In 1965 the Beatles were working on their album Rubber Soul. It included the song “Girl”, which many people did not understand the meaning of. It is for this reason that the work takes only 62 positions in the ranking of the most popular songs of the Beatles. Despite the lack of high ratings for the song, it is still considered a hit and is liked by many fans. In particular, because of the unusual atmosphere of the song and its deep and complex meaning. The Beatles have repeatedly talked about the meaning of different lines of their work. They gave analogues and described in detail the meaning of each word. The song has a deep and interesting meaning, which is worth understanding for every fan of the group.
History of creation
The Beatles recorded the song “Girl” on November 11, 1965. That day the band was in the final stages of writing their album “Rubber Soul”. Interestingly, the main music track was recorded after only a few tries. The band did it very quickly, which surprised both the members and the others who were present during the recording. They then recorded a couple of separate parts, including a guitar track played by Harrison. Unfortunately, in the final version of the song, it was decided to abandon his part. There was a simple reason for this decision: the fuzzy guitar didn’t fit very well and created a completely different atmosphere than the Beatles wanted to end up with.
The song “Girl” was written mainly by John Lennon. Only a few lines were written by Paul McCartney in September 1963, when he was on vacation in Greece. The piece is dominated by acoustic instruments and has many beautiful vocal harmonies. This song meant a lot to the whole group, they put their soul, their dreams and experiences into it. It is worth noting that the song “Girl” has similarities with another song by The Beatles “Michelle”. This has to do with both the meaning of the songs and their musical accompaniment.
The meaning of the song
The song “Girl” by the Beatles is about a dream girl. The narrator sings about falling in love with “the same girl” that many seek throughout their lives. The girl is full of pride, indifference and ambition, but the man from the song still cannot imagine life without her. According to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, namely they became the authors of the song “Girl”, the girl has no real prototype. This person is fictional, she is created from bits of imagination and dreams. In the lines of the work, the theme of strict Catholic rules is touched upon. Dogmas that you need to suffer all your life, then to find peace and forgiveness in the Gardens of Eden. Specifically, the song is about pleasure through pain, and this feature is inherent in catalytic faith. Lennon noted that the lines about pain through pleasure make sense, however, he himself did not believe in forgiveness through suffering. He said that sometimes in life it just happens that a person suffers, and this does not mean at all that Heaven awaits him after death.
Interpretation of the lyrics
The song begins with a verse that John Lennon sings alone. The first line is “Is there anybody going to listen to my story. All about the girl who came to stay?” tells about a visiting girl. It is worth noting that if the song “Michelle” was more about a romantic French girl. Very airy, beautiful in its simplicity, then already in the song “Girl” the influence of Germany slips more. Everything is no longer so easy and sincere, notes of restraint will appear in the future, both in the lines of the song and in the musical accompaniment.
The next line in the first verse will be “She’s the kind of girl you want so much, it makes you sorry. Still, you don’t regret a single day.” In it, the Beatles wanted to point out the character of the girl from the song. They tried to say that this is the very person that every man is looking for all his life. This is a fatal, proud and inaccessible woman, but she is so charming that a man forgets about his own pride.
The song is followed by a chorus sung by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and John Harrison. They sing: “Ah, girl. Girl, girl”, at this moment you can hear how they draw air into their chest, showing what burning pain this fatal stranger from fantasy causes them. There is also a version that this sound is a puff of marijuana. This interpretation has justification, because at the time of writing the song, the group was strongly addicted to smoking weed.
The third verse is again performed by John Lennon alone. In the lines “Was she told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure?” and subsequent ones, Lennon wanted to convey his attitude to the Catholic precepts of the church. He despised the dogmas that one must suffer all one’s life for a reward after death. John believed that you just need to try to achieve something, do not rely on the mercy of God, and do not count on forgiveness in Heaven.
