The Beatles | Strawberry Fields (Reaction/Analysis) - What Makes It So Special? 

The fact that this was recorded less than 4 years after "I wanna hold your hand" is truly mesmerising.

Anyone who thinks there's a particular type/style of Beatles song doesn't know the Beatles. They always did something different.

After listening to this song for over 50 years it is still as fresh as the first time I heard it. This song was just over three years after "She Loves You". At this point they were absolutely free to do what they wanted in the studio, no questions asked. And they kept setting the bar for everyone else. What did we do to deserve The Beatles?

The drumming on this track is surreal.

I am in awe of Ringo's drumming on this song.

Their music transcends time. They were able to make music of all different sounds and lyrics and they brought in a whole Lotta people that love their difference all these years later the greatest band ever.

The Beatles were amazing. Every song is different.❤

As a 14 yr old when they appeared, you can't imagine the effect they had. Just look at the charts before they arrived.

The Beatles were the most influential band in modern music history! Listen to any bands top hits of the 1960s through 1963, the listen to what the music scene was AFTER the Beatles hit the airwaves! The differences are stunning!

John as a kid always wonder why people walked by the orphanage, strawberry fields, without a care of kids who didn’t have a home and him not having actual parents knew he was lucky cause he had his aunt. The thought of those kids without anyone stuck with him.

I'm 71 and British, so I witnessed first hand the entirety of The Beatles arc, from their early catchy pop songs right through to their later more sophisticated work. They were true innovators throughout, using the latest recording technology of the time and together with George Martin, weaving their music into something approaching magic. I was always confident that their music would last as long as my generation did, but it's becoming clear as I watch young people discovering and raving about them, they might just be timeless.

I listened to the Beatles for years. I never tire of them. They have so much depth.

"who are the beatles?" 😀 I grew up with them, witnessed beatlemania in 1964. So I'm officially old. They were the sound of my childhood.

I doubt you can truly appreciate the huge impact their music had on America at the time. JFK had just died when The Beatles came to America and reinvigorated its youth. They gave us hope that JFK's trust in us would be fulfilled. Too bad our generation let them all down so badly.

Every Beatles album was an event. From 1963 to 1970 a massive flood of creativity all while in their twenties. The voice at the end said "cranberry sauce" but was mistakenly heard to be "I bury Paul" fueling the story that Paul was dead.

Before the Beatles, rock bands and groups usually didnt write their own lyrics. After the Beatles, the number of rock band exploded, and bands/groups writing their own lyrics was in demand.

This song feels like you keep dropping down a level with each new verse

Strawberry fields was an orphanage he grew up next to!! Remember a place you have a memory as a kid?

“Cranberry sauce” at the very end was misinterpreted by fans as “I buried Paul”, one of the many “clues” about Paul’s supposed death.

I was born in 74 and at 5 years old heard my dads Beatles collection and became instantly fascinated by them. No band has ever had such an enormous and influential impact on music and popular culture as what the Beatles had, and probably never will.

More Beatles please!!

I believe it was the most important single to ever be released. One side is a joyful look at the way life had been. The other side is an exploration of the uncertain times to come. So it has one foot in idyllic suburbia, one foot in the unknown, ominous future.

Lucy's comments struck a chord. I first listened to the Sgt Pepper album just after its release, at around 3am after a party, slightly stoned. It was like bathing in a mixture of weirdness and sheer brilliance. Once on the turntable (those were the days) it stayed there, playing on repeat

You should note that this and Penny Lane videos were the first ever made for TV consumption that lead to MTV & the whole music video phenomenon. They simply didn't feel like traveling to make tv appearances to plug songs so they sent out these short films as avatars, lol.

In the last few decades, my appreciation for the MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR album has grown and grown. BABY YOU'RE A RICH MAN has now been a long-time favorite but it has been for these last few decades. Then to have the talking beard trip into the fade-out... du-uh...

There will never be another band like them.They were a perfect storm of talent at a perfect time in history.They were way ahead of their time.

Strawberry Field Forever/ Penny Lane was released in February, 1967 as a double A-side single and is still regarded as the greatest single in history. This song is still as fresh and weird and wonderful now as it was in 1967. A true masterpiece of music and genius on every level. These two songs were the first two recorded for the "Sgt Peppers" project before it was "Peppers" all they knew was that they were the first two songs recorded for their next album. Damn shame that due to corporate greed that these two never made it onto "Pepper". They hadn't released a single in a whole seven months (could you imagine that?) The big wigs at EMI began to pressure their manager Brian Epstein who in turn began to pressure their producer, George Martin for a single, Martin resisted but eventually relented and put them out as a single. He stated years later that the only regret he ever had recording The Beatles was caving to the pressure and releasing that single. There's always this big debate about which is the greatest Lp ever, "Sgt Peppers or their 1966 Lp "Revolver", pretty nice position for a band to be in, wouldn't you agree? If these two are on Pepper then easily Pepper but without them I lean towards "Revolver", it's just so damn quirky, it's all over the map and reeks of pot and LSD. Phenomenal record. Peace ❤❤❤❤

I’ll just echo what everyone else is saying and agree that Ringos drumming makes this song so special..❤❤

"frankensteining the song together" love that!!

The greatest musical act in history.

That voice at the end is John saying "cranberry sauce"!!

Strawberry Fields Forever -- and, astoundingly, the whole mind-blowing Sgt. Pepper album -- was made using only 4-track recorders. Their debut album, which went to #1 almost instantly, was recorded on a 2-track machine, most of it done live in a single day. It wasn't until their final album recording sessions, for Abbey Road, that they had full access to an 8-track system. But with the talent the Beatles had as musicians and composers, and with the skill of producer George Martin and his team, they were doing things no one thought possible, or had even conceived of, with 4-track recording.

As I understand it, which could be very wrong - John said that, this version, in a certain key, just needed to be slowed down and the result would match another version in a lower key - what you need to understand is, there was nothing, other than 1/4 tape, with 4 channels, back then - but, what john said turned out to be right, pretty much, and the 'hands on skill' of the engineers, made it work.

Yeah...What some may not be aware of is this..... Strawberry Fields was recorded twice.... both at different speeds and music styles. Through the recording genius of their recording engineer George Martan, using completely analog recording tricks that he pioneered he created this recording masterpiece... combining both styles and tracks...... that was inspired largely by what the Beatles envision for it It you listen really close you can actually tell how both (music) tracks and styles were combined. It is said that the track on one tape player that had one version was electronically slowed down to match the speed of the other track on the other tape machine....to be combined in a third tape machine All this is what gives this recording its unique, almost surreal sound .

GOAT’s for a reason.I lived that era,being 9 when The Beatles exploded into first the British consciousness then the rest of the world,especially the USA. Wasn’t just a musical influence either,they directly influenced culture and fashion too. As the hippies used to say back then,before the Beatles the world was black and white,then they came and everything was vivid colour from then on. Can’t describe the vibe,you had to be there I guess.

Strawberry Fields was the name of the garden park right next door to John Lennon's aunt Mimi's house. A part of Central Park in NY was christened the same in tribute. The quarrymen, Johnny Silver and the moon dogs, The Silver Beetles, The Silver Beatles, and then just Beatles (Stu Sutcliff, original bassist, named the group) in 1961.

At the end of the song John says "cranberry sauce." The tracks were recorded November 1966--around Thanksgiving Day in the US.

It's dreamy half memories of pleasant times in his childhood. Pieces of phrases that hint but don't clearly state.

That voice at the end: this came out when the Paul is dead thing was hot. Most popular opinion was “I buried Paul.”

John was a lover of wordplay. Any phrase that attracted him, was put into these word jumbles of John. So daring for the 60’s. Still misunderstood today! 😂 peace! ✌🏼

A truly wonderful song

Strawberry Fields forever is a sonic masterpiece, and absolute treat for our ears , for me the greatest song of all time. The Beatles could do anything. The last words you heard was " cranberry sauce" the conspiracy theorist thought it was "I buried Paul"

The voice at the end is John saying, for no particular reason, "Cranberry sauce."

Some people interpreted the words at the end as "I buried Paul' along with the whole "Paul is Dead" conspiracy theory, though some people think "I'm very bored" and sometimes "Cranberry Sauce".

Strawberry Fields was a delapidated park where John Lennon used to play as a child. It belonged on Sgt Peppers album but the record company demanded a single.

As tedious as I sometimes find the online Beatles fanatics, ( I mean, how many times do I wanna watch someone rank their 12 LPs?), I do enjoy hearing people not immersed In the 60s mythology give a fresh listen to things that are Now part of my life at a fundamental level. It makes me hear it in a totally new way and appreciate it. That’s really cool…

And to think these guys were in their twenties when they broke up. I saw them at the Baltimore civic center , I was nine and knew they were special

In the end John says 'I buried Paul'. Meaning his guitar was over Paul's. Became part of the Paul is dead narrative

"The Beatles" kicked the door down and made all that followed possible.

If you listen to Supremes Reflections and Traffic . Hole In My Shoe you can see the influence . It was Motown's 1st stab at Sychodelic soul with Reflections .

"Cranberry Sauce" is what it says at the end of "Strawberry Fields" I had the 33 and 1/3 album and a panasonic turn table that played 33 1/3 records, 45s, and 78s. If you turned the speed up to 45 rpm at the end of Strawberry Fields, sure enough, it sounded like John was saying "I buried Paul.". The Paul is dead story is a whole other conspiracy theory that i dont believe but, i can see how normal people can fall for scams.

"Strawberry Fields" was the name of a boys orphanage near Johns home in Liverpool.

13:07 the name of that dog is Martha,...and MCcartney wrote a song for her in the white album...

I've been listening to this song (repeatedly) since the late 80s and it never gets boring. I think it was the author of Revolution in the Head that talked about the difference between British and US songwriters; the former having a greater inclination, and licence, for less literal more surreal lyrics. I'm not sure Lennon really knew exactly what the song was about.

Hard to recognize but this was before music videos. The beatles were precursors in this area too.

Heads blew up when this was released.

He says cranberry Sauce at the end. Also this was recorded on 4 track.

the reverse drums in this track are mesmerising. its literally the main drum pattern backwards, then placed double tracked backwards and forwards. the genius of being able to hear this being capable at that time, was glorious

People like to say that the Beatles played teen dance music. Yet if you actually listen to the songs, they are generally not dance music. In fact, even the very early songs were not all that danceable. I recall seeing an episode of American Bandstand (q.v.) which had a segment called 'Rate-A-Record'. Teens in attendance at the show would be pulled from the audience and asked for their evaluations of new songs of the day. On one show they reviewed 'Please Please Me', the Beatles first big hit in the UK but as yet unknown in the US at the time. The girl reviewing it said she liked it well enough, but it wasn't very good to dance to, so she gave it a middling rating (The show was really more about dancing, rather than music.) Beatles music was always written in a way that was more for listening than dancing, at least to my ear.

When you think about it. That is the first music video.

You should begin with their first LP. They were ahead of the pack from the outset: their first LP was #1 for 30 weeks, then was replaced at #1 by their second LP, released on November 22, 1963 (the day JFK was assassinated), which was still #1 in January 1964 with their first LP still at #2. "The Beatles" were LARGE , which is 'way bigger than HUGE.

Childhood was a very troubled and confusing time for John Lennon. Psychedelia was about regressing into childhood. The tonal moods and textures capture that ambiguity so well in this unique and remarkable song.

A Genuine Masterpiece.

John's aunt Mimi used to say to him "JOHN LENNON IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN STRAWBERRY FIELDS THEY WILL HANG YOU" So that's were the line "nothing to get hung about" came from.

At the end the voice says "I buried Paul".

The English Sheepdog you see at the end of the video? That is Paul’s dog, Martha… namesake of the song, “Martha My Dear” Paul wrote for the White Album. Nifty tidbit :)

#Fact: At the end of the song you guys can hear barely the Cranberry Sauce twice by John Lennon and Paul Is Dead in the left channel.

A little part at the end sounds like Pink Floyd's See Emily play. x

Best song ever!

On the later topic, that the Beatles just did "what they wanted" - sorry, that is so wide of the mark - the Abbey Road Studio had the facillity to allow the Beatles to expand the envelope into new areas because the people there, on the desks and inoverall control (Georege Martin), had the skills, freedon, time and desire, to solidify, what the guys expressed, into something close enough to make it into reality...

The Beatles split up 1969/70 none of them had reached 30 yrs old, given everything they did up to that point from their first hit in 1962/3 a sum of only 7 years is absolutely astonishing.

Lennon said at the end “I buried Paul” which inspired speculation about whether Paul had really died. On the cover of Abbey Road, the license plate says “32 If.” Lennon sang about what it meant to be human, but his songs were also inspired by random things-a poster, Julian’s artwork, etc. The great thing about the Beatles, too, is they grew musically with each album. They pushed themselves.

I don't care what they say,they are high!

McCartney stated that the ending phrase is " Strawberry Malt ".Many thought it said, " I buried Paul ",so they ran with that inaccuracy for awhile, when some people thought a Paul clone was replacing him because he died. Ridiculous.

The Beatles and George martin were a bunch of genius level people ... especially lennon

They did also spell it beetles and beatals when they first progressed from the Quarrymen to the beatles.. The name was chosen to sort of copy buddy Holly hollys band the crickets.. and early in John's lennons career he had johnny and the rainbows and johnny and the moondogs

Really thoughtful.

Believe Lennon lost his Mom when he was way younger, hence "Mom you had me, I never had you"`Lennon

At this point Lennon and Harrison had started taking LSD. Paul was reluctant to try it so his "Sgt. Pepper's" songs aren't very psychedelic. 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane' were meant to be on that album but the record company wanted another single out. The British psychedelic sound was more about childhood memories, the literature they were exposed to growing up, nostalgia. Listen to songs from that era by Donovan, Traffic and Pink Floyd's 1st album which they recorded down the hall from the Beatles. In the U.S. psychedelic music was more long jams and meandering instrumental solos.

John had a fucked up childhood. But he was also wicked fucking hilarious.

Also, for further proof that the Beatles recorded and released anything they wanted, check out the B-side to their No. 1 hit "Let It Be" -- which was "You Know My Name, Look Up the Number." That's a crazy track!

They started recording the amazing song on November 24th, 1966 and ended on December 22nd, 1966 before and during the Sgt. Pepper's sessions. The song is based on Take 7. New sub guys and greetings from Puerto Rico!

One of the greatest recordings in history. The other is their single "Please Please Me".

John actually liked the first half of one take - and the second half of another take... and just told George Martin that's what he wanted... so go find a way to make it work. Martin eventually was able to slow down one take and speed up the other take - to make them fit together. The fans never even knew that part of the story for years... that is how seemlessly he was able to put the two different takes together.

Sgt peppers was the beatles attempt to release what Frank Zappa did with Freak Out.

More Beatles please great réaction

my fave Beatles song! ♥

The lyric is exciting, thrilling, wonderful.

These guys have so many musical firsts. Backwards, doubling, on and on. They have many different plateaus during their short time frame. How influential? how about four consecutive months at no. 1, with four different songs. and they had multiple no. 1s every year they existed.

About the man in the leather jacket - for a person who doesn't have any background on the greatest most influential ACT ever - your comments were some of the, if not the, best articulation I have heard on the group and this song EVER!

Yes, Ween, what a cool unique band like the Beatles in that way. White Pepper has some strong Beatle vibes to my ear, and probably their most serious and cohesive album.

More beatles pls

I am the Walrus is my favorite psychedelic BeaTles song

After wondering if this was going to be another depressingly ignorant Beatles diss session, I enjoyed your review of this classic piece of pioneering psychedelia. Yes, definitely more sonic scientists than tele-tubbies...! 😀 That chirpy 'boy band' label some have tried to attach to them, and then denigrate them with, is so far from the truth of that creative powerhouse that was the collective talents and imagination of the Beatles, it's crazy. Sure they had management in their early recording career that scrubbed them up and made them superficialy respectable enough to infiltrate the mainstream, and sure, they started off working within the idiom of 50s and early 60s popular music; but even back then, the musical, social and cultural impact of their energy, originality, diversity and evolving musicality when their first little pop/beat ditties hit the UK charts, followed (in order) by Europe, the US, and the rest of the world, simply can't be overstated. If you'd like to be further initiated into the mysterious Beatles cult (hilarious comment!) and finally dispel the happy, bouncy little 'tele-tubbies' myth I'd warmly recommend - if you haven't already - you give a listen to: Tomorrow Never Knows A Day in the Life Helter Skelter I Want You (She's So Heavy) Oh Darling - and, just for fun - 1 after 909 - an early teenage composition showing their simpler rock'n'roll roots, imitating their own heroes of that genre. Those last two I'd recommend you watch live from their famous final Rooftop Concert. Listen carefully to A Day in the Life perhaps before watching the video, which can be a bit distracting, since there's so much going on in it that's quite interesting (lots of famous faces and psychedelic weirdness) but doesn't have all that much to do with the song. Saccharine myths dispelled, their sweeter, gentler/ more sensitive songs are also well worth a listen.. for example: And I Love Her Blackbird In My Life Because Here Comes the Sun And, sometime, lie back and listen to the whole of Abbey Road, or at least the medley from Side Two (make sure it's the original album version). It was their final collective recorded offering to the world, and - in my humble opinion, at least - it's their masterwork.

This isn't "psychedelic": it's about John's childhood. He called it "psychological autobiography". Lennon was writing like this as a kid. The "A"-side was Paul's childhood song "Penny Lane".

The voice at the end of Strawberry Fields was one of the "proofs" that Paul had died. We all thought John was saying, "I buried Paul." But in reality, he was saying, "I'm very bored." Or at least that's what we think.😏

The Beatles are like if the backstreet boys became Mozart in only a few years.

In regard to their experimental/innovative side... when they started out, they were given ONE DAY to record the 10 songs they needed for their first album (they already had 4 tracks from their two single releases) and it topped the UK charts for 30 weeks. The next album they might have had around 3 or 4 hours per session to record a new song - and that LP topped the charts for another 20 weeks. By 1964 they had become global stars with every release selling millions of copies and topping charts around the world. They got a bit more time in the studio, maybe taking a whole day to record a song. By the time 1966 came around, they had made so much money for EMI that they could take WAY more time to experiment with all sorts of new ideas, new sounds, new instruments, new recording techniques, etc. And the "Revolver" album was the result. At this point... they could have any time they wanted in the studio - to do pretty much anything they wanted to try. And the "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields" single - and then the "Sgt. Pepper" album was the result. From 1966 on... they basically became free to be as adventurous as they wanted to be - and go after anything they wanted to try. What they came up with was always fresh, new, surprising, wonderful and amazing. The Beatles made it possible for all bands that came after them... to have a much more open mind about what was possible to achieve in a recording studio.

They slowed down the one version and sped up the other and presto you have the finished record. Also at the end John repeats the phrase, Cranberry Sauce! Next you should lend an ear to Tomorrow Never Knows. There was nothing like it in recorded history back in 1966.

that was fun, thanks! btw, Govan rhymes with “lovin’”.