Graham Nash on the song that proves there will never be another Beatles
The song by The Beatles opens with a simple acoustic guitar. Little do the people who hear that simple strumming for the first time know that they’re about to witness one of the most imaginative, heartbreaking and wonderful pieces of music ever. ‘A Day In The Life’ is operatic in its execution, with multiple phrases, subject matters and time signatures at play.
The opening verse, which sees John Lennon sing about a story he read in the newspaper, is based on the Guinness heir Tara Browne, who died when he smashed his car into a parked van. Lennon changed the lyrics slightly but admits that he was thinking of Browne when he initially penned the first verse.
“I didn’t copy the accident,” he said. “Tara didn’t blow his mind out. But it was in my mind when I was writing that verse.” Lennon also wrote about potholes and politicians in the song, all of which seem somewhat disconnected but are instead put together in the same way stories within a newspaper are.
Of course, the song’s lyrics aren’t the only thing that makes it unique; there is much more to it than that. The track was recorded in three parts: once with the band, once to do the song’s final note, and once more with a 41-piece orchestra in the back. The orchestra doesn’t just add backing; they create a sense of tension and dread throughout the track, unlike anything the band had tried previously.
It was, of course, a shame to fans in 1966 when The Beatles announced that they would no longer be touring; however, retiring from life on the road meant that they could become more experimental with their music. The ambitious nature of ‘A Day In The Life’ is the perfect example of this, as the band would likely have hesitated to try something so abstract, lengthy and haphazard as this on previous records.
One of the first people to hear the song was David Crosby, who turned up to the studio as it was being edited. His reaction was similar to everybody else’s when he heard the song. He said he couldn’t speak afterwards, stunned into silence by one of the best pieces of music ever made.
One of Crosby’s contemporaries and musical partners, Graham Nash, had a similar reaction when he first heard the song. He said it cemented The Beatles as a once-in-a-lifetime event. “It’s one of the greatest songs ever written. It’s one of the most adventurous songs ever written and recorded,” he said, “I don’t think there’ll ever be another Beatles; I think that the universe put those four kids in the right place at the right time and gave them the right talent, to be able to move the hearts, minds and spirits of billions of people, and continue to this day.”
Nash continued, speaking about how The Beatles are a contradiction of themselves, keeping the melody simple and yet simultaneously coming up with melodies that other artists could only dream of. “Their incredible simplicity and their incredible melodic structure is stunning to this day,” he concluded. “With all due respect, within this western scale of music, there’s what? Twelve notes? Are you kidding me? The Beatles were unbelievable, and I think we all knew it.”
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