The Beatles covered a variety of topics in their music: fame, heartache, and love. But, one of their most endearing songs concerns their childhood upbringing and the many faces and places to be seen on one street in their hometown. Revisit the meaning behind “Penny Lane,’ below.
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Behind the Meaning
“Penny Lane” covers the Beatles’ shared hometown, Liverpool. Songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon give the listener a wealth of detail about their childhood surroundings.
“I like some of the things the Animals try to do, like the song Eric Burdon wrote about places in Newcastle on the flip of one of their hits,” McCartney once explained. “I still want to write a song about the places in Liverpool where I was brought up. Places like The Docker’s Umbrella which is a long tunnel through which the dockers go to work on Merseyside, and Penny Lane near my old home.”
In Penny Lane, there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he’s had the pleasure to know
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say hello
They introduce several characters that seem larger than life, despite presumably being pulled from McCartney and Lennon’s memories. On the corner is a banker with a motorcar / The little children laugh at him behind his back…In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass / And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen, McCartney sings in the verses.
In the chorus, the group reveals how much of Penny Lane remains in their heart despite touring the world. We all need something to hold on to when away from home. This is the Beatles’ tether to their lives before fame.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
Penny Lane
(Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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