If someone asked me what the greatest rock&roll song of all time was, I wouldn’t be able to pick. But if they kept asking, and you got a serious conversation going, Day Tripper would be in that conversation.
Yes, I acknowledge that this is two loud-and-fast-BritPop Songs of the Day in a row.
It’s worth noting that Day Tripper is musically weird; to start with, there’s a slow backbeat behind the fast rhythms. The chords veer from major into minor and back. And if you talk to people who really care about this kind of stuff you’re apt to hear a lot of “Wow… that tambourine!” (Ringo BTW).
The historical record says this is mostly John-with-some-help-from-Paul, and that there are druggie subtexts. It never made it to the top of the charts, but the song on the other side of the same single, We Can Work It Out, did. Go figure. George Martin’s production stands up well; play it loud, but leave yourself room to dance.
This is part of the Song of the Day series (background).
Links · Amazon, Spotify, iTunes, live video - how about Paul McCartney Live in Tokyo in 2013.
Comment feed for ongoing:
From: Paul Morriss (Jan 16 2018, at 01:30)
Interesting that you call it Brit Pop when in the UK that terms is reserved for a shortish period in the 90s when Blur and Oasis were doing their thing.
My metaphorical ears pricked up when I read the blog title as this was number 1 in the UK when I was born. I wasn't born there, but I've lived there since my early years.
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From: Duncan Hull (Jan 16 2018, at 01:58)
Hi Tim. Britpop? That's a nineties thing, at least according to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britpop . Beatles rip-offs yes, but NOT the Beatles (strictly speaking)
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