A Day in the Life
“I'd love to turn you on”
Lennon-McCartney collaboration closing Sgt. Pepper's: Lennon's news-fragment verses and McCartney's bus-to-school middle eight, joined by two atonal orchestral crescendos and the famous sustained piano chord. The BBC refused to broadcast it, judging the line 'I'd love to turn you on' an encouragement to drug use.
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This song and 'Here Comes the Sun' share the same descending circle-of-fifths chord shape – a structural cousinship across two otherwise unalike songs.
Track13 · Album closer · Side 2 · Side closer
RecordedJanuary 19 – February 22, 1967
ReleasedMay 26, 1967
Song familyPaul is dead'He blew his mind out in a car' read as Paul's crash
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Text322 tags
Word cloud
Recurring words
bedblewcarchangedcountcrowddownstairsfacefellfillflatlaughlightslookingluckymindnoticepeopleratherseensmallsomebodytakesthousandturnwona cara dreama luckyand hadand thoughfill thehe washis facei noticedi wasinto aknow howmade theman whomy headout insaw thethat thethe englishthem allthey'd seenthough theto fillto laughto lookto turnturned awayi saw thein a car
Lyric shape
[NOUN] had[NOUN] was[VERB] before[VERB] had[VERB] out[WORD] was[WORD] wereand [NOUN]how [WORD]they'd [VERB]was [ADV]was [WORD]who [VERB][NOUN] [VERB] and[NOUN] [WORD] and[NOUN] of [NOUN][NOUN] of [WORD][NOUN] who [VERB][VERB] and i[VERB] had [VERB][VERB] how [WORD][VERB] i was[VERB] out in[VERB] out of[VERB] them [WORD][WORD] [NOUN] had[WORD] [WORD] in[WORD] [WORD] it[WORD] in [WORD][WORD] it [VERB][WORD] were [WORD]a [NOUN] [ADV]and [NOUN] [VERB]and [VERB] upand [WORD] thedidn't [VERB] thathad a [NOUN]how [WORD] [WORD]i [VERB] thein a [NOUN]into a [NOUN]it [VERB] tojust [VERB] theof [NOUN] [VERB]out of [NOUN]that the [NOUN]the [NOUN] inthe [NOUN] ofthe [WORD] [ADV]the [WORD] wasto [VERB] the[VERB] a [NOUN] [ADV][VERB] and i [WORD][VERB] out of [NOUN][VERB] the [WORD] [NOUN][VERB] to [VERB] the[WORD] a [ADJ] [NOUN]and [VERB] a [NOUN]and [VERB] my [NOUN]i [VERB] a [NOUN]i [VERB] the [WORD]it [VERB] to [VERB]the [NOUN] of [WORD]the [WORD] [ADV] [WORD]to [VERB] the [WORD]who [VERB] the [NOUN]
Cover-shared shape
[ADJ] and[ADV] i[NOUN] and[NOUN] in[NOUN] of[VERB] a[VERB] and[VERB] his[VERB] how[VERB] i[VERB] my[VERB] that[VERB] the[VERB] them[VERB] to[VERB] up[VERB] you[WORD] a[WORD] and[WORD] in[WORD] it[WORD] thea [ADJ]a [NOUN]a [WORD]and [VERB]and [WORD]didn't [VERB]had [VERB]he [VERB]his [NOUN]i [VERB]i [WORD]i'd [VERB]in [WORD]it [VERB]just [VERB]my [NOUN]of [NOUN]of [WORD]the [NOUN]the [WORD]them [WORD]they [VERB]to [VERB]were [WORD][ADV] i just[ADV] they [VERB][NOUN] and [VERB][NOUN] in [WORD][VERB] a [NOUN][VERB] a [WORD][VERB] and [VERB][VERB] his [NOUN][VERB] my [NOUN][VERB] the [NOUN][VERB] the [WORD][VERB] to [VERB][VERB] up [VERB][VERB] you on[WORD] a [ADJ][WORD] and [VERB][WORD] the [WORD]a [ADJ] [NOUN]a [NOUN] ofand [VERB] afrom the [NOUN]had to [VERB]i [VERB] ai [VERB] ii'd [VERB] toin [WORD] [WORD]my [NOUN] [WORD]my [NOUN] andthe [WORD] [NOUN]to [VERB] themto [VERB] you[VERB] my [NOUN] [WORD][VERB] my [NOUN] and[VERB] to [VERB] youa [NOUN] of [NOUN]he [VERB] his [NOUN]i'd [VERB] to [VERB][VERB] my [NOUN] and [VERB]i'd [VERB] to [VERB] you
Distinctive word
albertarmyblackburnbuscoatcombdraggeddrankgrabbedgradehallhatholeslancashirelordsphotographsecondssmokespokestaredstoodupstairswar
Music207 tags
Chord shape
C → G → D → A → EC → A♭ → E♭C → AC → A♭C → D → AC → DC → GC → BmAm → FC → B♭C → FC → G → DC → F → EmC → EmAm → DmC → Em → AmAm → F → B♭Am → Dm → DmAm → AmC → A♭ → E♭ → B♭C7sus4 → FC → G → E♭C → A → GC → B♭sus2Am → Dm → Dm7C → B♭ → C → GC → B♭ → Dm → GmC → G7sus4C → B♭ → DmAm7 → FAm → Am7Am → F → DC → G → D → AAm → Am → FC → F → E♭
Studio19 tags
People61 tags
Line-up
Info23 tags
Sources & references
Tags on this page are original analysis, transcribed and cross-checked against the fine work of others: Alan W. Pollack's “Notes on…” series, the Beatles Complete Scores (Hal Leonard), Mark Lewisohn's session histories, Ian MacDonald's Revolution in the Head, Dave Rybaczewski's Beatles Music History and Andy Babiuk's Beatles Gear for the instruments and studio equipment, and others besides – then verified by ear against the recordings. Full bibliography: Sources & thanks.
External entity links: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz recording · MusicBrainz work · Wikidata
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