The 1965 Beatles’ Hit “In My Life” Was Based On A Bus Trip From John Lennon’s Childhood
The beautiful and iconic “In My Life” was the first time John Lennon got up the courage to write about his own life in a Beatles song.
Originally, John Lennon wrote a long poem detailing a bus route he would take in his hometown of Liverpool, England The stops along the way included places that he remembered from his childhood, like Penny Lane and the mansion Strawberry Field.
John Lennon – The #Beatles via @jojmacca pic.twitter.com/WEFiT7ft9q
— Beatles Archive (@BeatlesArchive2) October 3, 2019
It’s interesting to note that during the recording session John Lennon wasn’t sure what sort of piano melody he wanted to be included, so he asked the band’s producer George Martin to play “something Baroque-sounding.” The result was a lovely piano solo that sounded straight out of Johannes Sebastian Bach.
John Lennon was particularly proud of “In My Life.” He called the song his “first real major piece of work,” since it was the first song he wrote about his own life. This tradition would continue with songs such as “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “The Ballad of John and Yoko.”
Youtube commenter reminisced about the song: “I still remember this song being played on the radio the night John was killed. It was the BEST song to play that night to remember an extraordinary person and very gifted musician and songwriter who had his life suddenly and tragically ended at such a young age.”
