Stereosc2pe | Golconda / Lonely people | Rene Magritte / The Beatles, 1953-66
Rene Magritte, Golconda*, 1953
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* The title Golconda was found by his poet friend Louis Scutenaire. Golkonda is a ruined city
in the state of Telangana, India, near Hyderabad, which from the mid-14th century until the
end of the 17th was the capital of two successive kingdoms; the fame it acquired through
being the center of the region’s legendary diamond industry was such that its name remains,
according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “a synonym for ‘mine of wealth’.”
Faboulic…although lonely…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRJxnhxaTk
A string section scored by Beatles producer George Martin consisting of 4 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos were used in recording.
Microphones were placed very close to the instruments to create and unusual sound.
It was not written in a normal chord, it is in the dorian mode – the scale you get when you play one octave up from the second note of a major scale. This is usually found in old songs such as "Scarborough Fair."
"Father Mackenzie" was originally "Father McCartney." Paul decided he didn't want to freak out his dad and picked a name out of the phone book instead
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Paul had the basic story of the lyrics, the general direction it was going, and the first verse, the older woman who "keeps her face in a jar by the door"(very evocative that), the idea of the priest and the church. The theme of loneliness. At first he was going to include an unrequited romance between Eleanor, who worked in the church, and the priest but it was decided that would be too involved. It appears that George Harrison(who helped on the All the lonely people line) and Ringo Starr(who helped on darning the socks) actually had more input lyrically on this song than John Lennon did, who, being put out that Paul had asked other people in the room for their opinions on finishing the lyric, sulked around and made unhelpful suggestions(re: keeping it Father McCartney) which were di-smissed.
Donna, NY
Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door refers to her putting on her brave public face. In other words, she is wearing a mask to hide her sorrows, keeping the world from seeing the real her.
wjs1632
I remember when this song came out that there was a lot of Christian religious fuss about the line "No one was saved." Many were irked that the Beatles were asserting that there is no salvation. I simply assumed that John Lennon stuck in that line to shake people up.
Bob.CA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzwjjIVPaq4
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