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Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he's had the pleasure to know.
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say "Hello".
On the corner is a banker with a motorcar,
And little children laugh at him behind his back.
And the banker never wears a mac
In the pouring rain, very strange.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back
In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass,
And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.
He likes to keep his fire engine clean,
It's a clean machine.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
A four of fish and finger pies
In summer. Meanwhile back
Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray.
And though she feels as if she's in a play,
She is anyway.
In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer,
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim,
And then the fireman rushes in
From the pouring rain - very strange.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
Penny Lane!
Of every head he's had the pleasure to know.
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say "Hello".
On the corner is a banker with a motorcar,
And little children laugh at him behind his back.
And the banker never wears a mac
In the pouring rain, very strange.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back
In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass,
And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.
He likes to keep his fire engine clean,
It's a clean machine.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
A four of fish and finger pies
In summer. Meanwhile back
Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray.
And though she feels as if she's in a play,
She is anyway.
In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer,
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim,
And then the fireman rushes in
From the pouring rain - very strange.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
Penny Lane!
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Because the storyteller is not really there, you see. His "observations" are rather a kaleidoscopic collage of images and impressions, assembled during his childhood days (and adolescence as well, judging from the veiled sexual allegorys - the "clean machine" part could be a reference, the "finger pie" one certainly is). Instead he quite literarily sits "behind the blue suburban skies", not so much imaging the place as reminiscing it.
While both "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields" are essentially happy nostalgic song, there are disturbing things lurking just beneath the surface. While the latter has a slightly frightening theme underlying it, the nature of "Penny Lane" is more of a sad one (would Macca ever write a truly frightening song? - never mind "Helter Skelter"). While the refrain should count as one of the peppiest pieces of pop music ever written (exactly evocative of the feeling the storyteller is trying to get across), there are certain moments in the song where the melody, if only for a few seconds, turns moodier. The point where the mood gets most anxious coincides with the line "she feels as if she's in a play - she is anyway". This must be interpreted as the cynical grown up's rationalizing of the the Childhood Dreamer, even though they are the same person (or maybe the sober Paul reaching through to the high Paul - I'll leave the drug talk to others). And this is where the tragic aspects of the song (and the whole concept of nostalgia) becomes evident; the dream can never really be realized.
But we always find ourself returning to the bittersweet nursings of nostalgia, don't we? Just as we keep returning to "Penny Lane". This is truly one of the Beatles' very best songs.
from the "fish & finger pie" reference - the fireman with an hourglass
actually has an erection; since he's away from his woman while on
duty often, he carries a picture of his woman while taking care of
this - the prtrait of the Queen means his woman, not THE QUEEN
without causing any scandal. Around 1967 Penny Lane was a bus stop in Liverpool UK. Was it a wonderful bus stop ? No, of course. "Penny Lane" sounded very similar to "Perry Lane", the place in Palo Alto CA where Ken Kesey lived and made his famous parties when he was at Stansford University. Ken Kesey is also famous all over the world for his magic bus named "Further". The Beatles wanted to celebrate Ken Kesey's bus stops ; the problem was that the lsd was declared illegal in USA in 1966, and the celebration couldn't be openly done.
Idfk if its right or not... its just BA!
Also, i have no freakin idea where downing street is, dude