Beatles Countdown #80: Martha My Dear

{Apr 07}

Doug1960s , No Comments

At #80 is yet another Paul song. If we take a look back at the songs we’ve covered so far, fifteen of them have been by Paul. Fifteen! Now sure, George & Ringo don’t have as much to add to the countdown and maybe we’ll see a lot of John later on, but for right now – Paul is dominating this list. But with songs like the one below, it’s easy to see why. From The White Album, here’s one of the highlights from the first disc: “Martha My Dear.”

“Martha My Dear” is a very catchy song in a music hall style that recounts the lover’s affection for the titular Martha. Now, who is Martha? Well, as we’ve seen in some songs already like Lovely Rita, the song doesn’t always have to be about someone, but here, we can gather some ideas about who the song is about. Since the song’s release, some have speculated that the song is about Paul McCartney’s ex-fiancée Jane Asher who Paul had just recently broken up with. Paul himself has said that some of the lyrics could have been written about her such as the line “…when you find yourself in the thick of it, help yourself to a bit of what is all around you.” However, while fans have speculated, Paul has come outright and stated who the song is about…though he’s said contradictory things. The first identity Paul has said is his sheepdog named Martha. In Many Years From Now, Paul stated that it was about his dog in a very affectionate kind of way. Martha was his first pet and according to John Lennon, Paul was very “cuddly” around the dog. Knowing this, it would be easy to view the song as that. Paul was gone a lot and didn’t want his dog to forget him and plus, “silly girl” seems to fit more to a mischievous dog than a bothersome ex. However, Paul has also stated that the song is about his muse. In A Hard Day’s Write, Paul stated that his dog was named after his muse, the voice in his head that helps him with his music, and that the song was about said muse. Looking at these possible scenarios, the song probably fits in most with his dog, but it could easily be a combination of any of them or perhaps all three. Only Paul really knows and I’m sure he’s forgotten by this point in his life.

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Beatles Countdown #82: Lovely Rita

{Apr 06}

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Paul’s streak on The Beatles countdown continues at #82 with a bouncy, loveable track from Sgt. Pepper’s: “Lovely Rita.”

“Lovely Rita…meter maid!” The opening words of the song set the pace for the song with its great melody. You can’t hear those words and not enjoy singing along to one of the best tracks on one of the best albums of all time. Written originally as an anti-authority song, Paul changed it to a love song about a meter maid. At the time, the English simply knew the maids as “traffic wardens” and Paul himself learned of the term by reading a newspaper article about a retired meter maid named “Lovely Rita.” The phrase struck him as overtly sexual and he would later say in the Anthology “…to me a ‘maid’ was always a little sexy thing: ‘Meter maid. Hey, come and check my meter, baby.’” Later, a meter maid named Meta Davies would claim Paul wrote this song for her after giving him a traffic ticket, but Paul would dismiss that claim like many others. Another possible meaning of the song was as part of the infamous Paul Is Dead hoax which states that Paul was distracted by Rita while driving which led him to speed off to his death. It’s a shock the “hoax” got so much attention and momentum as it did. The song might have had another meaning as well, but let’s look at the music itself first.

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Beatles Countdown #83: Lady Madonna

{Mar 16}

Doug1960s , No Comments

Paul McCartney brings us some old-time boogie-woogie with #83’s slot on the countdown: “Lady Madonna!”

Having seen a picture titled “Mountain Madonna” which had an African woman suckling her kid, Paul was inspired to write this as a tribute to women everywhere shortly before the band’s trip to India. The lyrics describe the titular woman’s journey’s throughout the week though Paul famously leaves out Saturday as he figured it must have been “a real night out.” John had a minor contribution to the song too as he borrowed his famous “see how they run” lyric from “I Am The Walrus” for the song’s middle eight. The upbeat, quirky song was accompanied by a promotional film (or music video) which The Beatles had some expierence with. However, when it came time to shoot for the film, all the band wanted to do was work on and record a new song they had just penned: “Hey Bulldog.” As such, one of the two promotional films features mainly studio recordings & performances, most of which are of that song! Denis O’Dell, who was in charge of the filming, would recall had he had a plan for the film, but all that went out of the window as soon as Paul started playing something new on the piano.

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Beatles Countdown #84 – She’s Leaving Home

{Mar 16}

Doug1960s , , 1 Comment

A stunning piece from the masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band clocks in at #84: “She’s Leaving Home!”

Though later called “a McCartney song through-and-through,” Paul would himself say that John wrote the song with him. While Paul handled most of the composition, John would add the lyrics to the chorus as well as sustained notes to the music which Paul later said made the song what it is. Paul said he drew his inspiration from a newspaper article about a girl who had run away from home in February 1967 without any of her belongings. The girl was Melanie Coe who, in an ironic (or not) fashion, had actually met the band in 1963 on the TV Show Ready Set Go after winning a competition. Paul himself was the one to award her for her miming skills! At first, Melanie didn’t realize the song was about her though she could see the similarities. After hearing Paul talk about the song in an interview, she was able to piece it together that she was the inspiration to the song. Coincidentally, Melanie said Paul even got most of her life right as she did feel like she was living alone for so many years and her parents had given her everything that money could buy. Kind of weird, huh?

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Beatles Countdown #86: Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

{Mar 08}

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Coming up at #86 is Paul McCartney’s attempt at dark comedy as he tells the plight of a homicidal maniac in “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer!”

Penned shortly after The White Album sessions in October 1968, the song tells the plight of Maxwell Edision who uses his titular silver hammer to murder his medical school teacher, girlfriend, and finally the judge presiding over his case. Sounds pretty dark for a Beatles song, huh? The vaudevillian song was written by McCartney as an analogy for whenever something goes wrong in life. As he would later say, “It epitomizes the downfalls in life. Just when everything is going smoothly: Bang! Bang! Down comes Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and ruins everything.” On the music itself, George Harrison would comment that it was “one of those instant whistle-along tunes which some people hate and other people really like.” That perhaps would be the nicest thing said about the song by the other three. The dark comedy song first made its appearance in the Let It Be sessions and was captured in the subsequent film as they show Paul McCartney working on it. It wasn’t until their final recording session together for Abbey Road that they dedicated time to it at the behest of Paul McCartney who wanted it to be a single. This is where the “controversy” around the song comes around as I alluded to in “Fixing A Hole.”

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Beatles Countdown #88 – Fixing A Hole

{Mar 05}

Doug1960s , No Comments

About to pick her up in his 88 (Little Richard reference for you guys), Paul McCartney brings us the next pick in the countdown with a “controversial” track from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: “Fixing A Hole!”

Bunch of random stories here for the recording of the song. The song was actually the first Beatles song to appear on an EMI album that wasn’t recorded at Abbey Roads as the studio was booked for the night. The crew had to pack up and head to Regent Sound Studio on a February 9th. They didn’t stay long though as the next day, they were back at Abbey Road recording “A Day In The Life.” The different location got them a funny story though as Paul has said he encountered a man outside the gates claiming to be Jesus Christ. Not wanting to be the one to leave his savior in the cold, Paul invited him for a cup of tea and let him sit in the corner of the session if he remained quiet. The man eventually left never to be heard or seen again according to lore…or maybe they were all high? You decide. Back to the recording though, George Harrison was supposedly upset over the amount of time Paul spent re-recording vocals for the song and that all Paul did during the recording of the album was listen to him sing “Fixing A Hole.” It wouldn’t be out of character for Paul, but we’ll get into that more with “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.”

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Beatles Countdown #90 – I’m Looking Through You

{Mar 02}

Doug1960s , No Comments

Oh, another Paul McCartney song? Who would have thought? Well, coming in at #90 is from 1965’s Rubber Soul: “I’m Looking Through You!”

Sarcasm on the McCartney front aside, this is a great song. As I look back, I didn’t have it on my ballot for this and I’m seriously scratching my head and wondering why. Like “You Won’t See Me” and others, the song was written about Paul’s then-girlfriend of five years Jane Asher. Actually, the song was written following an argument between the two in Asher’s family house, supposedly about her commitment. Paul went to his own room which he had to compose music & sleep in and wrote this song. Paul himself says it wasn’t the first or last time it happened. He was extremely disappointed & dissatisfied with the relationship by this point, questioning Jane’s “facade” of commitment which led to the famous line: “I’m looking through you and you’re not there!” After being together for five years and getting fed up with it, it’s easy to see where the lyrically challenging song comes about. I’m sure most reading this have been in or know of a relationship where someone doesn’t “look different,” but they “have changed.” Well, Paul’s just like you and me in that regard then.

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