“There was something about the place that always fascinated John. He could see it from his window … He used to hear the Salvation Army band [playing at the garden party], and he would pull me along, saying, ‘Hurry up, Mimi – we’re going to be late.'”
– John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi Smith
The words “nothing to get hung about” were inspired by Aunt Mimi’s strict order not to play in the grounds of Strawberry Field, to which Lennon replied, “They can’t hang you for it.“
My friend Nancy at The Elephant’s Trunk recently posted a song by the Beatles – Free As A Bird a reworked version of a home demo by John Lennon. It reminded me of today’s featured track also a demo by John Lennon of the Strawberry Fields Forever classic. I love hearing this simplistically beautiful melodic version. John Lennon alone with his guitar….Just him and a junk string instrument and it has all of the charm of the record. As my son said it sounds like Buddy Holly just fooling about. Lennon viewed Strawberry Fields Forever as his finest work with the Beatles. I would buy an album of just the Beatles demos. On another matter, the tune at the start sounds to me just like Dylan’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.
Most of the following was extracted from the Wikipedia reference below:
Strawberry Fields Forever was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with Penny Lane. It represented a departure from the group’s previous singles and a novel listening experience for the contemporary pop audience. While the song initially divided and confused music critics and the group’s fans, it proved highly influential on the emerging psychedelic genre. Its accompanying promotional film (at the bottom of this post) is similarly recognised as a pioneering work in the medium of music video.
Lennon based the song on his childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children’s home in Liverpool. Starting in November 1966, the band spent 45 hours in the studio, spread over five weeks, creating three versions of the track. The final recording combined two of those versions, which were entirely different in tempo, mood and musical key.
Strawberry Fields Forever was intended for inclusion on their forthcoming (as yet untitled) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Instead, under pressure from their record company and management for new product, the group were forced to issue it as a single and they followed their usual practice of not including previously released singles on their albums. The double A-side peaked at number 2 on the Record Retailer chart, breaking the band’s four-year run of chart-topping singles in the UK. In the United States, Strawberry Fields Forever peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. To the band’s displeasure, the song was later included on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP.
After returning to England in early November 1966 from Almeria, Spain – where Lennon did his first demo, Lennon added another verse and first mention of Strawberry Fields. The first verse on the released version was the last to be written, close to the time of the song’s recording. The first verse Lennon wrote became the second one in the released version of the song, and the second verse he wrote became the last.
The lyrics below from the 1:42 Demo version:
No one, I think, is in my tree
I mean, it must be high or low
That is, you can’t, you know, tune in, but it’s all right
That is, I think it’s not too bad
Always, no, sometimes, think it’s me
But you know, I know when it’s a dream
I think I know, I mean—er—yes, but it’s all wrong
That is, I think I disagree
Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to
Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever
Strawberry Fields forever
Strawberry Fields forever
References:
1. Strawberry Fields Forever – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Thanks for the nod, Matt!
No, thank you for introducing me to the wonderful ‘Free As a Bird’ which reminded me of this beautiful demo. Cheers Nancy.
My great pleasure!
Wow, I have all three of the Beatles Anthology albums on CD and didn’t remember John’s demo of “Strawberry Fields Forever” – in my defense I will add I haven’t listened to these DCs in a long time.
It’s also fascinating to compare John’s demo to the version of the song that was released – btw, one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs!
I went as far as watching the Anthology volumes on DVD. It’s interesting how much of their demo stuff grabs me as much and at times more than their ‘polished’ releases.