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Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - gryphon - 05-12-2011
Deciphering The Beatles…………………Twenty………………….Free As A Bird
Lyrics
Free As A Bird
Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starr
Free as a bird,
it's the next best thing to be.
Free as a bird.
Home, home and dry,
like a homing bird I'll fly
as a bird on wings.
Whatever happened to
the lives that we once knew?
Can we really live without each other?
Where did we lose the touch
that seemed to mean so much?
It always made me feel so...
Free as a bird,
like the next best thing to be.
Free as a bird.
Home, home and dry,
like a homing bird I'll fly
as a bird on wings.
Whatever happened to
the life that we once knew?
Always made me feel so free.
Free as a bird.
It's the next best thing to be.
Free as a bird.
Free as a bird.
Free as a bird.
Now sit and Watch
[video=youtube;glUFjjkYuAk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glUFjjkYuAk[/video]
This is a decidedly odd Beatles track…………………..It claims authorship by all four Beatles and may well be one of the real truths of the situation .
The track was started by Lennon and actually is unfinished…………..It was part of the opera that he planned which would tell the story of John and Yoko …………………… There appear to be several others fragments of this projected dotted about such as “Real Love” "Grow Old With Me "and Now and Then ( The new track for anthology three that was shelved !) Lyrically , this is quite a light weight song…………………..but it is the part that it plays in the Beatle story that makes it worth a decipher and in particular it is the video that holds the clues to the meaning and indeed conveys it. Watch the three Beatles at the start as they talk they almost cry and their looks strongly suggest that the Bird is the spirit of John !
I will not ignore the analysis that has been done on this ………..Instead I will quote it and let one look at the tremendous detail in the content……….
[FONT=&]BEATLE REFERENCES IN "FREE AS A BIRD" VIDEO[/FONT]
[FONT=&]***Obvious references***[/FONT]
[FONT=&]:07 - portraits of Beatles as children on mantle (from left to right,[/FONT]
[FONT=&] John, George, Paul. Ringo in front)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]:14 - more portraits (left to right, Paul, John, Ringo, George)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]:38 - Beatles walk through dock workers[/FONT]
[FONT=&]:48 - Cavern Club (club where Beatles played many shows before becoming[/FONT]
[FONT=&] famous)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]:52 - Beatles performing at Cavern Club[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:06 - Strawberry Field ("Strawberry Fields Forever")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:18 - Eggman appears ("I Am the Walrus")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:27 - Beatles begin to walk off curb behind eggman[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:33 - Pretty nurse selling poppies from tray ("Penny Lane")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:42 - Barber shop, with pictures of every head he's had the pleasure[/FONT]
[FONT=&] to know, including the Fab Four ("Penny Lane")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:47 - Sign on wall reads "Help" ("Help!")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:49 - Boy holds up hand to whisper to girl ("Do You Want to Know[/FONT]
[FONT=&] a Secret?")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:50 - Ringo jumps from doorway[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:54 - Beatles stand by car[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:56 - Window has Beatles montage. First third looks like [/FONT]
[FONT=&] Anthology 1 cover. Other panels may be covers of other two [/FONT]
[FONT=&] volumes. [They Are, ed.][/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:02 - Birthday cake ("Birthday")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:02 - Cake has a 6 and a 4 on it ("When I'm Sixty-Four")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:07 - George appears on street[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:13 - George walks into office (In reality, Apple headquarters) with [/FONT]
[FONT=&] sign that reads "Dr. Robert" ("Dr. Robert")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:18 - Ringo runs by[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:22 - John in crowd scene at car wreck, craning neck while others [/FONT]
[FONT=&] turn away ("A Day in the Life")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:26 - Car wreck ("A Day in the Life" definitely, "Don't Pass Me By"[/FONT]
[FONT=&] possibly)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:27 - Fire engine ("Penny Lane")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:29 - Policemen in a row ("I Am the Walrus")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:32 - Fireman ("Penny Lane")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:38 - Helter Skelter slide (It looks like a lighthouse, but you can [/FONT]
[FONT=&] see the slide circling the building. "Helter Skelter," of course.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:38 - Kite ("Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:42 - Children run by in pig masks ("Piggies")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:43 - Someone enters house through window from ladder ("She Came in [/FONT]
[FONT=&] Through the Bathroom Window")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:51 - Writer working at desk ("Paperback Writer")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:54 - Beatles walk behind children in pig masks (It's small, but it's[/FONT]
[FONT=&] obvious it's them)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:05 - Beatles on TV[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:06 - John sitting in chair[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:08 - Copy of Daily Mail on table ("Paperback Writer")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:08 - Bowl of green apples (reference to Apple Corps, Ltd.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:08 - Box of Savoy Truffles sits on table (kind of hard to make out,[/FONT]
[FONT=&] but that's what it says: "Savoy Truffle")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:10 - Picture of Chairman Mao in window ("Revolution")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:13 - Workers repairing hole in roof ("Fixing a Hole")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:13 - Blue Meanie pops his head through hole (the film [/FONT]
[FONT=&] "Yellow Submarine")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:18 - Newspaper taxi appears ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:22 - Woman leaves home ("She's Leaving Home")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:22 - Picture of Mao being carried across street ("Revolution" [/FONT]
[FONT=&] definitely, "Carry That Weight" possibly)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:22 - John and Yoko waltz by (taken from film "Let It Be" and [/FONT]
[FONT=&] probably representing "The Ballad of John and Yoko.")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:23 - Blue Meanie pops head up from out of sewer (the film [/FONT]
[FONT=&] "Yellow Submarine")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:25 - Magical Mystery Tour bus passes in far background (Hard to see,[/FONT]
[FONT=&] but it's there)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:31 - Big game hunter leads procession, including elderly lady and[/FONT]
[FONT=&] elephant, out of party ("The Continuing Adventures of Bungalow[/FONT]
[FONT=&] Bill," who always went hunting with his elephant and gun and[/FONT]
[FONT=&] always took his mum.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:33 - Ringo at table near door[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:45 - Brian Epstein begins to put on his scarf[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:47 - Head of Stu Sutcliffe on body of James Dean from "Sgt Pepper" [/FONT]
[FONT=&] cover[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:48 - Flowers, drum and tuba from "Sgt Pepper" cover[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:49 - H.G. Wells and Lawrence of Arabia from "Sgt Pepper" cover [/FONT]
[FONT=&] chat (I know other guests are supposed to be rest of people on [/FONT]
[FONT=&] the cover, but they aren't as clearly identifiable as these two)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:58 - Eleanor Rigby headstone ("Eleanor Rigby")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:00 - Priest walks from grave ("Eleanor Rigby")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:01 - Sheepdog runs through cemetery ("Martha My Dear" definitely,[/FONT]
[FONT=&] "Hey Bulldog" possibly)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:04 - Long and winding road in background ("The Long and Winding Road")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:05 - Paul romps on hill ("The Fool on the Hill")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:12 - Crosswalk from the cover of "Abbey Road"[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:14 - Meter maid with bag across her shoulder steps onto curb [/FONT]
[FONT=&] ("Lovely Rita." She's definitely wearing a uniform and [/FONT]
[FONT=&] carrying a little white book.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:30 - Beatles walk into theater (taken from "A Hard Days Night")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]***References with more than one possible interpretation***[/FONT]
[FONT=&]:01 - Bird flying. (Interpretations range from "Blackbird" to [/FONT]
[FONT=&] "And Your Bird Can Sing" to "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has [/FONT]
[FONT=&] Flown)" to even "Blue Jay Way." The flapping of the wings, [/FONT]
[FONT=&] though, sounds like the intro to the original version of [/FONT]
[FONT=&] "Across the Universe" which I think it's meant to represent.[/FONT]
[FONT=&] The entire concept of flying in the whole video could be [/FONT]
[FONT=&] taken to represent "Flying.")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:27 - Children run by holding hands ("Lady Madonna" is most likely,[/FONT]
[FONT=&] but "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is another possibility.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:45 - Woman appears in plastic-appearing coat (Some say, and I [/FONT]
[FONT=&] agree, that she is "Polythene Pam," but others have suggested [/FONT]
[FONT=&] she is "Sexy Sadie," or that her companion in the white coat[/FONT]
[FONT=&] is "Sexy Sadie." Since I can't locate a "Sexy Sadie" anywhere [/FONT]
[FONT=&] else in the video, I'll play it safe and place it in this [/FONT]
[FONT=&] category.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:53 - Couple kissing in car (may be banker on corner with a motorcar[/FONT]
[FONT=&] from "Penny Lane" or amorous couple from "Drive My Car." Most[/FONT]
[FONT=&] likely, though, it's "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]2:45 - Sunflowers. (I lean toward saying they're "the flowers that [/FONT]
[FONT=&] grow so incredibly high" from "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." [/FONT]
[FONT=&] Other interpretations are "I'll Follow the Sun" (since that is[/FONT]
[FONT=&] what flowers do), "Sun King" and "Here Comes the Sun," hence [/FONT]
[FONT=&] its inclusion here.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:08 - Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II sits on floor ("Her Majesty" or[/FONT]
[FONT=&] portrait of the Queen from "Penny Lane," though it's hardly [/FONT]
[FONT=&] pocket-sized)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:53 - Statue in cemetery turns head (Statue could be of the Madonna[/FONT]
[FONT=&] ("Lady Madonna") or could be Mother Mary ("Let It Be")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]***Reference that may not actually *be* references***[/FONT]
[FONT=&]1:18 - Marketplace (Could be reference to "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," but [/FONT]
[FONT=&] since I see no one with a barrow in the marketplace, I'm [/FONT]
[FONT=&] unconvinced.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:38 - Last boy in Bungalow Bill's entourage looks very much like [/FONT]
[FONT=&] Sean Lennon. Could be a cameo or just a coincidence.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]3:50 - Sun through panes in roof (It's the only intentional shot of[/FONT]
[FONT=&] the sun in the whole video. It could be meant to represent[/FONT]
[FONT=&] "Here Comes the Sun," "Sun King," "Good Day Sunshine" or [/FONT]
[FONT=&] "I'll Follow the Sun.")[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:06 - Woman walks down road with suitcase (could be "She's Leaving[/FONT]
[FONT=&] Home," but since we already had that song done with the woman[/FONT]
[FONT=&] leaving home in the newspaper taxi at 3:22, would she need to [/FONT]
[FONT=&] appear again?)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:06 - Car heads up long and winding road ("Drive My Car"? Not many[/FONT]
[FONT=&] other cars in video, and one of few that's moving)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]and let us not forget ...[/FONT]
[FONT=&]***The Voice***[/FONT]
[FONT=&]4:36 - Voice at end of song. It sounds like backward masking, and it[/FONT]
[FONT=&] is definitely John's voice. Interpretations I've seen include:[/FONT]
[FONT=&] "Turned out well at the end"[/FONT]
[FONT=&] "There's that noise again"[/FONT]
[FONT=&] "Turned out nice again."[/FONT]
[FONT=&] Strangely, though, the backward tape sounds like John saying [/FONT]
[FONT=&] "My name is John Lennon" to me. It's possible the Fab Three put[/FONT]
[FONT=&] the tape on the end not only because it's a throwback to their[/FONT]
[FONT=&] backward tape use in the '60s, but also because it SOUNDS like[/FONT]
"My name is John Lennon" when it's played backward.<span style="">[video][video=youtube;glUFjjkYuAk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glUFjjkYuAk[/video]
[/video]
The Beatles Internet Album Web page
This track answers so many unanswered questions in the Beatles own words
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - gryphon - 05-12-2011
Interesting coda
Found this in my travels researching
Thanks to Wiki !
During early 1995 as work on The Beatles Anthology continued, Yoko Ono and McCartney recorded an avant-garde piece called "Hiroshima Sky Is Always Blue". Ono provided vocals and McCartney played bass, while Sean Lennon, Linda McCartney, and McCartney's children played various instruments. The piece was broadcast on Japanese public television in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.[SUP][3] [/SUP]
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - Jerome - 05-12-2011
Does anyone remember 'The Oriental Nightfish' attributed to Linda McCartney?
http://youtu.be/prH0Y4ex_m0
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - Jerome - 05-12-2011
I don't know if this is even relevant or not but Supertramp recorded an album called Free as a Bird???????
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - SteveO - 05-12-2011
There is an immense amount of inferences with this one song, Gryph ! Thanks for the decipher...I enjoy them very much !
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - gryphon - 05-12-2011
I think that this track has by far the most references and statements on it and it has the Beatles own input to the people who are looking for them.....................in addition that video is stacked with clues and pointers .....................spot the rogue blue meanie and the Tara Browne look a like !
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - CRAZY-HORSE - 05-12-2011
great one G-Man!....full marks for this one mate!
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - SteveO - 05-12-2011
....and keep 'em comin' !!!!!!!!!
Deciphering The Beatles......Twenty................Free As A Bird - denishverma - 06-12-2011
I need free video of the Battles.
Can anyone share?