BRITGUIDE---an introduction to Britishisms in the Beatles' Lyrics

Last Update: July 1, 1993

But the Fabs seemed to not only be influenced by the rhythms of American popular music, they seemed affected by its vernacular as well---or perhaps by a universal, non-specific dialect. Writing hit songs has never really allowed much nationalistic focus; the key is to appeal to the widest possible audience. The Beatles seemed to have fulfilled this goal admirably.

But occasionally, especially toward the end of their active songwriting era, the Beatles embedded references to British locations and customs, or used language patterns that seem a little strange to Americans. This list explores some of those curiosities.

This is not a complete list, by any means! If you notice something undecipherable in a Beatles song, please bring it to our attention at once, and we'll add it to the list.

Songs are arranged in alphabetical order.

"Across the Universe"

letter-box - American is "mailbox."

"A Day in the Life"

John said he was inspired by the "Far and Wide" column of the Daily Mail, one of the national daily newspapers. During the '65-67 period, John spent much of his free time reading newspapers musical poetry; cf. "Good Morning Good Morning."

House of Lords - the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament, occupied mostly by honorary peers and by only a tiny number of real (hereditary) aristocrats. The (un)lucky man in the car crash has been identified by keen Beatle scholars as Tara Browne, Guiness heir (beer, presumably?).

I saw a film - the film (movie) in question may be "How I Won The War".

made the bus - caught the bus.

found my way upstairs - a double decker, where smoking is allowed only on the upper level.

4000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire - this was the clue that pointed to the precise news story, and the holes were merely potholes in the street. Blackburn has no special significance other than being the site of the holes.

Albert Hall - a classical music concert hall in London.

"All Together Now"

The words are patterned in the style of a "skipping rhyme", used by Children to keep time while skipping rope.

Can I bring my friend to tea? - Tea in northern lower-middle class vernacular is a light but *hot* meal served at about 5.30, consisting of things like baked beans on toast, or fried egg and chips, i.e., French Fries. If there was some special reason for the tea, there might be some fancy desert such as ice cream and jelly (jello). In the North---the Beatles' milieu---"tea" is definitely *not* sandwiches, cakes and tea as served in Claridges. A Northerner might drink tea with his/her "tea" (with, not after), though a child would be more likely to prefer lemonade (that's something like 7-up), squash (a uniquely British abomination) or milk.

Black white green red, Can I take my friend to bed?
Pink, brown,yellow, orange and blue....

The second line of course makes it less like a child's skipping song. The colours mentioned are (with the exception of orange) those for the balls that make up a snooker set: white is the cue ball, there are seven reds, one each of yellow, brown, green, blue, pink, black, increasing in value in that order. The connection may be a coincidence.

"Baby You're a Rich Man"

tuned to a natural E - a musical term; a simple chord to learn.

"Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite"

hoops and garters - (obsolete) "hoops" are probably the staves used to reinforce a hogshead (see next item) or barrel; used in this sense, "garter" may also be a circlet of some material through which a performer jumps.

hogshead - Now obsolete in general language; a large cask or beer barrel (holding 54 gallons (imperial)). One presumes that, lit aflame, it must have been quite spectacular.

ten to six - Five fifty pm (5.50 UK/5:50 US)

somersets - (obsolete) somersaults

"Back in the USSR"

Flew in from Miami Beach, BOAC - British Overseas Air Corporation. The national carrier had two branches in those days, BOAC handling trans-continental flights, while European (and internal) flights were carried by BEA---British European Airways---as seen on the helicopter at the end of "A Hard Days Night" (BEA+TLES).

"Ballad of John & Yoko"

The man in the mac said you've got to go back - a mac is a raincoat. The man in the mac is presumably the immigration officer at some port or other.

"Come Together"

Toe-jam football - a nonsense phrase; it could refer to either American football or British (soccer). "Toe-jam" may refer to an injury but it could be one of Lennon's famous "portmanteau" words...and remember that "jam" in Br.E. means what "jelly" means in Am.E. (in Br.E, "jelly" is American "jello".)

Wonky finger - more nonsense, but "wonky" in Br.E. means "off center" or "not functioning properly" as in "The TV's gone wonky".

Walrus gumboot - Walrus probably refers to the famous Lennon song, but gumboots were a standard British term in the thirties for rubber boots such as "wellingtons" or more popularly "wellies".

Ono sideboard - a sideboard is a piece of furniture placed in a dining room, and sideboards/"sidies" are Br.E. for sideburns.

Spinal cracker - "cracker" could mean any of the following: (1) something which cracks (2) an unsweetened biscuit for cheese (a.k.a. cream cracker) (3) a Xmas cracker---a cardboard tube wrapped in fancy paper, with a gift and a motto inside. Two people hold either end and pull it. It usually has a small device that that cracks when the cracker is pulled open. Common in Britain but unknown in the States. (4) a good-looking woman (5) a good joke.

Mojo filter - possibly a use of the voodoo word for magic, but in England a "mojo" was a candy ("sweet") sold at 4 for a penny. Also perhaps a reference to the many blues songs using the word "mojo" ("I Got My Mojo Working", etc.)

"Cry Baby Cry"

The local Bird and Bee - a typical-sounding name (The Bird and Bee) for a local pub, in this case an imaginary one to fit the imaginary kingdom about which Lennon writes. It's also common to use the term "the local" for same, as in "I'm just off down the local for a quick half" ( = half-pint of beer, lager, bitter, etc.).

"Day Tripper"

day tripper - someone going on a "day trip", i.e. a one-day excursion, a brief vacation (often to the seaside)---probably nothing to do with drugs

she's a big teaser - this line could possibly suggest the (vulgar) slang "prick teaser"---a woman who acts like she's more willing than she really is

she took me half the way there - to "go all the way" is to have sex with someone

Sunday driver - someone who only takes the car out on Sundays, hence a second rate driver, too slow, someone who annoys you on the road.

"Dr Robert"

Ring my friend - call (phone) in Am.E. In Br.E., it is often customary to leave out the period (full stop) at the end of abbreviations like Dr or Mrs, whereas in American usage this would be in bad form.

National Health - the national socialized medical plan in the UK. Certain types of drugs or treatment are not available "on the National Health" (e.g. cosmetic surgery); but if Dr Robert *is* on the NHS that would explain the advice in the lyric, "Don't pay money just to see yourself with ..."

"Eleanor Rigby"

Wearing the face that she keeps in the jar by the door - obscure imagery, not strictly Br.E., but probably refers to cosmetics jar. In Br.E. there is the use of "I can't go out without my face on", so "wearing the face" may be related to that.

"Glass Onion"

Looking through the bent-backed tulips/To see how the other half lives - The "other half" is the upper classes, if spoken by someone in the working class...as Lennon fancied himself. Difficult to know what he meant by "bent-back tulips"---maybe just a vivid image.

Trying to make a dove-tail joint - this would seem to be a carpenter's image---a dove-tailed joint is one that fits tightly together; but in Br.E., as in Am.E., "joint" can also mean marijuana cigarette.

"Good Morning Good Morning"

time for tea - for working class people the evening *meal* is "tea" (dinner is at mid-day), and is eaten as soon as you get home from work - usually 5.30 because you probably don't live very far from your workplace; this is certainly not "high tea" enjoyed by the upper classes.

meet the wife - at the time of writing there was a very popular sitcom on TV at tea-time, called "Meet the Wife" (with Freddie Frinton and Thora Hird): the plot, more or less, was that they were both working class and she was a snob but he wasn't.

John has also admitted that this song was inspired by a TV commercial for Corn Flakes; the Hunter Davies biography, written about this time, suggests that he didn't do much besides sit around and watch TV at this period.

"Happiness Is A Warm Gun"

A soap impression...he ate and donated to the National Trust - The National Trust is a government funded body that looks after monuments including parks, old buildings, stately homes, and other antiques. Of course, the joke is that having eaten it, it would be difficult to donate to anyone.

"Helter Skelter"

A helter skelter is a long slide which spirals round a central tower. You climb up the steps inside the tower, collect a straw mat at the top (to sit on) and then just slide down. It's a fun ride because it's difficult to keep your balance (because you're going down in circles) and because you can't see how far it is to the bottom.

Of course, here McCartney is using the term as a metaphor, or illustration, of a sensual high.

"Hey Bulldog"

Bulldog is the symbolic British animal (like American eagle and Russian bear).

Wigwam frightened of the dark - Lennon's use of the American word suggests that he doesn't know its meaning (a specialized type of Indian hut) or is deliberately twisting its meaning, as he was wont to do.

"I Am The Walrus"

Many of the images in this song, although mostly nonsense, are very evocative for a British reader of childhood taunts, rhymes and games. In particular, the metre of the whole song is exactly that of a school playground skipping rhyme or joke poem; hence probably the choice of "corporation", the "yellow matter" rhyme, "semolina", etc.

waiting for the van - van = truck suitable for passengers such as a prison van or hospital van (ambulance): the image is one of waiting to be taken off to (mental) hospital . Hunter Davies says that John originally had "man", but that Davies misheard it as "van", which John liked better.

corporation T-shirt - it doesn't mean anything, but the Corporation is the municipal government, hence "Corporation bus", "Corporation library", etc.

yellow matter custard... - the first line of a children's rhyme [note `sick' is Br.E. for vomit, and `yellow matter' is pus]:

Yellow matter custard, green snot pie,
All mixed up with a dead dog's eye,
Slap it on a buttie, nice and thick,
Wash it all down with a cold cup of sick.

crabalocker - just a made-up word

let your knickers down - "knickers" is Br.E. for panties, not breeches like baseball players wear, nor the American "knickerbockers". This line was sufficient to get the song banned by the BBC.

snied - "snied" is a made-up word, but "snide" is Br.E. colloq. meaning "sneering", as in "a snide remark".

semolina - quite commonly served (and universally unpopular) as a dessert, made into a milk pudding in "school dinners", meals served in a refectory at school. In John's youth, and until the 70s, it was usual for schoolchildren to eat meals at school rather than bring a lunchbox from home.

pilchard - again evocative of food chosen for economy more than taste: canned or dried fish, like sardines.

penguin - apart from the bird, it is also the name of the biggest paperback book publisher in Britain; and the name of a type of chocolate biscuit (Am.E "cookie").

"I Dig a Pony"

I pick a moondog - probably reference to Johnny and the Moondogs (reputed to be an early, if brief, Beatles' monniker.)

Oh now I roll a stoney - not a British reference; possibly the Rolling Stones?

Oh now I roll a lorry - American calls it a truck rather than a lorry.

"I'm So Tired"

And curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid get - in Br.E., "get" is the same as "git", both of which are insulting terms, analogous to "bastard". Sir Walter Raleigh was a stupid get for introducing tobacco into Europe.

"Lovely Rita"

meter maid - actually this is an Americanism: Br.E. would say "traffic warden", but maybe "Gorgeous Gordon, traffic warden" didn't sound so good!

got the bill - Am.E. got the check.

"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"

plasticine - play-doh or children's modelling clay.

"Magical Mystery Tour"

Mystery Tours were quite common in the 50s and 60s: train and bus companies would run such trips on public holidays and at weekends, taking passengers to an undisclosed destination, usually the seaside or country. It's not clear why people should prefer a Mystery Tour to a planned outing to a known destination, except that they were probably cheaper than regular fares (and probably took the day trippers to resorts which were otherwise less popular).

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"

Pataphysical science - "Intricate and whimsical nonsense intended as a parody of science" (Websters). Can I take you out to the pictures, Joan? - to the movies.

"Mean Mr Mustard"

Keeps a ten-bob note up his nose - "Ten bob note" is a bank note worth ten shillings i.e. half a pound. "Bob" was widely-used slang for "shilling", now of course in demise.

"Norwegian Wood"

And crawled off to sleep in the bath - the bathtub. Note that the size of British bathrooms (which *always* include a bathtub, otherwise they're not called bathrooms, but toilets) would suggest that he actually sleep IN the bathtub, not e.g. on the floor in the bathroom.

"Ob La Di, Ob La Da"

Desmond takes a trolley to the jewelry store - trolley bus, i.e. an electric bus vs. a rail bus. Could also be a small shopping cart.

Buys a twenty-karat golden ring - in Am.E., gold rings are usually ten, fourteen or eighteen karat, not twenty karat ( = percentage of alloy to gold). *C*arat in Am.E. is for weighing diamonds and other precious stones. This is probably *k*arat, therefore. But other British sources also report 22-K gold rings, so the percentage of gold may be higher in British rings.

"Old Brown Shoe"

For your sweet top lip I'm in the queue - most computer-literate people know now what a queue is, though it's a bit jarring in the American sense to see it used with people. In Am.E., people stand in line, not in the queue.

"Only a Northern Song"

When you're listening late at night/You may think the band are not quite right - British terminology uses "band" as a plural collective, hence "band are" rather than "band is". To American ears this sounds strange.

"Paperback Writer"

Sir or Madam - the standard opening to a letter addressed to someone whom you don't know

a man named Lear - Edward, presumably no special significance, but could be a reference to Edward Lear, a 19th century nonsense- verse writer, or even by analogy, Lennon ("L"), the only one of the Beatles with literary pretensions.

Daily Mail - a middle-class national newspaper in England

"Penny Lane"

A street/shopping district near where John and Paul grew up. Nearby, on Menlove Ave, John lived with his aunt Mimi, but often came to Newcastle Rd to visit Julia and his half-sisters. Dovedale Rd Primary School (John's first school) are both nearby, as is Allerton, Paul's district, and Forthlin Rd., his home street. Since the song is about childhood reminiscences, there are several Britishisms.

a barber showing photographs - Gents' hairdressers were, and probably still are, known as "barbers", even though you probably can't get a shave there any more. The shop window generally has photographs of the hairstyles the barber is supposed to create. Paul extended this to the theory that the photos were instead of "every head he's had the pleasure to know..."

mac - macintosh, a raincoat

a portrait of the queen - a promotional film made at the time by one of the TV companies illustrated the lyrics; at this line in the song, they showed the fireman with a postage stamp in his hand. Of course a portrait of the queen is customarily displayed in national and regional official buildings.

four of fish - a portion of (fried) fish costing fourpence, as bought from the fish-and-chip shop, perhaps on the way home from the pictures (cinema). Actually, the phrase as commonly know would be "a four of chips" (meaning french fries). That might have been the price in the late 50s, early 60s.

finger pie - stimulation of the female private parts with one's finger--- something else one might do on the way home from the pictures.

shelter in the middle of the roundabout - a bus shelter. A roundabout is a traffic island, where roads meet and circle about a central "island" though the one at Penny Lane is actually much larger than a normal roundabout, and serves as a bus terminus. Buses from the Pier Head have "Penny Lane" writ large above the driver's seat, much to the delight of Beatle tourists in Liverpool.

selling poppies from a tray - poppies are used as a symbol of memorial on Armistice day in Britain (the Sunday nearest November 11th, the day World War I ended). For a few days leading up to paper poppies are sold (to wear on the lapel) for charities, especially perhaps war veterans' hospitals, hence a nurse selling them. The tray in question would be a cardboard tray worn round the neck.

"Polythene Pam"

Br. E. polythene = Am.E. polyethylene; also in the American sense of "vinyl." At the time the song was written, polythene clothing was quite fashionable (cheap imitation leather), so Polythene Pam might be someone who overdid the "polythene look."

She's the kind of a girl that makes the `News of the World'" - A tabloid, gossip rag called The News of the World, like the American National Enquirer.

"Rain"

lemonade - in Br.E. this is a clear fizzy drink like 7-Up.

"Savoy Truffle"

Good News was the name of a candy assortment made by Rowntrees - and the the song virtually lists the assortment. They included creme tangerine, montelimart, ginger sling, pineapple treat (not "heart"), coffee dessert, savoy truffle. Other candy names were apparently fanciful. George was making fun of friend Eric Clapton's sweet tooth.

"Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

lonely hearts club - An idea that has gone out of fashion in the States, but a sort of singles club for people in their twenties and older, for dancing and socializing.

"She's leaving home"

dressing gown - bathrobe

a man from the motor trade - just that, a car salesman!

"Taxman"

One for you nineteen for me - shillings, i.e. a tax rate of 95% since twenty shillings make a pound. Thus, in the next verse, "Should 5% appear too small", i.e. 5% of earnings left over after tax.

Mr Wilson - Harold Wilson, the (Labour) Prime Minister at that time. It was he who awarded the MBEs.

Mr Heath - the (Conservative) Opposition Leader, later to become Prime Minister.

Declare the pennies on your eyes - this not specifically Br.E., but presumably a reference to the custom of putting coins over the eyes of a corpse (to keep them shut). Bear in mind that British old-style pennies were much bigger than American pennies---maybe as much as 1.25in in diameter.

"When I'm 64"

64 was the retirement age (for men) at the time the song was released.

Doing the garden - in Am.E. it's "gardening". A garden in Br.E. can also be analogous to the Am.E. back yard, not just a specific garden within the back yard.

Isle of Wight - an island off the south coast of England popular with retired people (also the venue of a famous Pop Festival about the same time as Woodstock, which is after this song was written!)

not too dear - dear = expensive

drop me a line - Am.E. write to me

"Yellow Submarine"

Full speed ahead, Mr. Boatswain, full speed ahead - Lennon obviously didn't know that it's not the boatswain who operates the engine. The Boatswain (pronounced "bosun") is a subordinate officer in charge of the ship's hull.

"You Never Give Me Your Money"

There's a minor question about what's being sung here:

Any jobber got the sack - a jobber in Br.E. is a fellow working for the stock exchange who's in business for himself, not for anyone else. Also heard as "Any job - got the sack"--- obviously someone who can't hold a job very long.

Got the sack - fired

Monday morning turning back/Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go - what this means is anyone's guess; a lorry is Br.E. for Am.E. "truck".

"You Won't See Me"

When I call you up, your line's engaged - Am.E., your line's busy. Interesting that in Br.E. it would be more natural to say "phone" or "ring" rather than "call".