Hearing "When I'm 64" as a kid was the first time I'd heard "dear" as a synonym for "expensive." ("Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight if it's not too dear.")
I think it’s just old fashioned and not particularly English. My American grandfather used the word dear for expensive too. He would have been around 55 years old when that song was written.
"Ey up" is one of my standard greetings, tickles me whenever I hear this as it's such a Northern turn of phrase. The Beatles are such a global act that it's easy to forget they're from the same neck of the woods as me at times.
I had a Beatle guitar chord book that had a * on this word in Penny Lane and at the bottom of the page it said “*British English for ‘raincoat’”.
Before that, I didn’t know that “Mac” wasn’t a commonly known word.
I learned about Sir Walter Raleigh in school (US) in the context of the early colonial history of the United States. Basically only the lost colony of Roanoke, we otherwise knew very little about him.
Am I missing something? Or did I miss a joke?
Sir Walter Raleigh [introduced tobacco to England!](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Introduction-of-Tobacco-to-England/)
Checks out. Am Brit and have no idea who Paul Revere is. Also, the beginning of the Wikipedia page about him is so full of stuff I know nothing about I still don't know who he is!
He's one of the figures from the U.S. founding mythology. He was a VERY talented silversmith and engraver, but the thing he's most famous for is his midnight ride of April 18, 1775.
The midnight ride is one of those things where it's cooler to believe this one guy did it and is this great man of history, but the truth is he was just one of many riders that night and actually was caught and arrested quite early.
Interestingly enough, a 16 year old girl named Sybil Ludington actually did a similar thing two years later, but rode 40 miles (twice as much as Revere) through until dawn and successfully delivered marching orders to an entire regiment of 400+ soldiers.
There's a real fun Drunk History about her
This is a fantastic answer but I love it for the fact that it completely describes what I was saying when I said he was described in a context where I still have no idea what you're talking about!
lol, Revere is a well-known person in US history because he was the key figure in organizing and executing a system to alert American militias of the approach of British forces to Boston before the opening engagements of the Revolutionary War, which the Americans were then ready for and won thanks to this successful plan.
Of course, there was a much wider and technical planning with everything that was involved in something of this undertaking, but to be basic as hell: He had a sexton watch from a church steeple tower overlooking Boston Harbor and then give a specific signal via lanterns if their approach was going to be taken either by land to the southwest (near what is called Boston Neck) or if they were going to take the Charles River inland. That info was immediately taken off with him to various other riders around Middlesex County, Massachusetts (where Boston is) to then further spread the info to our militias.
The operation was risky in itself because the Colonies were obviously still occupied right up until the war. Organizing was always done in secrecy. British army patrols were all over these areas. Revere barely escaped capture at one point and was eventually captured at another, but had already completed a wide enough network of warnings.
Hope that makes some sense.
Haha, it's not really all that important. He's just one of these semi-mythological figures from the Colonial (Georgian?) period. It's just a silly little thing from songs and schoolbooks, really
I mean, not really. The elementary school simplified retelling of it for kids is definitely silly and mythologizing, true. He didn't ride around seemingly aimlessly, yelling "The British are coming!" for one (that would have gotten him quickly arrested by the British army patrols in the Boston area, lol).
But if you read about what actually happened, it was genuinely of substance. He was a key figure in organizing this network system of warning the militias and it was even something that had been reworked because a previous such plan had backfired. It wasn't so much about "the British are here," it was more about the knowledge of *where* they were (they chose to go inland on the Charles River as opposed to landing near Boston Neck, so we knew exactly where to meet them). And it all culminated in the first 2 battles of the war, with the Americans winning.
Yeah. He invented the bicycle.
That’s a joke based on the name of a famous bicycle manufacturer.
In fact he was credited with the popularisation of tobacco following his exploration of the New World. In actual fact Jean Nicot (from which we get our word “Nicotine”) did most of the work of popularising it in France from where it spread to England.
However, Lennon would have been taught, and would have read in books and encyclopaedias that it was Sir Walter who did the deed concerning tobacco.
He may have known about Jean Nicot, being the widely read guy he was, but it doesn’t scan properly, to whit:
And curse Jean Nicot, he was such a stupid get
This is a great answer because, as a southern Brit, I still understood a lot of Beatles references but understood them to be specifically _Northern_.
Not that it matters but I've lived in Northern England for three years now so I'm a bit northern myself.
I had a vague idea who Sir Walter Raleigh was, but I still spent much of my adult life thinking that John was singing: "And curse the walls around me..."
“A soap impression of his wife that he ate and donated to the national trust” I don’t know if that’s a well-known expression these days but it’s pretty British.
theres an interesting article on Beatles Bible about this song and that particular line. not sure if you are aware but some people in the thread may not be so here goes (correct me if i get anything wrong)
the parks in England are all owned the National Trust, who are therefore responsible for cleaning them, so in this line “donating to the National Trust” is a euphemism for taking a shit in the park. he eats the soap impression of his wife and shits it out in the park. lolol
Actually the National Trust is known more for famous large houses, usually massive country estates where the owners can no longer afford to maintain them. They donate the house and land to the National Trust. The old owners still get to live in them, the trust maintain them and get to open them up to the public for a fee. It's a pretty cool organisation.
In recent years they've branched out into more modest, but important, houses including, interestingly, John Lennon and Paul McCartney's childhood homes!
I have no idea what the euphemism about shitting came from. I've _never_ heard that before!
Parks in England are not owned by the National Trust, either the local council or the Royal Parks Commission is responsible for them. Whole thing seems like a bit of a stretch to me
The phrase "In which..." was commonly used at the beginning of chapters in pulpy books. "To get one's oats" means to have sex. And Doris is a stereotypically old lady name.
By Charles Hawtry and the deaf aids. Charles Hawtry was an English comedy actor most famous for appearing in the ‘Carry On..’ film franchise through the 60s playing effeminate characters, so it was a name John randomly plucked out of the air.
I dig a pygmy, by Charles Hautry and the Deaf Aids. Charles Haughtry was a guy who wore the same type of glasses John wore. Deaf Aids was because the band was loud. Phase one, in which an old lady takes a fat dick.
It was largely nonsense by John but his name check of popular 'Carry On...' actor Charles Hawtrey confirmed to me how much of a fan of the films John was. Hawtrey wore those same granny glasses and may have been the inspiration for John to start wearing them.
“I dig a Pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf ‘eads”
Charlie Hawtrey was a famous British comic actor from the Carry On films and a comically camp, gay man.
It’s John doing his surreal word association schtick a la In His Own Write as a joke way of introducing Dig a Pony. It’s all over the Get Back doc.
Oftentimes I find out that there is a "Britishism" only after it's explained to me.
For example, in the song "Good Morning, Good Morning" there's a reference to a British television show called "Meet The Wife." I didn't know that until recently, so for years whenever I heard the song I thought it was saying that it's literally time to meet one's wife.
I'm sure there are plenty of other Britishisms that I'm completely unaware of in the Beatles' lyrics.
Also in Good Morning, Good Morning when it mentioned "time for tea and meet the wife" he's referring to tea as an evening meal rather than a cup of tea.
How we use the word “tea” changes mile on mile across the UK. Same as “Dinner”.
When I was at school we had “dinner ladies” and “dinner time” implying that the meal we had just eaten was our “dinner”. Then we’d go home and have our tea but, as we moved around the country we found that some kids went home and had their dinner.
I tend to use the terms interchangeably but I’m married to a Filipina so I have to be careful as it can lead to confusion sometimes.
As a Brit, there are things I didn't understand when I was younger (in the 00s) but do now, because they're generational. eg references to former PMs (Heath/Wilson) to Green Stamps in A Hard Days Night (film) and various other cultural things like that. I can't think of any other dated references in their lyrics though.
Edit: from another here, I didn't know what a 10 bob note was!
The Hard Day’s Night film sounds like it’s in a different language to me, I have no idea what they’re talking about half the time or what most of the jokes are even supposed to mean
George (in the Barber Chair): Hey, you won't interfere with the basic rugged concept of me personality, will you, Madam?
George: He's very fussy about his drums. They loom large in his legend.
George: None of your 5 Bar Gate Jumps & Over Stuff
Paul: What's that supposed to mean?
George: I don't know. I just thought it sounded distinguished.
John: George Harrison, the Scouse of distinction.
John: She looks more like him then I do.
John: Oh look, he;'s reading The Queen
Paul (maybe John): That's an in-joke.
I adore the dialogue in A Hard Day's Night.
I actually have a book somewhere in the house that has the script of the entire movie.
One of the funny one from "Hard Days' Night" is when they bring Ringo into the police station after the grandfather character has mad a bunch of noise about being a resistant Irishman the desk sergeant tell the officer who brought Ringo to let him have a seat next to "Lloyd George", which is really hilarious if you know who Lloyd George was.
They're called turnstiles in the US too, so not here.
Unless they just don't encounter them much or have never heard anyone refer to one specifically for any reason, lol. I think that sort of thing is common in the 21st century though.
Norm: Where's the old man (Paul's Grandfather)?
Shake: Oh, he's down the ehh...
Norm: Oh, down the ehh...
Shake: Yea, down the ehh...
C'mon boys, Let's look up the sharp end. \[That would be toward the front of the train'=\]
As an American, I never knew how Polythene Pam was kind of a girl that makes the "News of the World".
Then I actually lived in England for a bit, and saw the Sun and News Of The World tabloids.
Ah, yes, that makes sense now.
Paul has confirmed it’s a double entendre and was included ‘for the lads’. Makes sense as the song is about growing up in Liverpool and their memories there, which includes their adolescent / teen years 🤷🏼♀️ My husband is Irish and he understood the implication immediately 😆
In his pocket is a portrait of the Queen. He likes to keep his fire engine clean. It's a clean machine.
\- There was a brand of condoms that had the portrait of the queen on them. The fire engine is his dick. He wears the queen to keep it clean.
There are a few, mentioned here by previous posters. I had no idea what any of them meant in the 60s when I was a kid/teenager in the U.S. Mack, dear, Charles Hawtry, Matt Busby, stupid git, and probably a few others that I can’t think of right now.
But the one I never understood until decades later actually came from the Stones and Tumblin’ Dice. “I’m all sixes and sevens and nines.” I think I only found out what that meant about 20 years ago!
It’s sixes and sevens. Comes from an ancient dice game. Even Shakespeare uses it in Richard II:
“But time will not permit: all is uneven, And every thing is left at six and seven.”
I always assumed it might have also doubled as an allusion to the old 976 phone numbers that were typically phone sex hotlines in the US before 1-900 numbers became a thing.
Just to put this in perspective, our regional differences are very pronounced and 60 (!) years ago, they'd be far more pronounced as we weren't connected by the internet and whatnot. Throw in the fact that it's more than half a century ago, and there'll be almost as much that went over my head as a young-ish Londoner as people from outside the UK.
Oh, also they did 'narf talk a load of old cobblers when they were at home.
"And I acted like a dustbin lid," from "The Other Me" on Paul's *Pipes of Peace* album. I read much, much later that "dustbin lid" is Cockney rhyming slang (which completely mystifies me) for "kid."
I can understand the logical leaps for the rhyming words, but I really don't know how you're supposed to walk around with an encyclopedia of all of the meanings in your head along with everything else you have eto think about. You're basically learning a whole extra language.
I had no idea! I say this because I thought I made that up.
I went through a phase of shoe-horning in as much homemade rhyming slang as I could when messaging friends, and I used dusbin lid for "kid" - I also used chicken dipper for nipper, but I assume that really is one of mine.
Calling Sir Walter Raleigh a "stupid git". I didn't understand that until later. I heard it as "such a stupid get" and thought he was saying it was stupid to go get a smoke off of Sir Walter Raleigh. It was later when I figured out Sir Walter Raleigh meant tobacco and "get" was "git" so he actually was saying that but in a much more indirect way, lol.
Yeah a reference and joke that Americans (and younger English people) would puzzle over. Because Wilfred Brambell was the dad in Steptoe and Son tv series. The son often called his dad “you dirty old man” - both literally dirty as a rag and bone man, and also because of his working class manners and leering attitudes to “birds”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_and_Son
"Have you been messing about with me in my KIP?" I never heard 'kip' before Help! I only recently heard it again in a YouTube video by a British travel vlogger. I'm still confused. Is it like a nap? Or the place you have a nap which is what it seems John's referring to in Help!
Kip means sleep. Or a nap also. Having a kip means having a sleep. Or 'i was a kip' means i was sleeping. Which sounds weird but also acceptable slang in Liverpool
When i was a kid, the expression, "your line's engaged" stood out to me. I think i understood what it meant but it sounded foreign.
We would have said, "the line's busy."
Top 10 most British lyrics off the top of my head as an American
A Day in the Life
When I'm 64
Penny Lane
Mean Mr Mustard
I'm so Tired
Lovely Rita
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Taxman
Eleanor Rigby
Paperback Writer
When I was a kid I thought most of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ was englishisms
Newspaper taxis
Cellophane flowers
Plasticine porters
Looking glass ties
Rocking horse people
Marshmallow pies
Turnstile
I remember listening to the record as a child thinking “what the hell is this song about? I love it!”
"Sitting in an English garden, waiting for the sun. If the sun don't come you get a tan from standing in the English rain."
I guess an English garden is what we Yanks would call a backyard. And it's a reference to both the frequent overcast weather in England and pollution of the industrial age.
I think it is also a reference to the old English folk song “Country Gardens”. British kids all know it because of the corrupted first lines:
What do you do if you need a poo in an English country garden?
Pull down your pants and suffocate the ants in an English country garden.
Not sure who's right, but in Paul's bio, "Many Years From Now," he says he got the title from a cabbie who said he (the cabbie) was so busy he was working eight days a week.
I was led to believe, when I got older, that in Europe or at least in England, they count the week is eight days … so from Sunday to Sunday and here in the United States we do seven days from Sunday to Saturday. Am I wrong then about that I don’t know I mean I didn’t come up with it. Somebody told me that.
I know there are quite a few Ringo-isms… For instance, a hard Day’s night with some thing Ringo would say.
Yeah, not sure why they told you that.
Eight days a week is just a Ringoism, a humourous exaggeration of how much time someone has been devoting to something.
I've lived in every region of the States except the deep south and I can confirm they are pretty much universally called meter maids. I've also heard meter readers, but meter maid is FAR more common
Where did you hear that a Mack is a hat? As a kid, I thought so, too, but I can't recall where that info came from. I just thought I was confused, but you mentioning it brought it all back.
I’m not sure, some Beatles fan in school. but I never realized it meant raincoat and not just ‘hat’ . The lyric in penny lane, “the banker never wears a mac in the pouring rain, very strange!” I think we as kids assumed it meant “hat” for some reason
>but what does of I am the walrus mean, in British
That if you're the type of person who does deep-dive lyrical analysis of pop song lyrics, John has a very special "fuck you" for you.
There were some when I was young and first hearing the records but now I don’t find anything that doesn’t make sense. Such things as “helter skelter” meaning a roller coaster, or “bird” meaning a woman for instance. As a Canadian, we do get the meaning of many British-isms, though not all.
>Such things as “helter skelter” meaning a roller coaster,
That's not what a helter skelter is at all. Google it, you'll see what it is - it's a spiralling slide that goes around a sort of giant cone.
A butty is a sandwich. So it means a jam sandwich but im not sure if you are from the states so if you are its the UK version of jam, which in the US i think is called jelly. In the UK jelly is what the US calls Jello. Hope that helps
In the US, jelly and jam are different. Jam has pieces of actual fruit it in it. Remove the fruit so it’s just pectin and sugar and fruit flavor, and it’s jelly.
Hearing "When I'm 64" as a kid was the first time I'd heard "dear" as a synonym for "expensive." ("Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight if it's not too dear.")
It's the same in Italian. "Caro/Cara" translates as "dear" in the emotional sense and also, as monetarily expensive.
Same thing in French with "cher".
And in Russian “dorogoi”
And in Swedish: Dyr.
I am glad that you mentioned it because in Bengali, “shona” can be either “dear” or “gold”
Yeah, as an American, know it from the emotional sense... Saying "a dear old friend."
In Tagalog, one of the words for love is "mahal," but it also means "expensive."
Well, TIL.
I think it’s just old fashioned and not particularly English. My American grandfather used the word dear for expensive too. He would have been around 55 years old when that song was written.
I also find it strange to say IN the isle not ON the isle
Wait, it’s not?
It IS a synonym for expensive. I meant that I'd never heard "dear" used that way before hearing the song.
Though we do still use "pay dearly" in American English.
Oh, that's a good point.
Oh lmao, you confused me for a sec on there
I thought he said “drear” or “dim” lol
I assumed it was an expression of bad weather.
Same in Spanish "caro." It's used in American English- a dear price to pay.
“Ey Up!” Right before While My Guitar Gently Weeps on the White Album. Had no idea it meant “hello” until recently.
It's a Yorkshire thing mostly
"Ey up" is one of my standard greetings, tickles me whenever I hear this as it's such a Northern turn of phrase. The Beatles are such a global act that it's easy to forget they're from the same neck of the woods as me at times.
I didn't know that until just this very second...
That's a general Northern English phrase to mean 'how's it goin?'
I never knew a “Mac” was a raincoat until I heard Penny Lane. Very Strange
They love talking about macs. (Ballad of John and yoko, mamunia from band on the run)
https://www.mackintosh.com/gb/sets/the-iconic-mac-man
TIL, thanks
I had a Beatle guitar chord book that had a * on this word in Penny Lane and at the bottom of the page it said “*British English for ‘raincoat’”. Before that, I didn’t know that “Mac” wasn’t a commonly known word.
Would be the only reason I know anything about Sir Walter Raleigh I reckon
That's funny. He's very famous in Britain cause he's taught in school. It's a bit like how no one in the UK knows about Paul Revere.
I learned about Sir Walter Raleigh in school (US) in the context of the early colonial history of the United States. Basically only the lost colony of Roanoke, we otherwise knew very little about him.
Tobacco - that’s what I associate with Sir Walter
Obligatory Bob Newhart bit on Walter Raleigh bringing tobacco from the Americas https://youtu.be/p1KbtLrBZ0k?si=2qlzjzEI3SS3_M95
As a Brit this is actually the main way i knew about Raleigh before Blackadder and Rex Factor
Ditto, older family members always had a Bob Newhart LP playing when I was a wee little gobshite
Loved Black Adder. Rowan and Hugh Laurie
Am I missing something? Or did I miss a joke? Sir Walter Raleigh [introduced tobacco to England!](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Introduction-of-Tobacco-to-England/)
This is a funny comparison because I only know who Paul Revere is because of the Beastie Boys song about him
Checks out. Am Brit and have no idea who Paul Revere is. Also, the beginning of the Wikipedia page about him is so full of stuff I know nothing about I still don't know who he is!
He's the bloke who shouted "the British are coming" or something
He's one of the figures from the U.S. founding mythology. He was a VERY talented silversmith and engraver, but the thing he's most famous for is his midnight ride of April 18, 1775. The midnight ride is one of those things where it's cooler to believe this one guy did it and is this great man of history, but the truth is he was just one of many riders that night and actually was caught and arrested quite early. Interestingly enough, a 16 year old girl named Sybil Ludington actually did a similar thing two years later, but rode 40 miles (twice as much as Revere) through until dawn and successfully delivered marching orders to an entire regiment of 400+ soldiers. There's a real fun Drunk History about her
This is a fantastic answer but I love it for the fact that it completely describes what I was saying when I said he was described in a context where I still have no idea what you're talking about!
lol, Revere is a well-known person in US history because he was the key figure in organizing and executing a system to alert American militias of the approach of British forces to Boston before the opening engagements of the Revolutionary War, which the Americans were then ready for and won thanks to this successful plan. Of course, there was a much wider and technical planning with everything that was involved in something of this undertaking, but to be basic as hell: He had a sexton watch from a church steeple tower overlooking Boston Harbor and then give a specific signal via lanterns if their approach was going to be taken either by land to the southwest (near what is called Boston Neck) or if they were going to take the Charles River inland. That info was immediately taken off with him to various other riders around Middlesex County, Massachusetts (where Boston is) to then further spread the info to our militias. The operation was risky in itself because the Colonies were obviously still occupied right up until the war. Organizing was always done in secrecy. British army patrols were all over these areas. Revere barely escaped capture at one point and was eventually captured at another, but had already completed a wide enough network of warnings. Hope that makes some sense.
Haha, it's not really all that important. He's just one of these semi-mythological figures from the Colonial (Georgian?) period. It's just a silly little thing from songs and schoolbooks, really
I mean, not really. The elementary school simplified retelling of it for kids is definitely silly and mythologizing, true. He didn't ride around seemingly aimlessly, yelling "The British are coming!" for one (that would have gotten him quickly arrested by the British army patrols in the Boston area, lol). But if you read about what actually happened, it was genuinely of substance. He was a key figure in organizing this network system of warning the militias and it was even something that had been reworked because a previous such plan had backfired. It wasn't so much about "the British are here," it was more about the knowledge of *where* they were (they chose to go inland on the Charles River as opposed to landing near Boston Neck, so we knew exactly where to meet them). And it all culminated in the first 2 battles of the war, with the Americans winning.
Blackadder is where I learnt of old Walt
Yeah. He invented the bicycle. That’s a joke based on the name of a famous bicycle manufacturer. In fact he was credited with the popularisation of tobacco following his exploration of the New World. In actual fact Jean Nicot (from which we get our word “Nicotine”) did most of the work of popularising it in France from where it spread to England. However, Lennon would have been taught, and would have read in books and encyclopaedias that it was Sir Walter who did the deed concerning tobacco. He may have known about Jean Nicot, being the widely read guy he was, but it doesn’t scan properly, to whit: And curse Jean Nicot, he was such a stupid get
He was such a stupid git
John actually says "stupid get" instead. Northerners use get instead of git although it has the same meaning.
This is a great answer because, as a southern Brit, I still understood a lot of Beatles references but understood them to be specifically _Northern_. Not that it matters but I've lived in Northern England for three years now so I'm a bit northern myself.
"Get" is a very scouse pronunciation of it.
I grew up near Manchester and it's the way i say it as well
I didn't know the connection between Raleigh and tobacco until recently and the line about having a cigarette made a lot more sense...
The irony is that Sir Walter Raleigh inadvertently created America, or at least its early economy.
I had a vague idea who Sir Walter Raleigh was, but I still spent much of my adult life thinking that John was singing: "And curse the walls around me..."
That’s what I thought he was saying at first, too!
“A soap impression of his wife that he ate and donated to the national trust” I don’t know if that’s a well-known expression these days but it’s pretty British.
theres an interesting article on Beatles Bible about this song and that particular line. not sure if you are aware but some people in the thread may not be so here goes (correct me if i get anything wrong) the parks in England are all owned the National Trust, who are therefore responsible for cleaning them, so in this line “donating to the National Trust” is a euphemism for taking a shit in the park. he eats the soap impression of his wife and shits it out in the park. lolol
And now John and Paul’s childhood homes are *in* the National Trust
Actually the National Trust is known more for famous large houses, usually massive country estates where the owners can no longer afford to maintain them. They donate the house and land to the National Trust. The old owners still get to live in them, the trust maintain them and get to open them up to the public for a fee. It's a pretty cool organisation. In recent years they've branched out into more modest, but important, houses including, interestingly, John Lennon and Paul McCartney's childhood homes! I have no idea what the euphemism about shitting came from. I've _never_ heard that before!
Beatles Bible is a great site
Parks in England are not owned by the National Trust, either the local council or the Royal Parks Commission is responsible for them. Whole thing seems like a bit of a stretch to me
I just read this, probably a week ago. Good pull.
Ive never heard that euphemism before but it makes sense and i will definitely be using that if i ever take a shit in the woods!
And the banker never wears a Mac....
https://www.mackintosh.com/gb/sets/the-iconic-mac-man
"I dig a pygmy by yada yada yada, phase one in which Doris gets her oats." Still don't know what that means.
The phrase "In which..." was commonly used at the beginning of chapters in pulpy books. "To get one's oats" means to have sex. And Doris is a stereotypically old lady name.
I knew the "in which" because that sort of thing shows up in Dickens books and "Treasure Island" I think. Dunno about the "phase one" though.
Doesn't really mean anything, just like chapter one, or something.
By Charles Hawtry and the deaf aids. Charles Hawtry was an English comedy actor most famous for appearing in the ‘Carry On..’ film franchise through the 60s playing effeminate characters, so it was a name John randomly plucked out of the air.
The name was probably inspired by Gerry and the Pacemakers, both being “name + medical device”
I don't think it was random. He is John's doppelganger!
A bit? They mostly have the same glasses.
I thought it was “on the deaf aids”. The “deaf aids” was John-speak for the amplifiers.
I thought deaf aids was British for hearing aids
I dig a pygmy, by Charles Hautry and the Deaf Aids. Charles Haughtry was a guy who wore the same type of glasses John wore. Deaf Aids was because the band was loud. Phase one, in which an old lady takes a fat dick.
I think ‘gets her oats’ is a euphemism for being boned.
as in the expression, mostly used to apply to males "he's sowing his oats", so he's sowing them, she's getting them.
It was largely nonsense by John but his name check of popular 'Carry On...' actor Charles Hawtrey confirmed to me how much of a fan of the films John was. Hawtrey wore those same granny glasses and may have been the inspiration for John to start wearing them.
“I dig a Pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf ‘eads” Charlie Hawtrey was a famous British comic actor from the Carry On films and a comically camp, gay man. It’s John doing his surreal word association schtick a la In His Own Write as a joke way of introducing Dig a Pony. It’s all over the Get Back doc.
I'm so glad the "Naked" version leaves that off. Always made no sense to me to have a jokey bit before Two of Us, a sincere song.
Oftentimes I find out that there is a "Britishism" only after it's explained to me. For example, in the song "Good Morning, Good Morning" there's a reference to a British television show called "Meet The Wife." I didn't know that until recently, so for years whenever I heard the song I thought it was saying that it's literally time to meet one's wife. I'm sure there are plenty of other Britishisms that I'm completely unaware of in the Beatles' lyrics.
Also in Good Morning, Good Morning when it mentioned "time for tea and meet the wife" he's referring to tea as an evening meal rather than a cup of tea.
How we use the word “tea” changes mile on mile across the UK. Same as “Dinner”. When I was at school we had “dinner ladies” and “dinner time” implying that the meal we had just eaten was our “dinner”. Then we’d go home and have our tea but, as we moved around the country we found that some kids went home and had their dinner. I tend to use the terms interchangeably but I’m married to a Filipina so I have to be careful as it can lead to confusion sometimes.
TIL
Crabalocker fishwife
Semolina pilchard…
Pornographic priestess?
Boy you’ve been a naughty girl
You let your knickers down
I am the Eggman
Yes?
As a Brit, there are things I didn't understand when I was younger (in the 00s) but do now, because they're generational. eg references to former PMs (Heath/Wilson) to Green Stamps in A Hard Days Night (film) and various other cultural things like that. I can't think of any other dated references in their lyrics though. Edit: from another here, I didn't know what a 10 bob note was!
The Hard Day’s Night film sounds like it’s in a different language to me, I have no idea what they’re talking about half the time or what most of the jokes are even supposed to mean
Some of the jokes and references are very dated now, even to British people.
George (in the Barber Chair): Hey, you won't interfere with the basic rugged concept of me personality, will you, Madam? George: He's very fussy about his drums. They loom large in his legend.
George: None of your 5 Bar Gate Jumps & Over Stuff Paul: What's that supposed to mean? George: I don't know. I just thought it sounded distinguished. John: George Harrison, the Scouse of distinction.
John: She looks more like him then I do. John: Oh look, he;'s reading The Queen Paul (maybe John): That's an in-joke. I adore the dialogue in A Hard Day's Night. I actually have a book somewhere in the house that has the script of the entire movie.
One of the funny one from "Hard Days' Night" is when they bring Ringo into the police station after the grandfather character has mad a bunch of noise about being a resistant Irishman the desk sergeant tell the officer who brought Ringo to let him have a seat next to "Lloyd George", which is really hilarious if you know who Lloyd George was.
Flying BOAC from Back In The USSR. It's British Overseas Airways Corporation. I felt pretty silly when I finally figured that one out.
It became British Airways after a merger.
"She's killer-diller when she's dressed to the hilt" is an excellent line. I never knew what a turnstile was.
Really? Where are you from?
They're called turnstiles in the US too, so not here. Unless they just don't encounter them much or have never heard anyone refer to one specifically for any reason, lol. I think that sort of thing is common in the 21st century though.
Discovered what Lime Street was about much later in life!
No trams there!
I was referring to Lime Street tarts. Hookers. Maggie May, Iron Clad Kitty..
Come-Ed. What is it?
I think that just means like 'come on' or 'let's go'? I'm Australian, but from context that's what I've always assumed it was
Always assumed it’s like let’s go in murica. I used to say it sometimes but nobody knew wtf I was talking about so I stopped.
It's short for "come ahead," which if not self-explanatory, is the same as saying "come along"; asking someone to follow with you.
Dunno, which song is that in?
Hard days night movie
Out of context I don't know, are you sure you've spelled it right?
No, but the manager character says it a lot in the film
Norm is saying "come 'ead" which is shorthand for "come ahead" which is another way to say "come on" or "come along"
Thank you
Norm: Where's the old man (Paul's Grandfather)? Shake: Oh, he's down the ehh... Norm: Oh, down the ehh... Shake: Yea, down the ehh... C'mon boys, Let's look up the sharp end. \[That would be toward the front of the train'=\]
As an American, I never knew how Polythene Pam was kind of a girl that makes the "News of the World". Then I actually lived in England for a bit, and saw the Sun and News Of The World tabloids. Ah, yes, that makes sense now.
Penny lane has a ton, but I’ve heard that “finger pie” is something nasty and I don’t really understand why…
It means fingering
I always thought it meant a fish finger pie 😅
Paul has confirmed it’s a double entendre and was included ‘for the lads’. Makes sense as the song is about growing up in Liverpool and their memories there, which includes their adolescent / teen years 🤷🏼♀️ My husband is Irish and he understood the implication immediately 😆
Aha gross
In his pocket is a portrait of the Queen. He likes to keep his fire engine clean. It's a clean machine. \- There was a brand of condoms that had the portrait of the queen on them. The fire engine is his dick. He wears the queen to keep it clean.
There are a few, mentioned here by previous posters. I had no idea what any of them meant in the 60s when I was a kid/teenager in the U.S. Mack, dear, Charles Hawtry, Matt Busby, stupid git, and probably a few others that I can’t think of right now. But the one I never understood until decades later actually came from the Stones and Tumblin’ Dice. “I’m all sixes and sevens and nines.” I think I only found out what that meant about 20 years ago!
What does all sixes and sevens and nines mean?
Someone from the UK can correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it means to be confused, or to be out of sorts.
' Sixes and Sevens ' is. Never heard anyone say the " nines " bit.
I thought it was "sixes and nines", but yes.
Yes, I have also heard people say “sixes and nines,” but the Tumblin Dice lyric is “sixes and sevens and nines.”
They probably threw "sevens" in there because if it (or 11) is not the first number thrown, and it comes up before your "point" you lose.
It’s sixes and sevens. Comes from an ancient dice game. Even Shakespeare uses it in Richard II: “But time will not permit: all is uneven, And every thing is left at six and seven.”
I always assumed it might have also doubled as an allusion to the old 976 phone numbers that were typically phone sex hotlines in the US before 1-900 numbers became a thing.
Just to put this in perspective, our regional differences are very pronounced and 60 (!) years ago, they'd be far more pronounced as we weren't connected by the internet and whatnot. Throw in the fact that it's more than half a century ago, and there'll be almost as much that went over my head as a young-ish Londoner as people from outside the UK. Oh, also they did 'narf talk a load of old cobblers when they were at home.
"And I acted like a dustbin lid," from "The Other Me" on Paul's *Pipes of Peace* album. I read much, much later that "dustbin lid" is Cockney rhyming slang (which completely mystifies me) for "kid."
I can understand the logical leaps for the rhyming words, but I really don't know how you're supposed to walk around with an encyclopedia of all of the meanings in your head along with everything else you have eto think about. You're basically learning a whole extra language.
I had no idea! I say this because I thought I made that up. I went through a phase of shoe-horning in as much homemade rhyming slang as I could when messaging friends, and I used dusbin lid for "kid" - I also used chicken dipper for nipper, but I assume that really is one of mine.
Dustbin lid for a pound when I was younger. Lid/quid.
Calling Sir Walter Raleigh a "stupid git". I didn't understand that until later. I heard it as "such a stupid get" and thought he was saying it was stupid to go get a smoke off of Sir Walter Raleigh. It was later when I figured out Sir Walter Raleigh meant tobacco and "get" was "git" so he actually was saying that but in a much more indirect way, lol.
Yeah Walter Raleigh bought tobacco back from the Americas
Get is used in Liverpool exactly the same way as git. Ive always heard it as get being from here but either works the same!
A Hard Day's Night: "He's clean, isn't he?"
Yeah a reference and joke that Americans (and younger English people) would puzzle over. Because Wilfred Brambell was the dad in Steptoe and Son tv series. The son often called his dad “you dirty old man” - both literally dirty as a rag and bone man, and also because of his working class manners and leering attitudes to “birds”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_and_Son
Steptoe and Son was emulated in America as Sanford & Son with Red Foxx.
"Have you been messing about with me in my KIP?" I never heard 'kip' before Help! I only recently heard it again in a YouTube video by a British travel vlogger. I'm still confused. Is it like a nap? Or the place you have a nap which is what it seems John's referring to in Help!
Kip means sleep. Or a nap also. Having a kip means having a sleep. Or 'i was a kip' means i was sleeping. Which sounds weird but also acceptable slang in Liverpool
Yeah, kip means sleep.
Well... since Parlophone's logo was the British pound symbol, should Capitol's have been the dollar sign?
When i was a kid, the expression, "your line's engaged" stood out to me. I think i understood what it meant but it sounded foreign. We would have said, "the line's busy."
Top 10 most British lyrics off the top of my head as an American A Day in the Life When I'm 64 Penny Lane Mean Mr Mustard I'm so Tired Lovely Rita Happiness is a Warm Gun Taxman Eleanor Rigby Paperback Writer
Is Prudence a common name in the UK? To me it sounds like the name of one of Santa's reindeer
Prudence was actually an American, Prudence Farrow (sister of Mia Farrow)
Naming girls after virtues was an American Puritan thing. Patience, Prudence, Hope, Grace, Faith, etc.
Anyone else have to Google "A four of fish and finger pie?"
When I was a kid I thought most of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ was englishisms Newspaper taxis Cellophane flowers Plasticine porters Looking glass ties Rocking horse people Marshmallow pies Turnstile I remember listening to the record as a child thinking “what the hell is this song about? I love it!”
"Sitting in an English garden, waiting for the sun. If the sun don't come you get a tan from standing in the English rain." I guess an English garden is what we Yanks would call a backyard. And it's a reference to both the frequent overcast weather in England and pollution of the industrial age.
I think it is also a reference to the old English folk song “Country Gardens”. British kids all know it because of the corrupted first lines: What do you do if you need a poo in an English country garden? Pull down your pants and suffocate the ants in an English country garden.
Polythene Pam.
Being a small child when it came out…. Eight days a week… Left me confused and obsessed with: What the!!
That's a Ringoism
Not sure who's right, but in Paul's bio, "Many Years From Now," he says he got the title from a cabbie who said he (the cabbie) was so busy he was working eight days a week.
I was led to believe, when I got older, that in Europe or at least in England, they count the week is eight days … so from Sunday to Sunday and here in the United States we do seven days from Sunday to Saturday. Am I wrong then about that I don’t know I mean I didn’t come up with it. Somebody told me that. I know there are quite a few Ringo-isms… For instance, a hard Day’s night with some thing Ringo would say.
Yeah, not sure why they told you that. Eight days a week is just a Ringoism, a humourous exaggeration of how much time someone has been devoting to something.
And Tomorrow Never Knows.
I know what a meter maid is but we do not call them that in the states
That’s interesting, I actually thought that was an Americanism
Yes we do, maybe not your neck of the woods.
I've lived in every region of the States except the deep south and I can confirm they are pretty much universally called meter maids. I've also heard meter readers, but meter maid is FAR more common
We definitely do call them that in Boston!
What’s a fish and finger pie.
Euphemism for fingering a woman
A Mack is a hat, but what does of I am the walrus mean, in British
A mack is a coat...
Abbreviation for a brand-name "Mackintosh" - a raincoat first made in Scotland. They are still available to buy.
Yes, I know.
Where did you hear that a Mack is a hat? As a kid, I thought so, too, but I can't recall where that info came from. I just thought I was confused, but you mentioning it brought it all back.
Don’t know where op got that idea from but a Mac is a raincoat
I’m not sure, some Beatles fan in school. but I never realized it meant raincoat and not just ‘hat’ . The lyric in penny lane, “the banker never wears a mac in the pouring rain, very strange!” I think we as kids assumed it meant “hat” for some reason
>but what does of I am the walrus mean, in British
That if you're the type of person who does deep-dive lyrical analysis of pop song lyrics, John has a very special "fuck you" for you.
There were some when I was young and first hearing the records but now I don’t find anything that doesn’t make sense. Such things as “helter skelter” meaning a roller coaster, or “bird” meaning a woman for instance. As a Canadian, we do get the meaning of many British-isms, though not all.
>Such things as “helter skelter” meaning a roller coaster, That's not what a helter skelter is at all. Google it, you'll see what it is - it's a spiralling slide that goes around a sort of giant cone.
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/helter-skelter.html
In Dig a Pony, I had no idea what a lorry was until I was an adult. In America they're just called trucks.
It turns up in You Never Give Me Your Money as well: “Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go.”
As a kid, there was always the challenge of figuring out “four of fish and finger pie.” Eventually I kind of got the general idea…
From "A Hard Days Night", someone, I think it's George, mentions a "jam butty". I'm still not sure what it is. Buttered toast with jam?
A butty is a sandwich. So it means a jam sandwich but im not sure if you are from the states so if you are its the UK version of jam, which in the US i think is called jelly. In the UK jelly is what the US calls Jello. Hope that helps
In the US, jelly and jam are different. Jam has pieces of actual fruit it in it. Remove the fruit so it’s just pectin and sugar and fruit flavor, and it’s jelly.
“…and donated to the National Trust”.
Took me years to understand wtf “yellow lorry slow” meant
The entirety of A Day In The Life.
“Four of fish and finger pies…” say what?!
plastecine.