Meaningful songs #18 - THE BEATLES

This is the eighteenth in an occasional series of songs from my collection, with the intent of introducing music to younger readers that they may gain appreciation of music from the classic years, 1957-1990. 

I have lived long enough to hear the "popular" music industry become ever-more formulaic, lazy, uninspiring and cynical; delivering "units" and "artistes" as interesting and memorable as polished mud.

Meaningful songs that eloquently convey a story, sentiment, or social comment and make it to national consciousness are rare these days. If you agree this song is meaningful, please introduce it to someone young; they might enjoy becoming "musical archaeologists".

Todays song, titled "She's Leaving Home", released in 1967, by a group called THE BEATLES.

This album contains the song

This song is a story and a lamentation, by the parents, of the departure of their "baby" who is running off and away from their perfunctory care, with (possibly) little loving interaction during her life. The child's emotional loneliness within the family unit is being relieved, for her, by running to her "man in the motor trade". Loving your kids is important above all else.  To read about this song start here or here or here.

SHE'S LEAVING HOME
    
Wednesday morning at five o'clock
As the day begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more

  

She goes downstairs to the kitchen

Clutching her handkerchief

Quietly turning the backdoor key

Stepping outside, she is free

  

She (we gave her most of our lives)

Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives)

Home (we gave her everything money could buy)

She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years (bye)

  

Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown

Picks up the letter that's lying there

Standing alone at the top of the stairs

She breaks down and cries to her husband

"Daddy, our baby's gone"

"Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?"

 "How could she do this to me?"

  

She (we never thought of ourselves)

Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves)

Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by)

She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years

  

Friday morning, at nine o'clock

She is far away

Waiting to keep the appointment she made

Meeting a man from the motor trade

  

She (what did we do that was wrong)

Is having (we didn't know it was wrong)

Fun (fun is the one thing that money can't buy)

Something inside, that was always denied, for so many years

  

She's leaving home, bye bye

Return to the first article in this series or hear the first song in this series.

Read the next article in the series or hear the next song in the series.

For the index of all songs in this blog click here.