Helter skelter is or was used to describe also a chaotic situation (e.g. everything's gone a bit helter skelter). So in the song they are also describing a chaotic relationship with lots of ups and downs. It's dual meaning.
Please post more of these. As a UK native and Beatles fan I just take these words and phrases for granted so it's fascinating to hear them explained for non-UK English speakers.
A great and original idea, pointing out the typical British phrases - or phrases taken from those times and newspapers - in Beatles songs which may be a complete mystery to many today. Well done and keep going! There are many more!!
Great video. Thanks to The Beatles I began to learn English when I was a little girl. Just to understand their lyrics. And now, so many years after that, I still love them. I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
5:11 The Plastic Macs is also a friendly reference to John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. Incidentally, it was apparently upon hearing ”Coming Up” that John Lennon decided he wanted to start making music again after a five-year hiatus.
Good Show Mate. Being From Canada; Having Been To Britain, Some British Family, Exposure To The Elements, I Knew These References... There Was A Time When I Didn't Though! Cheers, ☮🤍🎹🪲🪲🪲🪲🌎
The original reason poppies were adopted as a symbol for war veterans is that in the muddy, barren fields of Flanders that had been laid waste by conflict in WWI, where so many soldiers lay dead, thousands of beautiful wild red poppies sprang up around them, almost as if nourished and coloured by the soldiers' blood. A symbol of respect for the dead, new life, and hope for peace in the future.
Nice video. I lived in England for a few years in the late 70s. For me, Jethro Tull was another groups whose lyrics made much more sense once I learned the British meaning. From Aqualung, for example, he "bends to pick a dog end," which to a Yank sounds like something bordering on bestiality! For those unfamiliar, it means stooping to pick up a discarded cigarette butt.
I have an English mother and an American father and now live in Prague teaching English. I very often translate expressions between British and American English and my students enjoy it.
7:26 - The 'watusi' /from RNo9/ references to the dance beacause Harrison says: 'The watusi... the twist...' (Unless he thinks of the tribe and then of some twist, turn, rotation...) BTW, very informative video, thanx!
Charles Hawtrey (1914 - 1988), who acted in the “Carry On” series, took his stage-name from the original, unrelated Sir Charles Hawtrey (1858 - 1923), who was the leading comic actor of his day, as well as a successful director, manager and producer. We cannot be sure, I submit, which Charles Hawtrey John Lennon referenced.
I first heard the words "helter skelter" in about 1962--when I was quite young. They were in a childrens' story and implied something happened to a group of people or things and they all fell down helter skelter--which I took as disorder. Never encountered it in any other context. Then came The Beatles.
Indeed - the 'four of fish' just means 4 shillings' worth of fish from the fish n chip shop, which Paul cleverly blends into something that sounds like 'fish fingers' - a popular convenience food - to blur over the fact that it's actually "Four of fish... AND finger pie in summer" the pie bit being the naughty adolescent slang!
@@papercup2517 It's actually ' _for a fish and finger pie_ ' which is slang for a sexual behaviour involving exploring digitally, a female body cavity ...is as politely, yet accurately as I can explain it.
I think it originates from the very old habit to cover the eyes of the diseased to: a) ward off evil or B) pay Charon the ferryman who brings the dead across the river Styx in Greek mythologie
No a sack made from hessian. Hessian (UK: /ˈhɛsiən/, US: /ˈhɛʃən/[1]), burlap in North America,[2] or crocus in Jamaica[3] and the wider Caribbean, is a woven fabric made of vegetable fibres, usually the skin of the jute plant[4][5][6] or sisal leaves.[7] It is generally used (in the crude tow form known as gunny) for duties of rough handling, such as making sacks employed to ship farm products and to act as covers for sandbags (although woven plastics now often serve these purposes), and for wrapping tree-root balls.[8][9] However, this dense woven fabric, historically coarse, more recently[when?] is being produced in a refined state, known simply as jute, as an eco-friendly material for bags, rugs, and other products.
As a kid it never occurred to me that anyone wouldn't understand The Beatles' lyrics. But I remember hearing American songs of the time and wondering what they meant. I mean, just what was a little deuce coupe or a t-bird? Why did boys give girls their ring? What was a drive-in? All these strange things in American culture!
I thought the pretty nurse selling poppies from a tray meant opium based drugs such as heroin.When the watusi first became a popular dance,I commented to my brother I wondered how much that dance resemblance to the dancing the eponymous tribe.His answer was little if any.
I'm British so i just read all the way through the lyrics. I didn't see any "British phrases" in there. Practically every line is nonsense even to us. About the only thing I may be able to shed some light on is that the word "fishwife" generally means an argumentative woman. I think "crabalocker" is just a nonsense word. So a "crabalocker fishwife" doesn't mean anything either. It's just gibberish. I believe you get cornflakes over there too. So you know what they are. Nobody over here had heard the phrase "sitting on a cornflake" until this song came out. It's just another nonsense phrase. Another song that mentions cornflakes was Simon Garfunkles Punky's Dilemma. I always associate the two songs even though they're completely unconnected. (except for both mentioning cornflakes) :)
The use of the phrase 'plastic Mac' as in "I see right through your plastic Mac" in the Who's song 'Substitute' has provided fodder for the Paul is Dead conspiracy enthusiasts, who insist it 'proves' the song was about 'outing' Paul as a 'substitute' for the real Paul, who they claim died... as usual with these amateur sleuths, they either ignore or are simply unaware of the obvious, far more humdrum explanation.
Helter skelter is or was used to describe also a chaotic situation (e.g. everything's gone a bit helter skelter). So in the song they are also describing a chaotic relationship with lots of ups and downs. It's dual meaning.
I agree, but the Ride is new to this American. Thank you!
Please post more of these. As a UK native and Beatles fan I just take these words and phrases for granted so it's fascinating to hear them explained for non-UK English speakers.
Thanks for watching, I'm considering do a separate video explaining more general sayings rather than concentrating on Beatles lyric.
A great and original idea, pointing out the typical British phrases - or phrases taken from those times and newspapers - in Beatles songs which may be a complete mystery to many today. Well done and keep going! There are many more!!
Thank you for the kind words, and thanks for watching.
Great video. Thanks to The Beatles I began to learn English when I was a little girl. Just to understand their lyrics. And now, so many years after that, I still love them. I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it.
5:11 The Plastic Macs is also a friendly reference to John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. Incidentally, it was apparently upon hearing ”Coming Up” that John Lennon decided he wanted to start making music again after a five-year hiatus.
As an Aussie, an Anglophile, and a life-long Beatles fan, I loved this videa. Very interesting. Thank you 😊
"Have you got a light, mac?"
"No, but I got a dark brown overcoat..."
🙂
I have been listening to The Beatles since the 1980s and only now get the meaning of some of their lyrics!!
Good Show Mate. Being From Canada; Having Been To Britain, Some British Family, Exposure To The Elements, I Knew These References... There Was A Time When I Didn't Though! Cheers, ☮🤍🎹🪲🪲🪲🪲🌎
The original reason poppies were adopted as a symbol for war veterans is that in the muddy, barren fields of Flanders that had been laid waste by conflict in WWI, where so many soldiers lay dead, thousands of beautiful wild red poppies sprang up around them, almost as if nourished and coloured by the soldiers' blood. A symbol of respect for the dead, new life, and hope for peace in the future.
…as immortalised in the poem ”In Flanders Fields”.
@@TheJonathanNewton Exactly! Thank you.
Nice video. I lived in England for a few years in the late 70s. For me, Jethro Tull was another groups whose lyrics made much more sense once I learned the British meaning. From Aqualung, for example, he "bends to pick a dog end," which to a Yank sounds like something bordering on bestiality! For those unfamiliar, it means stooping to pick up a discarded cigarette butt.
I have an English mother and an American father and now live in Prague teaching English. I very often translate expressions between British and American English and my students enjoy it.
7:26 - The 'watusi' /from RNo9/ references to the dance beacause Harrison says: 'The watusi... the twist...' (Unless he thinks of the tribe and then of some twist, turn, rotation...)
BTW, very informative video, thanx!
Charles Hawtrey (1914 - 1988), who acted in the “Carry On” series, took his stage-name from the original, unrelated Sir Charles Hawtrey (1858 - 1923), who was the leading comic actor of his day, as well as a successful director, manager and producer.
We cannot be sure, I submit, which Charles Hawtrey John Lennon referenced.
Growing up, I always thought that "pretty nurse" in Penny Lane was "prettiness" because of the non rhotic R.
I first heard the words "helter skelter" in about 1962--when I was quite young. They were in a childrens' story and implied something happened to a group of people or things and they all fell down helter skelter--which I took as disorder. Never encountered it in any other context. Then came The Beatles.
I first heard Helter Skelter due to Charles Manson
In ^penny Lane * the lyrics contain Liverpool adolescent sexual slang.
Indeed - the 'four of fish' just means 4 shillings' worth of fish from the fish n chip shop, which Paul cleverly blends into something that sounds like 'fish fingers' - a popular convenience food - to blur over the fact that it's actually "Four of fish... AND finger pie in summer" the pie bit being the naughty adolescent slang!
I have read somewhere that a ‘fish and fingerpie’ meant that you fingered a girl 🙊🙈🙉
@@papercup2517
It's actually ' _for a fish and finger pie_ ' which is slang for a sexual behaviour involving exploring digitally, a female body cavity ...is as politely, yet accurately as I can explain it.
@@brigidsingleton1596 fingering.
The Beatles called the big speakerboxes ‘deafaids’
Matt Busby , Jock Stein and Bill Shankly were all born within about 25 miles of each other in the West of Scotland.
In Taxman, The line "declare the pennies on your eyes" is an interesting story but I don't know if it is typically british.
I think it originates from the very old habit to cover the eyes of the diseased to: a) ward off evil or B) pay Charon the ferryman who brings the dead across the river Styx in Greek mythologie
I had a friend tell me fish and finger pie didn't mean seafood when the song came out.
Good stuff! A hessian sack??? Some kind of pillow?
No a sack made from hessian.
Hessian (UK: /ˈhɛsiən/, US: /ˈhɛʃən/[1]), burlap in North America,[2] or crocus in Jamaica[3] and the wider Caribbean, is a woven fabric made of vegetable fibres, usually the skin of the jute plant[4][5][6] or sisal leaves.[7] It is generally used (in the crude tow form known as gunny) for duties of rough handling, such as making sacks employed to ship farm products and to act as covers for sandbags (although woven plastics now often serve these purposes), and for wrapping tree-root balls.[8][9] However, this dense woven fabric, historically coarse, more recently[when?] is being produced in a refined state, known simply as jute, as an eco-friendly material for bags, rugs, and other products.
A "Deaf Aid" is a hearing aid. 😀
As a kid it never occurred to me that anyone wouldn't understand The Beatles' lyrics. But I remember hearing American songs of the time and wondering what they meant. I mean, just what was a little deuce coupe or a t-bird? Why did boys give girls their ring? What was a drive-in? All these strange things in American culture!
As a non native speaker, this is more than helpful, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching. I do plan on doing more, there is another one if you have not watched it yet.
"Helter skelter" can be found in Don McLean's American Pie. He ain't British, is he?
IIRC, he was referencing the Beatles' Helter Skelter and Charles Manson.
I thought the pretty nurse selling poppies from a tray meant opium based drugs such as heroin.When the watusi first became a popular dance,I commented to my brother I wondered how much that dance resemblance to the dancing the eponymous tribe.His answer was little if any.
I heard "I am The Walrus" was deliberately written by John as nonsense. However are there British phrases in that song that we non British don't know?
I'm British so i just read all the way through the lyrics. I didn't see any "British phrases" in there. Practically every line is nonsense even to us. About the only thing I may be able to shed some light on is that the word "fishwife" generally means an argumentative woman. I think "crabalocker" is just a nonsense word. So a "crabalocker fishwife" doesn't mean anything either. It's just gibberish.
I believe you get cornflakes over there too. So you know what they are. Nobody over here had heard the phrase "sitting on a cornflake" until this song came out. It's just another nonsense phrase. Another song that mentions cornflakes was Simon Garfunkles Punky's Dilemma. I always associate the two songs even though they're completely unconnected. (except for both mentioning cornflakes) :)
@@KenFullman thank you for that thorough explanation. 👍
The use of the phrase 'plastic Mac' as in "I see right through your plastic Mac" in the Who's song 'Substitute' has provided fodder for the Paul is Dead conspiracy enthusiasts, who insist it 'proves' the song was about 'outing' Paul as a 'substitute' for the real Paul, who they claim died... as usual with these amateur sleuths, they either ignore or are simply unaware of the obvious, far more humdrum explanation.
miodzio
It's _not_ "a fish finger pie"
It's 'a fish and finger pie'
(& is a sexual reference)
Those are English phrases.
In the Philippines, the "watusi" is a firecracker.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watusi_(firework)