Sgt+Peppers+Lonely+Hearts+Club+Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Lennon/McCartney)
It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play They've been going in and out of style But they're guaranteed to raise a smile. So may I introduce to you The act you've known for all these years, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, We hope you will enjoy the show, We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Sit back and let the evening go. Sgt. Pepper's lonely, Sgt. Pepper's lonely, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It's wonderful to be here, It's certainly a thrill. You're such a lovely audience, We'd like to take you home with us, We'd love to take you home. I don't really want to stop the show, But I thought that you might like to know, That the singer's going to sing a song, And he wants you all to sing along. So let me introduce to you The one and only Billy Shears And Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.



A Little Help From My Friends (Lennon/McCartney)
A little help from my friends What would you think if I sang out of tune, Would you stand up and walk out on me. Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song, And I'll try not to sing out of key. I get by with a little help from my friends, I get high with a little help from my friends, Going to try with a little help from my friends. What do I do when my love is away. (Does it worry you to be alone) How do I feel by the end of the day (Are you sad because you're on your own) No I get by with a little help from my friends, Do you need anybody, I need somebody to love. Could it be anybody I want somebody to love. Would you believe in a love at first sight, Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time. What do you see when you turn out the light, I can't tell you, but I know it's mine. Oh I get by with a little help from my friends, Do you need anybody, I just need somebody to love, Could it be anybody, I want somebody to love. I get by with a little help from my friends, Yes I get by with a little help from my friends, With a little help from my friends.



Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Lennon/McCartney)
Picture yourself in a boat on a river, With tangerine trees and marmalade skies Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, A girl with kaleidoscope eyes. Cellophane flowers of yellow and green, Towering over your head. Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, And she's gone. Lucy in the sky with diamonds. Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain Where rocking horse people eat marshmellow pies, Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers, That grow so incredibly high. Newspaper taxis appear on the shore, Waiting to take you away. Climb in the back with your head in the clouds, And you're gone. Lucy in the sky with diamonds, Picture yourself on a train in a station, With plasticine porters with looking glass ties, Suddenly someone is there at the turnstyle, The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes.

Getting Better (Lennon/McCartney)
It's getting better all the time I used to get mad at my school The teachers who taught me weren't cool You're holding me down, turning me round Filling me up with your rules. I've got to admit it's getting better A little better all the time I have to admit it's getting better It's getting better since you've been mine. Me used to be a angry young man Me hiding me head in the sand You gave me the word I finally heard I'm doing the best that I can. I've got to admit it's getting better I used to be cruel to my woman I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene And I'm doing the best that I can. I admit it's getting better A little better all the time Yes I admit it's getting better It's getting better since you've been mine

Focus Question: How do the Beatles portray the problems of society in their time through music? Opening Activity: Each person should talk about their favorite line, why they like it, and the significance. (15-20 minutes) Discussion Questions: (20-30 minutes) 1. What is the theme of each song? 2. How are the songs related or different? 3. How do the messages in the lyrics relate to society in the late 60's? 4. How do they relate to modern day? 5. What political statement do you think each song is saying? 6. What role does repetition play in these songs? 7. What symbolism is used in the lyrics? 8. What adjectives are significant in alluding to the meaning? Closing Activity: Loop back to interesting points from the opening and discussion, and link them to create a thematic idea. (5-15 minutes).

NOTES:
 * Favorites: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
 * Leaving/escaping something
 * Imagery
 * Relations to the title (Kaleidosscope eye=diamonds, Sun in her eyes=sky, etc)
 * Getting Better:
 * Change
 * Woman who's changing things?
 * Hope
 * Similar to Pink Floyd as far as ideas?
 * A Little Help from My Friends
 * Pronoun change
 * Self-questioning
 * "I can't tell you but i know it's mine"
 * Ringo sings. Lennon and McCartney sing back up ("Does it worry you to be alone")
 * Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
 * Reference to soldier?
 * 20 years previous=end of WWII
 * Beginning of the album. Introduced as a show.
 * Meant to listen to as an album- not individual songs
 * Reference to the war and soldiers
 * Billy Shears = Ringo!
 * "Take you home with us" because they made it so big in the US and they want that fan base in England
 * Discussed The Beatles themselves and their history.
 * Appreciate how there used to be albums, not singles
 * Musicians used to be deeper. Not so much "nothing"