [M1741.18 B36 1999B]
Reliable Internet Sources
Holden, S. (2010). Lennon’s music: A range of genius. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lennons-music-a-range-of-genius- 20101207
Rolling Stone (n. d.). 500 greatest songs of all time. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time- 20110407/the-kinks-you-really-got-me-20110526
Published Periodicals
Sheff, D. (1981). Playboy interview. Playboy, 28(1), 75–144. [http://www.john-lennon.com/playboyinterviewwithjohnlennonandyokoono.htm]
Video
Aspinall, N. (Producer), & Chipperfield, C. (Producer), Wonfar, G. (Director), & Smeaton, B. (Director). (2003). The Beatles Anthology: 5 & 6 August ’65 to June ’67. USA: Capitol Records, Inc. [ML 421.B4 B4135 2003]
