The Beatles – You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

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  My Opinion:It's quite possible, under the influence of Bob Dylan, John simply used this song to write from a different perspective. Hanging around with Brian Epstein gave John a chance to see up close how lonely and empty Brian's life was and that certainly goes to the heart of the lyrics. Of course The Beatles would never record a song from the male perspective they simply changed the "he's" to "she's".

  Flag winsfordtownon October 21, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:For some odd reason, seeing them play this song in "Help!" is what made me really realize that I loved the Beatles.

  Flag flamingpieon July 22, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:If this song is about Brian, it's damned cruel. John telling Brian to hide his love for him or otherwise everyone will laugh at him?
  
  I think it's a more universal song about "forbidden" love; homosexual, incest, big age different and so on. I find it unlikely to be a song about brokenhearted and dumped boy/girl; the line "how could she say to me love will find a way" wouldn't make any sense. It doesn't really matter if the song uses she or he pronoun; that's the way English is built. If John had written a song with a line "how could he say to me, love will find a way", everyone would have thought that hes a "queer".
  
  There is even an existing example within the Beatles that proves this kind of thinking existed: George changed "he" to she in Something because he was afraid ( probably quite justied) people would get some weird ideas about it, even if the song really isn't a love song in its traditional meaning but tells about his relationship with a god.

  Flag marshmellowpieon April 27, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:A hilarious song about public arousal. AKA having an obvious "two-foot small" boner in the middle of a crowded place.

  Flag TextbookOveranalyzeron November 06, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:i love this song from what i heard it's about brian epstein and his homosexuality i love it because it has a mixture of an orcehstra and rock band and it's pretty emotional too
  i love the kristy lee cook version if you don't know who that is she was on american idol season 7

  Flag musicgirl9507on January 08, 2011   Link

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  Song Meaning:This song is clearly about a flasher "Here I stand with head in hand," who's embarrased of the fact "Turn my face to the wall." Without a female audience there's no point in continuing his antics "If she's gone I can't go on"
  
  Flashing makes people stare "Evrywhere people stare, Each and ev'ry day. I can see them laugh at me,
  And I hearthem say." and the chorus is people's condemnation of the act "Hey, you've got hide your love away. Hey, you' ve got hide your love away."
  
  The flasher then doubts his own actions "How can I even try, I can never win, Hearing them, seeing them,
  In the state I'm in."
  
  Obviously the girl he's after had tried to appease him by telling him love between them is still possible but he doubts this statement "How could she say to me Love will find a way?"
  
  Hence in the end he resigns to, and in fact may be welcoming the overpowering chant of "all the clowns" to "hide his love away."
  

  Flag Gadgetyon December 25, 2010   Link

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  Song Meaning:Gather round all you clowns, this song is about a man who is tied between his true love. The fatality is that she always seems to slip away from him. He is a gracious loving man with old fashions, he finds himself a beautiful woman whom he always falls into a binding love then can never win. "I can hear them laugh at me", these expression are of the voices in his head, he is paranoid of his actions and can not understand his feelings other than it hurts. He constantly wallows through his life finding a love starring at a wall and then simply losing her, the key behind this song is truly to, Hide your love away. Hiding your love will not push a girl into a relationship helping her to want a relationship more an more through friendship. Pushing a good girl into love will be fatal. However for this man it is impossible to hide his love for it is who he is he is a loving man who just wants peace in his life.

  Flag TheDefinitionon February 06, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:When I saw the clip (video)and thought the lady was a transvestite (not sure). Seemed to me combined with the lyrics its about the suppression of peoples sexuality. The torment of not being able to express yourself, through societies expectations. Love, lesbians... etc
  
  I guess it sort of hooks up to the related story with Brian and John L. ? Who knows ...

  Flag Burnhard83on November 11, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:John Lennon is awesome, one of The Beatles best songs. Basically he's saying your a fool to hide your love away even if it ends up breaking your heart. It would be sad for a person to go through life and not experience love. That's why he sings "Gather round all you clowns, let me hear you say, hey, you"ve got hide your love away"; he calls them clowns because he understood that love is worth it, even if it ends up turning bad.

  Flag stpittsson October 08, 2009   Link

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    Beautifully put..

    Flag Nefilimpon November 20, 2012  

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    Beautifully put..

    Flag Nefilimpon November 20, 2012  
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  General Comment:I just feel that after so many posts about the homosexuality thing, a song like this cannot encapsulate only that. Remember that "love is all you need" and I think LOVE is the central theme. No matter what your sexual preference, love is the most powerful emotion and you should not have to hide it away, therefore the sarcastic context of the chorus. If John was feeling two foot small, he never showed it, but here it is for us to read. "How can she say to me, love will find a way" says to me that John the ultimate believer in love is about to give up on love. He is so hurt by what happened, and if she leaves, yoko mabye, that he might loose faith. But that sadness could turn to anger by the end of the song, like I know it does and he calls us clowns..which i agree, we are. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE.

  Flag McSkydogBiscuiton July 13, 2009   Link

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