The Yellow Submarine is the psychedelic and unconventional soundtrack to the Beatles’ animated TV special “The Adventures of Yellow Submarine.” It was composed by George Martin, who also composed the score for their classic album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
This is a story about the creation of the yellow submarine and how the Beatles came to have it. The story starts when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were all in an art school together. They thought they would all work on an artwork together to create something great. However, when they had finished their artworks they felt that they were not good enough so they started working on new ideas together.
Contents
What is Yellow Submarine
Yellow submarine is a fictional boat from the song of same name in Help! by The Beatles. It was animated for television purposes, and made iconic with fans worldwide as one of their most cherished songs as well as being featured on albums and compilation releases over several decades.
The original version said “Ring ring… it’s me” instead of “We’re all going on holiday,” but included numerous other alterations to its lyrics besides that . This film is followed by another feature, Yellow Submarine: The Motion Picture.
Meaning Of The Movie Yellow Submarine
In the introduction, there is a brief description of what new-age music and culture was being introduced to America from 1967 onwards.
Here are some of the original lyrics of “Yellow Submarine”: This color image was scanned from a 35mm black-and-white copy issued with this DVD in its 5×2 box set which also included bonus copies of other Beatles television programs including Magical Mystery Tour and , as well as a poster promoting this program’s American premiere on November 9, 1969 at the start of a major concert tour by The Beatles .
The film was one in a series of productions produced for British television created mainly to promote the emerging interest and success from the early 1960s, which included paintings carrying messages parodying pop icons such as Beatlemania.
Beginning Of The Movie
A preview version shown on ITV about six weeks before its UK premiere left viewers confused due to it including too little footage; therefore much more studio-style filming for the finished product.
The Beatles themselves were not involved in the original conception or production of the animated film, but handed over administrative and creative control to their company HandMade Films once it had been completed.
The story is set in an alternate reality where the colors black, white, and pink exist side-by-side as well as several other shades such as light blue; these being places that represent different emotions or aspects of life such as Adventure , Love and Intelligence.
In the book Yellow Submarine by Jonathan Abrams, it was described as “the coolest thing that… most of America had ever heard.”
For example; The Beatles released their ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ movie in which they talked about hippies through various jokes that gave listeners some background on this subculture; however Yellow Submarine did so much better as it predated its release by three years giving viewers a true sense of who graphic artists Inky , the Walrus was singing about.
Climax Of The Movie
The Beatles also described this new form of art and sound as another part of their expanding social message in which all forms were equally acceptable; such being drugs, homosexuality or even just protest songs amongst other things i.e.”Revolution”.
The animated film accurately depicted hippies using psychedelic colors, graphics and instruments that incorporated progressive rock with blues influences combined together creating an amazing experience for music fans back then who surely would
have related to the story.
Themes of the movie Yellow Submarine include music, love and identity; amongst other topics such as personal freedom and change. Subsequent films in this series paralleled what was going on in society during their respective production periods which is why there is a correlation between The Beatles’ 1967 release of ‘Yellow Submarine’ and 1975’s ‘Love You To’.
As a whole, Yellow Submarine has become the most significant of all animated films by The Beatles which truly brings out Beatlemania throughout the film which is why very few people today are aware that it was in fact an album-length music video.
From its color palettes used (elements such as yellow, green and blue) to performance artists acting like they were getting high on drugs; It’s no surprise then that this special edition of the 60’s cartoon of The Beatles Yellow Submarine helped to make a statement that rocked music and society as we knew it.
Ending Of the Movie Yellow Submarine
At the end of the movie The Beatles’ song ‘Yellow Submarine’, which was written by John Lennon and is performed by Starr & two other voices, fades out abruptly after one verse before fading (with soft ‘crumpled paper’ sounds) into a static-filled background providing an ending that appeared to be pointing towards a change in fashion.
It’s interesting therefore if you observe it properly and indeed many did including McCartney himself who has said that he had no idea what the ending meant until much later.
It’s safe to say that many of longtime Beatles fans would have related easily and found humour in the story, not least because it was released during a time when Beatlemania was at its peak.
According to countless Beatles fans and historians, the ending on Yellow Submarine was actually making fun of its own creation by mocking itself as it had become irrelevant at that point.
In other words only a dedicated fan would have noticed or understand what Lennon was trying to do with his work here; Having said that most Beatlemaniacs are still unaware this is much like not knowing about The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour.
It is interesting that The Rolling Stones also made a notable film/TV version of their song ‘Sympathy For the Devil’ (which was appeared on their album Their Satanic Majesties Request) not too long before this. And of course fans will be aware that Ringo Starr acted in and even contributed to the music for George Harrison’s experimental animated movie, Life Of Brian.
When Yellow Submarine was first released it sparked off a controversy, but not because of the ending; The real uproar was that it had won an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
It’s claimed from various Beatles magazines and books however by Richard Lester himself and others associated with it whom knew more about that time period than to know other people would be surprised over its creation whereas many music executives did know what this endearing surrealism meant to the band, their loyal fans and to Lester in particular – this ending has a far more personal meaning.
Paul McCartney who was not involved with its creation said of it; “I liked the ending when I saw it for the first time”. Rumours started circulating after the release of Yellow Submarine that Lennon had intended for all six Beatles to appear as passengers on board The Submarine but Starr refused and was only persuaded after much persuasion by the others that he wouldn’t get much work out of turning it down. Either way, apparently this never came about.
Rumours circulated after McCartney’s death that he had sung backup vocals on one of Starr’s tracks in The Beatles but this was denied by any band member present at the time, including Starr himself.
Conclusion
The Yellow Submarine is a song written by Paul McCartney and George Harrison for the Beatles’ 1967 album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. It is often considered to be one of the best songs on the album, and has been called one of the most important songs in pop music history.
FAQ
What Does “Yellow Submarine” Mean?
It is a rather obscure analogy. Go here for more information: yellow submarine article from Time Magazine .
Why Is It Called “Yellow Submarine”?
Because it sounds like the song is about a submarine. Everyone in London and America knew about “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” but what was so special? It was Album I of legendary Lennon/McCartney partnership, by all accounts conceived from beginning to end as collaborative effort between the two creatives legends indeed who drew upon each other most creatively throughout their joint career.
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