This week's song has been in my head for the simple reason that, on Thursday, I'm 'leaving home' for two months. Not off to some handsome young paramour (sadly!) but off to a country I love with a passion - America. Traversing the nation seeing friends and doing volunteer work will be such a great experience I'm sure, but fear not dear readers as I'm going armed with my laptop and my music collection on a back up drive so I'll never be far from the net or from the music!
'She's Leaving Home' by The Beatles appears on their album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and was the first track not to be arranged by George Martin.
Inspired by a story in the Daily Mail about a teenager, Melanie Coe, who had disappeared one night aged 17 the actual lyrics of the song were not based on any facts - though later Melanie said that it hadn't been too far from the truth.
The lyrics are written from the perspective of the parents unable to understand why their young daughter would just up and leave. At the time the song was written young girls, like Melanie, running off and leaving with men they'd fallen for was fairly common place as it was a period of time where young people were beginning to feel more liberated and the old traditions of staying at home til you were married were becoming less relevant to the younger generation.
For me it's always been one of the Beatles songs that I've loved as, even as a young child, I could picture the song in my mind. I could see the visual interpretation like a movie in my head. I still feel it's one of the most 'visual' songs they ever recorded.
As for me, I'm looking forward to my adventure and I hope you enjoy this week's song! See you Stateside!
The Beatles - She's Leaving Home
Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins
Silently closing their bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She goes downstairs to the kitchen clutching her handkerchief
Quietly turning the backdoor key
Stepping outside she is free.
She (We gave her most of our lives)
is leaving (Sacrificed most of our lives)
home (We gave her everything money could buy)
She's leaving home after living alone
For so many years. Bye, bye
Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Picks up the letter that's lying there
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
She breaks down and cries to her husband Daddy our baby's gone
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly
How could she do this to me.
She (We never thought of ourselves)
is leaving (Never a thought for ourselves)
home (We struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She's leaving home after living alone
For so many years. Bye, bye
Friday morning at nine o'clock she is far away
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
Meeting a man from the motor trade.
She (What did we do that was wrong)
is having (We didn't know it was wrong)
fun (Fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
Something inside that was always denied
For so many years. Bye, bye
She's leaving home. Bye, bye
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