Is there a subject for a song that Beatles never covered? They sang about Lady Madonna, Nowhere Man, Fool on the Hill, and This Boy. They composed songs about Lovely Rita, Michelle, Eleanor Rigby, and a Day in the Life. Their guitars wept, and the mighty foursome rolled over Beethoven while the crowds of their fans twisted and shouted in ecstasy.
Have we realised, though, how many songs Beatles had written about driving or riding (flying and sailing) different vehicles? No, it is not just the famous Drive My Car. For all you Beatlomaniacs out there, this is a recap of Beatles songs on the subject of driving.
1. Back in the USSR. A very quick commemoration of the fact that, to get to the (now former) USSR, one needed to take a plane. “Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC… On the way the paper bag was on my knee, Man I had a dreadful flight”. You still need to take a plane to go to Russia from Miami. We hope the quality of flights has improved, though.
2. Penny Lane. Under the blue suburban skies there once were “a banker with a motorcar” and a fireman who liked “to keep his fire engine clean”. Oh yes, there were also a barber and a nurse, but apparently they had no memorable vehicles to them.
3. A Day in the Life. In the middle of the song John Lennon’s character “made the bus in seconds flat”. Before that, though, the character got to see a film and to read a story. The story from the newspaper was rather gruesome. It was about a man “who made the grade”: “he blew his mind out in a car. He didn’t notice that the lights had changed”. Next time you decide to speed up, remember this song.
4. Lovely Rita. Not sure Paul or John would be particularly impressed by the modern meter maids, especially since so many of them are guys and not really approachable either. But back in 1960s it was so much more different. Even though a girl looked “like a military man”, she agreed to a dinner, paid the bill (!), and even brought the guy home to sit on a sofa “with a sister or two”. This is when you begin to regret the passage of time.
5. Ticket to Ride. The song is packed with motion verbs: “the girl that’s driving me mad is going away, she’s got a ticket to ride”. It doesn’t get better than this…
6. Day Tripper…. unless you consider the phraseology of this song. If you are unaware of “day tripper” as the reference to drug addiction, then the song is a story of a carefree girl who nearly drove the guy mad (and then took a ticket for a Sunday drive). If you know about the other meaning of being a day tripper, then there is evidently much more to the song.
7. Yellow Submarine. This is a story about inspiration: “a man who sailed to sea” told “about his life in the land of submarines” with such gusto that a whole neighbourhood migrated below the waves. And they had all they needed on their yellow submarine. Oh, and an Octopus’s Garden in the vicinity.
8. Taxman. The list of songs about driving and riding would be incomplete without the mention of the notorious taxman. “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street… if you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet”. So true, so true.
9. Honey Pie. The song’s protagonist was urging his sweetheart to “sail across the Atlantic”, otherwise his position was to get more and more frantic. “Will the wind that blew her boat across the sea kindly sends her sailing back to me?” OK, the Atlantic is actually an ocean… but you could still do with coming back, honey pie.
10. Drive My Car. By far, the most car-related and car-focused Beatles song. A very humorous one, as well. Never mind your own prospects, boy, if you can drive my car, you are in for a fortune. OK, not before I am really famous and with a car, but “I found the driver, that’s a start!”
The image of John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V is courtesy of Beatlemania.ca. The article by John Whelan about the car.