the beatles magical mystery tour lyrics meaning

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The Meaning Behind “Magical Mystery Tour” by The Beatles and the Subtext Running Just Beneath the Surface

by Jim Beviglia February 27, 2024, 8:00 am

Four individual movies about the four Beatles due in 2027? Sounds like a fascinating project, just like the one the Fab Four embarked on when they made the film Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. Although the film served as fodder for critics, the title track delivered a jolt of psychedelic energy and still stands as one of The Beatles ‘ most strikingly original singles.

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What does this song mean? What exactly is a “Magical Mystery Tour”? And why was the film that contained it one of the few artistic endeavors by The Beatles met with less than universal acclaim? Let’s take a look at the origin and meaning of this classic.

“Tour” of Duty

It’s a common misconception that The Beatles made the Magical Mystery Tour film because they insisted on pressing on with some project following the death of their manager Brian Epstein . In truth, the “Magical Mystery Tour” song sessions took place months before Epstein’s death in September 1967, and filming for the movie was already underway when he died.

In any case, Paul McCartney did indeed push for the band to continue a busy pace in 1967, perhaps to stave off the lethargy that might have accompanied their lack of touring. Hence, the sessions for “Magical Mystery Tour” took place just days after the group had put a bow on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band . McCartney explained in the Barry Miles’ book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now what inspired the song:

“John and I remembered mystery tours, and we always thought this was a fascinating idea: getting on a bus and not knowing where you were going. Rather romantic and slightly surreal! All these old dears with the blue rinses going off to mysterious places. Generally there’s a crate of ale in the boot of the coach and you sing lots of songs. It’s a charabanc trip. So we took that idea and used it as a basis for a song and the film.”

John Lennon and McCartney wrote the song from that basic idea. The recording manages to sound both refreshingly old-fashioned, thanks to the bright, shiny brass, and eerily forward-looking, courtesy of the somewhat unsettling coda. It was yet another example of The Beatles’ ability to meld different music styles, all while keeping things undeniably catchy. The group released the song as a single in the United Kingdom to precede the film’s release, and it went to No. 2 in the British charts.

As for the film, The Beatles created a surreal pastiche that felt less like a coherent film and more like a collection of skits. Its avant-garde silliness isn’t all that unlike what Monty Python would do in the coming years. But at the time, viewers and critics were baffled. The Fab Four had to endure some of the first negative reviews of their career. The music, which included beauties like the title track, “The Fool on the Hill,” and “I Am the Walrus,” proved that they were certainly on top of their game in that department.

The Meaning of “Magical Mystery Tour”

Taken at face value, “Magical Mystery Tour” does indeed refer to a bus trip. But there’s a subtext running just below the surface that isn’t too hard to realize. The year 1967, when the song was released, stood out as a time in history when drug experimentation was running rampant through the culture. The Beatles had already used a few of their songs to promote psychedelia, including when they sang, I’d love to turn you on at the end of “A Day in the Life” to close out Sgt. Pepper’s .

That idea seems to be working its way through “Magical Mystery Tour.” McCartney, who sings the lead vocal, takes on the role of a barker trying to get crowds of people to join the traveling circus: Roll up for the magical mystery tour / Step right this way . You can certainly take it literally if you wish. But the idea of a mystery trip that’s going to take you away certainly could refer to tripping on acid or some other recreational drug.

Perhaps that’s why the movie failed. It attempted to put definitive visuals on a mind-altering journey. But it couldn’t quite capture the flights of fancy conjured by the song “Magical Mystery Tour,” which gives you the perfect soundtrack for the movie in your mind.

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Beatles : Magical Mystery Tour Meaning

Song Released: 1967

Magical mystery tour lyrics.

I honestly think there could be 2 meanings of this song, none of them include the use of drugs. The first one is that it's just a mystery. At the time, John Lennon was annoyed that all the fans wanted to know was the meaning of a song. So they made this entire album, just means absolutely nothing. The other theory and I'm going out on a limb here, it could be about the holocaust. This theory goes only for this song though. Think about it. The phrase in the song that says, "The magical mystery tour, is dying to take you away." The Germans were dying to take the Jewish population away. The bus resembles the trains used to transport Jews.

The magnificent ''Magical Mystery Tour'' of The BEATLES was to promote Their music as something new of the old to experience. Heading towards the mysteries of the Illuminati's enlightenments to explore with the new Generation of kids. By way of the Mystery Tour Bus that was dropping new psychedelic rock music of peace and love. Sub-merged in subterranean waters of the occult. That wanted to rise to the surface and expand our minds knowledge. And when this new stuff was beginning to rise out of our hands control. In those same times, there was always Scooby Scooby Do coming to the rescue when needed. With his own 'mystery machine van''. Riding around with his Heroes to solve the many mysteries and problems that the ''magical mystery tour'' of the Beatles rise to power, Re-emerged strange and spooky beliefs of the occult. Which at times took us on the left hand path of trouble.

It's probably a reference to the Mystery Schools. The "magik" practiced by those occult religions was passed down from Babylon. The infamous Alistair Crowley - OTO and Golden Dawn leader is on the cover of the album. The music industry was/is heavily influenced by those cults - Jimmy Page having even bought Crowley's mansion. Jay-Z today even has a clothing line promoting Crowley's Satanic slogans and symbols. Crowley was into child sacrifice. "The magical mystery tour is dying to take you away, take you today" might be a reference to the sacrifices. David Bowie sang "I'm closer to the Golden Dawn, Immersed in Crowley's uniform of imagery"!(Quicksand)

The Magical Mystery Tour, when I think about it is possibly The Beatles addressing the Vietnam War. I mean many of the vets smoked a lot of marijuana there possibly the "magical part" but probably not. But I think it mainly pokes fun at the draft for taking away the boys of America to the war which they make light-hearted because it was thought it would be fun and quick. That is not the case clearly. Got this idea from the helicopter noises in the middleish?

Magical Mystery Tour is as drug-related as they come. Along with Tour being another word for Trip, it tells you to roll a joint (or your sleeve), with a direct reference to marijuana: "It's got everything you need, satisfaction guaranteed."

The Beatles are inviting people to come and join them on a bus tour were the passengers don't know were they are going. And magical things happen. Paul said he got the idea from mystery bus tour in Liverpool where only the driver knew where they were going that way people could see place they never had before. Also the Merry pranksters went around in a bus and putting LSD in people's drinks and see what happens this is better know as the eletric acid kool aid test. Magical mystery tour was inspired by mystery bus tours in liverpool and the counterculture in the 1960s.

This song just making me feel that they're taking someone to the summer camp. The part of: "The magical mystery tour is coming to take you away, coming to take you away, the magical mystery tour is dying to take you away dying to take you away take you today..." Make me feel that John or Paul was warning off their children that if they don't eat the spinach or the broccoli, the magical mystery tour will come to take them away. LOL...

Give me a break. For those of you who think this album is not about a drug trip, you're fools. This album was made during the Beatles acid tripping heyday. Magical Mystery Tour, just analyze those words while you notice the trippy colors and the lyrics that all refer to an altered state of mind. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of listening to this album with a free flowing mind, I feel bad for you. The way the music is put together and flows is unbelievable. It was no coincidence, this album is about a drug trip. You can deny it all you want, but when you get the chance, stop being a moron entwined in the grasp of what is acceptable in society, and look at it from a different perspective. The Beatles were absolute geniuses and if they wanted us to believe this was not about a drug trip, there would be no argument. LISTEN TO THE LYRICS, HELL WATCH THE VIDEOS FOR FUCKS SAKE, THIS ALBUM IS ABOUT DRUGS! You people who think otherwise make me sick.

I came to the realization that this whole album is about a drug trip, LSD induced. Magical Mystery Tour, get your shit ready, were about to blow your minds, did they not? The Fool on the Hill, First stop, loneliness. No one likes us because we free our minds. Its ok though, no one is wrong, we are just different people doing different things.. no harm in that is there? Flying, the only serious instrumental by the Beatles (excluding yellow submarine). Now that you feel alone, let go because we are about to go for a ride. The song is airy, floating on the air, comfortable, no? Blue Jay Way, now that you are floating away, it will be hard to find your friends. We are all split up and none of us are willing to wait for the other, this tour is getting groovy huh? Your Mother Should Know, now that you're all worried and tense, mother is a safe place to bring you. Now you feel comfortable and nurtured. All rejuvenated, on we go! I am the Walrus, this song makes no sense at all. Its a complete masterpiece for he whos mind is flowing. Pure brilliance. Hello, Goodbye, a reference to a ego-loss. Hello to this new fabulous world, goodbye to your past. We are free now, its a new beginning. What a great party at the end, haha, now I feel so happy!! As do you, eh? Strawberry Fields, absolute bliss. Go to your strawberry fields and be. Just be and you will see all. Confusion sets in, but its easily brought back to central.

The magical mystery tour is Life. Touring around in the magical mystery to the birth of this universe. Thats the magical mystery. The Magical Mystery Tour is the psychedelic trip. This album is a psychedelic trip. Pieced together beautifully.

Again that must have been some good stuff they had.they are welcoming or warning you about the album you are about to hear much along the lines of Bob's Mr. Tambourine man. In other words close your eyes and let me paint you a picture, I can still see in my mind Dylan dancing around in circles of his own choosing in wet sand at Jones beach holding a bottle of wine victoriously over his head .so boys and girls light up, sit back, close your eyes and enjoy the tour.

The Magical Mystery Tour is "waiting to take you away" to a new world of peace and love, but nobody especially "dear Prudence" wants to know the "fool on the hill", "they don't like him" because he tells you "you've got to be free" from your attachment to the material world, looks like "my friends have lost their way" "you were diverted". "I look at you all and see the love that is sleeping and my guitar gently weeps", "isn't it a pity how we break each others hearts" You know the Beatles were trying to do to something that's why you search their words for meaning, but just how unimaginably divine, you haven't understood it yet.

I hate it when people say it's about "rolling a joint" or "rolling up their sleeves to take a hard drug" no they were on a tour one of their VERY first tours and they sold tickets at music store. So in interpretation roll-up just means to roll-up and pick someone up

Knock it off with the drugs! Unbelievable! It's just a good song, maybe about a fair or show or something innocent as that! Sheesh!

"Roll up" is a reference to rolling up one's sleeve to take an injection of a hard drug.

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Magical Mystery Tour

Recorded just four days after the completion of the Sgt Pepper album, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was Paul McCartney ’s attempt to maintain momentum within The Beatles and to give them a new direction and sense of purpose.

John and I remembered mystery tours, and we always thought this was a fascinating idea: getting on a bus and not knowing where you were going. Rather romantic and slightly surreal! All these old dears with the blue rinses going off to mysterious places. Generally there’s a crate of ale in the boot of the coach and you sing lots of songs. It’s a charabanc trip. So we took that idea and used it as a basis for a song and the film.

Inspired by Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters and their LSD-fuelled bus, McCartney decided The Beatles should try something similar. He devised a rough concept for the new project, which would involve the group travelling around the England in their own coach, filming whatever took place.

I used to go to the fairgrounds as a kid, the waltzers and the dodgems, but what interested me was the freak shows: the boxing booths, the bearded lady and the sheep with five legs, which actually was a four-legged sheep with one leg sewn on its side. When I touched it, the fellow said, ‘Hey, leave that alone!’ these were the great things of your youth. So much of your writing comes from this period; your golden memories. If I’m stuck for an idea, I can always think of a great summer, think of a time when I went to the seaside. Okay, sand sun waves donkeys laughter. That’s a pretty good scenario for a song.

The resulting TV film was a mess, and critically panned, though the soundtrack double EP (expanded to a full album in the US) was a best-seller.

‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was co-written by John and I, very much in our fairground period. One of our great inspirations was always the barker. ‘Roll up! Roll up!’ The promise of something: the newspaper ad that says ‘guaranteed not to crack’, the ‘high class’ butcher, ‘satisfaction guaranteed’ from Sgt Pepper . ‘Come inside,’ ‘ Step inside, Love ‘; you’ll find that pervades a lot of my songs. If you look at all the Lennon-McCartney things, it’s a thing we do a lot.

The title track was McCartney’s initial idea, based on ideas written on an overnight flight from America on 11 April 1967 , though what he took to the studio was little more than the title and three chords. He attempted to rouse the other Beatles into contributing lyrics, but their enthusiasm was low and later completed the lyrics alone.

Because those were psychedelic times it had to become a magical mystery tour, a little bit more surreal than the real ones to give us a licence to do it. But it employs all the circus and fairground barkers, ‘Roll up! Roll up!’, which was also a reference to rolling up a joint. We were always sticking those little things in that we knew our friends would get; veiled references to drugs and to trips. ‘Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away ,’ so that’s a kind of drug, ‘it’s dying to take you away’ so that’s a Tibetan Book of the Dead reference. We put all these words in and if you were just an ordinary person, it’s a nice bus that’s waiting to take you away, but if you’re tripping, it’s dying, it’s the real tour, the real magical mystery tour. We stuck all that stuff in for our ‘in group’ of friends really. ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was the equivalent of a drug trip and we made the film based on that. ‘That’ll be good, a far-out mystery tour. Nobody quite knows where they’re going. We can take ’em anywhere we want, man!’ Which was the feeling of the period. ‘They can go in the sky. It can take off!’ In fact, in the early script, which was just a few fireside chats more than a script, the bus was going to actually take off and fly up to the magicians in the clouds, which was us all dressed in red magicians’ costumes, and we’d mess around in a little laboratory being silly for a while.

In the studio

The first ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ session took place on 25 April 1967 . The Beatles spent much time rehearsing and improvising the song, with Paul McCartney at the piano suggesting ideas to the others in the group.

Eventually they recorded three takes of the basic rhythm track: two guitars, piano and drums. Take three was the best. After this they raided the Abbey Road sound effects collection, creating a tape loop of the sound of coaches to be added at the mixing stage.

On 26 April McCartney recorded his bass part, and all The Beatles plus Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans played percussion instruments, including tambourine, maracas and cowbell. McCartney, John Lennon , and George Harrison also taped extra vocals.

The following day still more vocals were added. McCartney taped his lead, with backing from Lennon and Harrison.

An overdub of four trumpets was added on 3 May . The session began by McCartney humming notes to the brass players to let them know what he wanted, but he mostly failed to get his intentions across.

In the end the players were sent away while McCartney and George Martin worked out the notation on the piano in Abbey Road’s studio three. One of the trumpeters, Gary Howarth, reportedly became so impatient that he wrote a score himself. According to Philip Jones, a friend of the session musicians, that was the idea The Beatles ended up using.

The recording of ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was completed on 7 November . During the editing of the film, Lennon had added a spoken introduction: “Roll up, roll up for the Magical Mystery Tour! Step right this way! Hurry, hurry, hurry!” It was decided that this should be added to the record release too.

McCartney recreated Lennon’s spiel, although he left out the “Hurry, hurry, hurry!” section. A tape loop of traffic noise, assembled back on 25 April, was also added. The song was then mixed in stereo and mono.

Latest Comments

Hi all! Does anyone know what mix of this song was used in the ‘Anthology’? I have the original vinyl (Canadian) and the remasters, and the mix in ‘Anthology’ definitely has different panning; in my two versions the electric guitar is on the left with the drums, percussion, etc. In the ‘Anthology’ clip (chapter 7, 23:20-24:06,) the drums appear in both speakers, the percussion and piano remain on the left and the electric guitar is hard-panned to the right with the trumpets. By giving greater exposure to the electric guitar, piano and percussion in this way (the guitar and piano notes being in roughly the same range,) the mix “moves” more than the other one, creating more of a rock song. Does anyone A) notice this difference and B) know where to find this mix in its entirety? Thanks…

i’ve just checked my Anthology and it’s not on there as i thought, but the version of this song in the film is different to the released version, maybe it’s this mix you refer to? as it has been widely bootlegged.

i think the Anthology was the movie version. I myself have 3 versions of the song.

‘Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away,’ so that’s a kind of drug, ‘it’s dying to take you away’ so that’s a Tibetan Book of the Dead reference.’

I love Paul as a musician, but quotes like this are just stupid.

no its not. its really true. with a comment like that we can see , you know nothing about the beatles…

It’s not so stupid… ingesting LSD and other psychedelics produces a state of consciousness paralel to the one the brain experiences when it is dying. Hence the tibetan book of the dead reference.

No you are stupid not him. You clearly know nothing about the drug and the book yet u made a silly clueless comment.

Thank you dude Someone had to say it

Yeh I agree, I feel the fact John is constantly held up as the lyrical genius gets to him, and he feels the need to prove himself (including with his new book!). Such a talented musician, he doesn’t need to prove himself to anyone.

Yeah, I feel that way too. It’s the same as with “Got To Get You Into My Life”, which I don’t really believe was a love-letter to pot, despite Paul’s claims. Paul, to me, seems to feel the need to prove his edginess and counteract any suggestion that he’s a lightweight – like it’s not enough to be a brilliant musician and songwriter

Agreed, 100%. A real shame Paul made these retrospective comments…or felt he needed to. Lyrically, the songs don’t even fit the story he put out. ‘Got to get you into my life’ is the classic example…it’s a great uptempo love song and that’s it.

I disagree completely… just read the lyrics of the first verse! Even John posited that Got To Get You Into My Life was about LSD, so if anything Paul is retreating and making himself less edgy by saying it was pot. I think it’s telling when people conclude deceitful motives when none are apparent… sometimes you see what you want to see.

You are correct. It’s about acid, but Paul has downplayed that to say it’s an ode to weed, which is fine. Whoever said it’s just a love song is clueless.

I Think Paul knows what He wrote his songs about than us. Even Lennon said Got To Get You Into My Life was a drug song.

The rest of the song is good, but oh God just that coda in the end is sooo magical… incredible really. 😮

That’s always been my favorite part of the song, the haunting piano coda!

Who wrote/played that coda? It has a very emotional effect on me

Paul played the piano at the end there, I believe

Isn’t it, though? Amazing little thing. Beautiful

It really is, sounds like something that The Doors might do :] But what’s most impressive to me is drumming and this part, kind of 8 when Paul sings: “You got everything you need…”. It’s really good.

That piano coda sure sounds like Mike Garson. Listen to the piano solo in Aladdin Sane.

Paul gave John significant credit for helping to write this “Paul” song – one of the few examples where he does that.

Love Me Do, Paperback Writer, What You’re Doing, Here There And Everywhere, Good Day Sunshine, Penny Lane — even When I’m 64 could also be mentioned, but you’re right; there aren’t *that* many…songs that Paul seems to give John more credit than John himself seemed to feel he deserved.

John, it has to be said, did take *a lot* of credit. Was he right to? Possibly, but slightly more would be pushing it a bit, and I guess the same goes for Paul.

I am one of the rare people who actually likes this song better than SGT. Pepper. You gotta love the raw, heavy guitar on Pepper but there is just something about MMT, especially on the remasters. Also, its obvious that the beatles (other than Paul, and maybe Ringo) quit on there potential on some of their later songs. Too bad because MMT could have really been a masterpiece. I love Johns chorus at the end. His voice tone really cuts into me and I absolutely love the second part where he says “…dying to take you away…” Just think how much better this song could have been if he and George werent so distracted by this point.

Is that really John singing the last two “The Magical Mystery Tour is … “? I always thought so.

I agree, Nolan. Just think about how much better the entire MMT ALBUM would have been if John and George had been at least a LITTLE more enthusiastic. I imagine these recording sessions being dominated by Paul (partly out of necessity), while John and George yawned and constantly glanced at their watches. If they had been more “into it,” the whole album would have ended up more, uh… “magical.” Of course, Paul probably DID come off like an overbearing alpha dog, so the distaction of the rest of the group is not surprising.

Frankly the only “magic” in the soundtrack portion of MMT for me is John’s “I Am The Walrus” and George’s “Blue Jay Way”. I am grateful for the contributions of the “distracted” ones. As for the 1967 singles portion of MMT, John’s contributions of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “All You Need Is Love” (plus his half of “Baby, You’re A Rich Man”) are outstanding to say the least.

I agree with you, Joseph Brush. I think “Strawberry Fields Forever” and especially “All You Need Is Love” are the great songs. But I don’t like Blue Jay Way.

well Fool on the Hill and Your Mother Should Know, not to mention the previously-released Hello Goodbye, are all very typical Paul songs with great sing-along qualities and each has a bit of weirdness to keep it in line with the whole concept of the film/album. Add the singles and it’s really a great, great album. I don’t know if it’s fair to single out the John and George compositions and simply write off Paul’s efforts on this one.

I have to say that “Walrus” and “Strawberry Field” are phenomenal compositions by John and George Martin with the rest of the band doing their thing to back them up flawlessly. I just give Paul the slight overall edge in his contributions. He represents the frontman for me…Looking at all the beatles post work including Paul’s, it doesn’t even matter. Without all 4 of them together with the chemistry they had in relationship to one another, inspiring and demanding eachothers A+ game no matter what was going on, we wouldn’t even be having ongoing conversations like this 40 years later. Granted there are exceptions and if I ever get bored enough with their compact and complete catalogue, I would get a kick in naming the top 50 or 100 worst beatles songs. Paul would dominate that list as well but he also takes the cake in many of my all time favorite beatles songs. That’s why I love Paul’s work the most. He could afford produce some real clunkers because he could always make up for it ten times over with masterpiece after masterpiece. Hearing the remastered mono recording of MMT is really like experiencing this song for the first time for me. Comparing it to the 87’s is simply put an absolute disaster vs and absolute work of art. I always liked this song as a young boy. But I never loved it like the seemingly hundreds of other fantastic Beatles songs I got to experience over and over growing up.

“I am the Walrus” is certainly a fantastic song, but the most magical moment on MMT is the title song’s coda melting into “Fool on the Hill.”

I always liked the Walrus , Strawberry Fields and A Day in the Life. Lennon’s backing vocals make certain songs sound quite awesome. See how they run? It couldn’t get no worse? She’s leaving home ,bye,bye. I too felt the impact The Beatles made in the 60’s. They definitely had a different sound than their contemporaries. Obviously they were better together than apart. MMT was an interesting album. Capital records made a good decision by putting 1967’s singles on one side. Baby You’re a Rich Man is underrated. I agree with you regarding the mono mixes.

Dying is the ultimate Magical Mystery experience.

Love this song. It is just so fast paced and catchy.Basically a McCartney song. I also love the EP , film and album of the same name.

And the bassline, all the way through. One of Macca’s absolute best performances

Great title track for film, E.P. and album. Very 1967, would have been a hit if released as a single.

favorite song of all time, especially love John’s slow verse

Needless to say, I did ‘roll-up’ for the Magical Mystery Tour.

Which Beatle is the one giving the “Roll up” introduction at the beginning of the song? Does anyone out there know?

It was John in the film, but Paul on the record. Paul’s version was recorded on 7 November 1967 .

On the Cheap Trick cover of this song, on the bridge section I can clearly hear two voices overlapping, one is saying “Mystery Tour”, the other “Taking aTrip”. It’s harder to disentangle on the Beatles’ version, but is that what is happening? It actually sounds like Mystery Trip, but I think Cheap Trick have done us all a favour ?

Wow! I clearly hear “taking a trip” at slightly less volume than “mystery tour”. For years I’ve wondered what that garbled sounding second vocal was singing and now I know. Thanks!

It always sounded like ” a mystery trip” to me. (shrug).

There is no lead guitar in this song. Just two rhythm guitar parts.

Hello everyone! Can anyone explain why Magical Mystery Tour (song) is not treated as a Beatles hit, since the double EP with this recording as the title track entered the singles chart and shot to number 2. After all, this is an achievement equal to the success of the singles Please Please Me, SFF/PL or Let It Be. Moreover, like the single Please Please Me, in top music weekly newspaper Melody Maker, it reached number 1 for one week (January 13, 1968).

Even though the Magical Mystery Tour EP got to number 2 in the UK singles chart it is considered an EP and not a 45 stand alone single and therefore it does not qualify as a hit single.

Thanks for your reply, I know all of what you wrote, but my question still doesn’t have a clear, convincing answer. It is obvious that MMT was a double EP from a formal or technical point of view, but in terms of musical competition, i.e. classification on the charts, it was undoubtedly treated as a single. Thus, the title track should be considered another huge hit by The Beatles.

I understand what you say and ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ is a very well known song but as I said previously it was not a single. It was a Double EP. EP’s would often climb into the singles chart as all the early Beatles EPs did. ‘Long Tall Sally’ EP from 1964 is another example. It got to No.1 in the singles charts but is not considered a huge hit in the UK. The ‘All My Loving’ EP from 1964 also reached No.1 but ‘All My Loving’ is not considered a single. The fact that they wrote ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ makes no difference. All EPs were considered as singles in as much as they got into the singles chart in the UK and they all had single chart placings. ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ gets plenty of airplay on radio. I don’t think it gets treated any differently apart from the fact that it was not a single so is therefore not included on Beatles single compilations. See Here for more info. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_play?wprov=sfti1

Sheldon, thank you kindly. The matter is clear to me now.

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Meaning of Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles

"Magical Mystery Tour" is a song that invites listeners to embark on a musical and imaginative journey. The song highlights the sense of mystery and excitement which a tour can offer. The lyrics encourage the listeners to join the tour, promising that it will take them on a magical journey and offer everything they need and want. The repetition of "roll up" adds a festive and circus-like atmosphere to the song, encouraging everyone to join in on the fun.

The repeated chorus, "The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away," emphasizes the sense of adventure and escapism that can be found on the tour. The words "hoping" and "dying" intensify the desire and eagerness to take the listener on this journey.

The song's psychedelic and surreal feeling suggests that this journey can be imaginative and even hallucinogenic. The repeated invitation to "roll up" can also be interpreted as a metaphor for embracing this sense of freedom and exploration.

Overall, "Magical Mystery Tour" can be seen as a call to embrace adventure and explore the unknown. It celebrates the sense of possibility and excitement that a journey can offer while inviting listeners to connect with their imagination, creativity, and sense of wonder.

This meaning interpretation was written by AI. Help improve it with your feedback

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Magical Mystery Tour (Lennon/McCartney)

The title track to the EP (and later LP), Magical Mystery Tour was never intended to be anything more than a sort of “commercial” for the film. Lyrics were derived from a studio session in which Beatles assistant Mal Evans wrote down words and phrases suggested by the band associated with a tour of the sort. Two days after Paul had begun to work with the original list he brought a completed song.

Million dollar use in Indiana Jones

The Beatles’ original studio recording of “Magical Mystery Tour” was used in the 2023 film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , in a scene set in 1969 where Indiana Jones was awoken by the song being played by his neighbors. It was reported that the licensing of the recording cost $1,000,000.

“Because those were psychedelic times it had to become a magical mystery tour, a little bit more surreal than the real ones to give us a license to do it. But it employs all the circus and fairground barkers, “Roll up! Roll up!”, which was also a reference to rolling up a joint. We were always sticking those little things in that we knew our friends would get; veiled references to drugs and to trips. “Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away ,” so that’s a kind of drug, “it’s dying to take you away” so that’s a Tibetan Book of the Dead reference … Magical Mystery Tour was the equivalent of a drug trip and we made the film based on that.” – Paul McCartney, Many Years From Now

• Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, piano, bass guitar, percussion
• John Lennon – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
• George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar, percussion
• Ringo Starr – drums, percussion
• Mal Evans – percussion
• Neil Aspinall – percussion
• David Mason – trumpet
• Elgar Howarth – trumpet
• Roy Copestake – trumpet
• John Wilbraham – trumpet

Release history

• Magical Mystery Tour  (EP) (1967)
• Magical Mystery Tour  (LP) (1967)
• 1967-1970  (1973)
• Reel Music  (1982)

Notable covers

• Cheap Trick (from Greatest Hits)

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Read about the history of pirated Beatles albums in the USSR and post-Soviet Russia.

Song Meanings and Facts

• The Beatles

Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Psychedelic Odyssey

by SMF AI · Published January 15, 2024 · Updated April 24, 2024

• Music Video

An Invitation to the Unknown: The Call of Adventure

Guaranteed satisfaction: the beatles’ promise of euphoria, a ticket to ride: the ephemeral escape from reality, unveiling the hidden meaning: a subliminal odyssey through life, memorable lines that echo across time: the lyrical magic of the fab four.

Roll up That’s an invitation Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up To make a reservation Roll up for the Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour Is waiting to take you away Waiting to take you away

Roll up Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up Roll up for the Mystery Tour

Roll up They’ve got everything you need Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up Satisfaction guaranteed Roll up for the Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour is hoping to take you away Hoping to take you away

The Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour Roll up Roll up for the Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour Is coming to take you away Coming to take you away

Full Lyrics

The Beatles, known for their avant-garde take on music and culture, penned ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ as a harbinger of a psychedelic journey, both literal and metaphysical. This song, embedded in the album of the same name, serves as an open invitation to listeners, beckoning them aboard a surreal expedition guided by none other than the Fab Four themselves.

As we delve into the lyrical labyrinth of ‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ we find ourselves at the intersection of music and mysticism, where every ‘Roll up’ is a call to abandon the mundane and embrace the enigmatic allure of the Beatles’ universe.

The recurrent entreaty to ‘Roll up’ is less about physical movement and more about a willingness to explore uncharted territories of the mind and spirit. It’s the modern-day equivalent of ‘Once upon a time,’ setting the stage for a narrative that is anything but ordinary.

‘Roll up’ is not just a phrase; it’s a mantra for the curious, an echo of the 60s countercultural imperative to question, to experience, to break free. Like a pied piper, the song lures us in, with the promise of a tour that is as mysterious as it is magical.

The Beatles didn’t just invite; they guaranteed satisfaction, a bold claim indicative of an era brimming with confidence and experimental bravado. ‘Satisfaction guaranteed’ is not only a compelling marketing ploy but also a reflection of the band’s certainty in their musical craft and vision.

In promising a transcendent experience, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ taps into the zeitgeist of the 60s, a time when music was an escape, a beacon, guiding the lost towards a haven of understanding and connectivity.

The Beatles impassionedly claim that the Magical Mystery Tour is ‘waiting to take you away,’ suggesting an imminent departure from the ordinary, beckoning us towards a cosmic getaway. This isn’t just a trip; it’s an escape, it’s salvation, it’s freedom encapsulated within a melody.

Embarking on this tour requires no luggage, no plan — just the abandonment of skepticism and the embrace of the boundless possibilities that lie within the realm of imagination.

While on the surface ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ appears to be a simple anthem for a whimsical journey, beneath lies a deeper, more poignant subtext. It’s an analogy of life’s unpredictability, a metaphor for the collective voyage we all undertake in search of meaning, with the promise of enlightenment cast by the shroud of the Beatles’ psychedelia.

The song’s repetitious nature and hypnotic invitation represent life’s cyclical and ceaseless call to self-exploration and growth. It mirrors our own insatiable desire to uncover the mysteries that define our existence.

Lines like ‘The Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away’ and ‘Satisfaction guaranteed’ etch themselves into the psyche, becoming timeless mantras that echo the enduring hope and relentless curiosity that characterized the era of love and psychedelia.

As the years have progressed, these words have transcended their initial context to adopt new meanings in the minds of listeners who find solace in the perennial promise of an adventure that The Beatles once offered with the simplicity of a song.

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June 12, 2018

 by SMF · Published June 12, 2018 · Last modified September 10, 2020

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September 27, 2019

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Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles

• Roll up roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up That's an invitation Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up To make a reservation Roll up for the Mystery Tour The Magical Mystery Tour Is waiting to take you away Waiting to take you away Roll up Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up They've got everything you need Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up Satisfaction guaranteed Roll up for the Mystery Tour The Magical Mystery Tour is hoping to take you away Hoping to take you away The Mystery Tour Ah The Magical Mystery Tour Roll up Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up That's an invitation Roll up for the Mystery Tour Roll up To make a reservation Roll up for the Mystery Tour The Magical Mystery Tour Is coming to take you away Coming to take you away The Magical Mystery Tour Is dying to take you away Dying to take you away Take you today Writer/s: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
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Comments: 54

• Frank from Washington Dc Who/what are the spoken words at the end? Are they from a play or movie?
• Jennifur Sun from Ramona Love Paul's bass and Ringo's drumming.
• Brian from Boston, Ma Justin from Luray VA.Well said I agree 100%.I don't understand why people think that if a song is about drugs it somehow diminishes its' value.Of course this song is about exactly what you said it was.I do think too many people "try" to find a drug meaning in every song.Some songs however are obvious this being one of them.I think drugs were a part of the creative process for the Beatles.No I am not saying that anyone that takes drugs can write such songs but like it or not drugs were an influence on the Beatles.Take Lucy in the sky for instance.I haappen to think it is about LSd but even if the song had an entirely different title I would still think it was about drugs.Because all one has to do is listen to the imagry of wich Lennon speaks and the general feel of the song.Are you going to tell me that had Lennon never taken lsd that the song would have the same sound and feel?It is after all a psychedelic song.What is a Psychedelic song but a song that is influenced by the use of psychedelics right? There have been many songs penned by songwriters under the influence of drugs,be it marijuana LSD heroin or coke.These songs are not all "about" drugs but we can not underestimate the influence that they have in the creative arts.
• George from Belleville, Nj The Beatles were always experimenting and growing as songwriters and musicians.This is another cool classic pop rock song with a psycedelic sound to it.The trumpets really added atmosphere to the structure of the song,a haunting piece of music.Listening to it so many years later,it still holds up well and stands the test of time,like all their songs,that's why they were the best.
• Greg from Esex, United Kingdom I heard thar the idea/ concept for the film was pauls and after it flopped john was in kindda, i told you so mode.Never the less if you've experimented with acid and watched the film on acid like it was intended you'd understand exactly what its about.You take the trip,you take the ride bring on the confusion and the unfathomable mind.The point when their getting sucked in by the gibberish talking sergent is a classic lsd moment where their getting their heads done in until one of them is like, lets get out of here.Also as yellow submarine their other psychedelic movie the film pulls you deep into it then at the end kicks you out the other side on a magical beatles high .THE BEATLES ARE AMAZING wether its their songs about love ,life or pychedelia its perfection every time.
• Nick from Seattle, Albania ok this movies is on ACID! its so odd...wtf. great drumms in this song, props 2 Ringo
• Chomper from Franjkin County, Pa The album came out just after Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band in 1967 ( Sgt. Pepper's - released June 1 , 1967 ; Magical Mystery Tour - released December , 1967 ). it was produced by George Martin , and was recorded on parlophone SMMT 1/2 on Capital Records. The songs on the album are followed : Side 1 - Magical Mystery Tour / The Fool On The Hill / Flying / Blue Jay Way / Your Mother Should Know / I Am The Walrus . Side 2 - Hello Goodbye / Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane / Baby You're A Rich Man / All You Need Is Love.
• Chloe from St. Louis, Mo why oh why must every single freaking song be about DRUGS with you people?! seriously! could it ever have crossed your MINDS that perhaps they were just incredibly brilliant songwriters? dont mistake depth for lsd! sure, they did do drugs, but come on, it was the 60s, thats a bit of a given. doesnt mean they wrote about it!
• Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, Ca love that beautifully haunting ending that sounds so magical - just Paul's voice, wind chimes? and his little one note piano picking riff...wonderful! ty Paul!
• Olivia from Chicago, Il even it is based on drugs i can honestly say with my entire anti-drug heart that i dont care. when it comes to the beatles i will always be able to forgive them
• Liuzhou from Liuzhou, China "The fat woman was Ringo's real-life auntie." No she wasn't. She was Jessie Robins, British character actress.
• Carmelo from Newtown, Pa Here's another hint for you all: Get your ear phones out: "Blue Jay Way" "we'll be over soon they said" (backround) "I love you" "now they've lost themselves instead" (background) "I need you" "Well it only goes to show" (backgound) "need plenty in this war" "and I told them where to go" (background} "plenty"
• Chance from Kansas City, Mo I agree Talitha....it gets very annoying that you illknowledged know-it-alls out their always assume that a song is about drugs when the song might have ONE line that may be a little sketchy...
• Talitha from Austin, Tx just becasue they were doing drugs DOES NOT mean that their songs are about drugs! seriously! just becasue you drink milk doesnt mean that you are going to write/sing a song about milk!!
• Ken from Louisville, Ky Both George and Ringo says their favorite part of the movie was the scene where John plays a waiter who shovels spaghetti on a fat woman's plate. The fat woman was Ringo's real-life auntie. John said the scene was based on a dream he had.
• Adam from Los Angeles, Ca Yeah Craig... Just another Pathetic song by this pop band... the revolutionized music... sold millions and made millions... changed culture... just another pop band....
• Peter Griffin from Quahog, Ri What the hell is that clinking noise that you can hear throughout the whole song? It sounds like a cowbell, but I'm not sure! Any thoughts?
• Andrew from London, England we loved this as children. We saw the TV film and thought it was strange but wonderful. I have never ever seen it since and only just discovered how awful others thought it... I recall Viv Stanshall was in it too.
• Bianca Sanchez from Alburquerque, Nm Craig, THIS IS A GOOD SONG!
• Bianca Sanchez from Alburquerque, Nm Thank you Ian for saying that, For some reason every one thinks Beatle Songs are about Drugs. Why? Cos they were useing drugs dosent mean they sung bout them. Gosh People
• Simon from Chattanooga , Tn this is a great song. i love "fool on the hill" and "hello goodbye" as well. the beatles are incredible.
• Pougff from Manchester, Ms I agree with you Ian from Lethbridge, Canada.
• Justin from Luray, Va I don't want to piss people off, but this song is about drugs. It's not overanalyzing the song. Two facts: the Beatles are the greatest band of all time and they did lots of drugs (not to mention they had lots of unprotected sex). Magical Mystery Tour the movie and album are about traveling around and doing drugs, specifically LSD in the same manner as Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. You can perhaps argue that the song doesn't mean the acid trip itself, but the other interpretation would be an invitation to get onto a bus w/ them...and do lots drugs. Either way, it's about drugs. I don't endorse drug use and I believe that the Beatles would have been great without drugs, but this album's themes are heavily influenced by drugs. Can anyone offer a better interpretation?
• Jack from Mesa, Az I think it's brilliant how they slow down the chorus as the song progresses. And "roll up" has got to be about rolling a joint.
• Dan from Indianapolis, In I love this song! A great title track for a great album. The melody, the mood, the rhythms . . . there's an especially awesome moment at about 2:14-2:15 where Ringo does something really awesome with his drums, I don't know how to describe it, but it GETS me every time!
• Phil from Holland, Pa Magical Mystery Tour could be about two things. (1) The song may be about an acid trip. Since "the trip of a lifetime" is a line in the song, this seems likely. Also, the "magical mystery tour is dying to take you away" line could mean that you really want to take the drug and it seems like it wants to take you. (2) Everyone always says the songs are about drugs, but they were mostly just made up to be fun or because something in real life sparked an idea for a song. This could be what the song is about rather than a drug-related metaphor. You can interpret it any way. The song could be about a simple tour bus. You can decide!
• Lucy from Liverpool, China It's a drug album. This was during their "acid years" and it doesn't take much to tell which drugs dominated which albums.
• Bram from Zoetermeer, Netherlands oh and btw, not everyone that uses drugs can has got the ability of writing songs, so I think drugs is never an argument..
• Bram from Zoetermeer, Netherlands This good song comes from Paul's original idea but it was written together. Paul came along with the verses and John with the chorus.
• Zoloft from Milton, Wv In this song, the Beatles urge us to roll up a fat doobie and join them on a mystery trip. But this is no laid back, mellow trip. Musically, this one of the Beatles best rockers.
• Tyler from Petaluma, Ca MMT is a very under rated song. I love the trumpets in the background and the fast paced style. I remember as a little kid my dad would always play the LP and I would love this song, I would get bored by "Fool on the Hill" and forget the rest of the album, but I remember specifically I loved this song as a kid.
• Pascal from Dallas, Tx Maybe everyone is getting confused because the beatles wrotes these songs with metaphors that could be read alot of different ways and still be valid for a person listening to it. Imagine no lines. Imagine as John Said.. They wanted people to think.. Who cares what it was about.. Listen to it... Enjoy it... Think... Who cares who wrote it... if we Imagine.. as persay for lack of better terms,... We are all one human tribe? I dont really care ...Dont worry Be Happy.. LA LA LA Peace~~
• Ashley from Moncton, Canada I think it's now come to the point where excessively proclaiming that every song is about drugs has turned into excessively proclaiming that every song isn't about drugs. Either way I don't really care; I don't think this song is about drugs. Most Beatles songs, I'm guessing, are just made for the fun of it. They actually followed through with all their ideas, and stuff like this came out.
• Ian from Lethbridge, Canada This is NOT ABOUT DRUGS!!!!!
• Ian from Lethbridge, Canada Why is it that every single Beatles song seems to be about drugs?!?! People, there is such a thing as over-analyzing a song.
• Jt from Tullahoma, Tn This song isn't about drugs! It does contribute to the Paul is Dead rumors however. At 48 seconds into the song, you'll here a vehicle drive by before hearing brakes, and then a crash. Listen closely on the right speaker
• Steve from Midland, Mi Fred and Nick, I also agree!! Every song is not about drugs peope!!!!!!
• Chitra from Bangalore, India yeah this entire album seems to be very durggy...especially the song 'flying'..but i always thought 'lucy in the sky 'was a more blatant drug song...magical mystery tour hardly compares in that sense
• Ian from Charlottetown, Canada Roll up! Roll up!(interj) :(used as an invitation to people in the streets to come and see a show, circus or one's goods or articles that are being sold.)_Come in!,--- to see the lions.
• Ed from Sacramento/elk Grove, Ca Naw,,,,,, roll it up , roll it up was said as the bus moved to the countryside in the UK where there are my cows..
• Fred from New York, Ny I know exactly what you mean, Nick. The Beatles did NOT write EVERY song about drugs. Their music was influenced by drugs, but that's completely different.
• Robb from Hamburg, Ny Paul is someone who would take complete credit for Srgt. Pepper, but would say that he and Lennon collaborated on this including the movie because it was seen as mabey their first "flop". I personally love the album. It is so strange but in a good way
• Niki from Chicago, Il i think the movie is weird..but very funny
• Sean from Newmarket, Canada roll up happens to mean step right up or something to the same effect, so he's really just talking like a carny, no hidden meanings
• Nick from Solvang, Ca AHHH! Why does somebody have to say "It's about drugs" for every song!? It bugs me.
• Jay from New York, Ny Could "Roll up!" be a reference to the Magical Mystery Tour Bus? Why does everyone think that everything is about drugs? Sometimes a bus (even a psychadelic one) is just a bus.
• Ken from Louisville, Ky In England, the orginal songs from this movie were released as an "Extended Play" or "EP" single (having four songs instead of two), while in the U.S., the orginal songs were packaged with songs the Beatles released as singles but not on previous albums (such as "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Feilds Forever") and made into a LP. This was the last time Britsh and American Beatle records differed while the group was still together.
• Jordan from Ontario, Canada If there was ONLY one song the Beatles did about drugs, it is definitely this one. Fun to listen to, nevertheless.
• Scott Baldwin from Edmonton, Canada Im gonna get the album in a couple days and after that,I have all the albums!awesome...
• Scott Baldwin from Edmonton, Canada Yes,the buss goes to a light show in liver pool and they carry loads and crates of beer so they get pissed.("Pissed" in the english sense meaning drunk.)
• Martin from London, England Don't think of "Magical Mysery Tour" as a movie. Think of it as an extended video for 6 fab tracks. In that context, it's great. And it was the only place to see the Fabs doing "I Am The Walrus". So prolific were the group, work on this track (and therefore the whole MMT project) started just four days after they finished mixing the "Sgt. Pepper" album. You don't get that sort of output from today's prima donnas.
• Paulo from New York, Ny The album is great but the movie royally sucks.
• Stykman from Little River, Sc PAUL circa-1994: "'Magical Mystery Tour' was co-written by John and I, very much in our fairground period. One of our great inspirations was always the barker: 'Roll up! Roll up!' The promise of something-- the newspaper ad that says 'guaranteed not to crack,' the 'high class' butcher, 'satisfaction guaranteed' from Sgt. Pepper... You'll find that pervades alot of my songs. If you look at all the Lennon/McCartney things, it's a thing we do alot."
• Eric Sanders from Birmingham, Al "Roll up!, Roll up!" is a reference to marijuana use. The song is essentially "an invitation" to get high.

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“MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR”

(SMAL 2835)

Released November 27th, 1967

The Beatles had raised the bar to new heights with the release of their June 1967 album masterpiece “ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band .” The music, artwork, album packaging, and even the look of the group themselves had changed so dramatically with that release that no one would be surprised by anything else the group might have up their sleeves for the future.

Meanwhile, The Beatles were hard at work on a brand new project designed to further "turn on" their world audience, although a major portion of this audience would never experience it until many years later. The project was a new film entitled “Magical Mystery Tour,” which was debuted on British Television on December 26th, 1967. Plans to release it for American audiences were cancelled because of the overall critical slamming it received in the UK. Since American television didn't acquire the rights for broadcast, as far as the US market was concerned, there was no such thing as a “Magical Mystery Tour” movie. Most American fans didn’t know it existed until about a decade later.

What they did know, however, was the music. They knew that very well! With the echoes of “ Sgt. Pepper ” still ringing through the EMI studios, The Beatles took great pains to record six amazing psychedelic songs as the soundtrack to the film. The production values were still very high as they took their time to perfect these new audio creations.

According to the November 25th, 1967 issue of Billboard magazine, Capitol Records made a “decision to issue the six soundtrack recordings from The Beatles’ forthcoming TV fantasy spectacular, ‘Magical Mystery Tour,’ on an album in the US” These six songs would comprise side one, and the five tracks the group released as singles that year would make up side two. This decision was deemed a wise one since, on the coat-tails of the incredible success of “ Sgt. Pepper ,” American audiences were sure to jump on with both feet.

And jump they did. With an elaborately packaged fold-out album cover, complete with a 24-page booklet featuring costumed Beatles in a variety of ‘far-out’ poses as well as storyboard cartoon comics that tell the story of their "mystery" journey, the album was viewed as an incredibly imaginative follow-up to “ Sgt. Pepper ” that seemed to take the “summer of love” to yet another level. While the liner notes explained that the music was “from a color television film,” this apparently went unnoticed for most American fans. The music, along with the vivid imagery of the elaborate packaging, was more than enough for what the senses could handle. What better follow-up to “ Pepper ” could there possibly be?  

Origin Of The Album

To explain the origin of the album is to actually explain the origin of the film, which was the primary objective of what was to be their next project. “Privately, I’d got a camera and I would go out in the park and make films,” explains Paul McCartney. “We’d show our little home movies to each other, and we’d put crazy soundtracks on them. I used to do a bit of editing at home – I had a little machine and I was getting very into it. So for the next Beatles project, I thought: ‘Let’s go and make a film – what a great thing to do.’ It was all done on whims.”

Album Packaging

All in all, the artwork was colorful and the packaging much more elaborate than that of the usual '60s pop album. As with their music, The Beatles raised the bar very high when it came to album covers which made the competition think of ways to top what they were offering their fans. As for The Beatles, after the “ Pepper ” and “Magical Mystery Tour” sleeves, how could they possibly top it? Maybe just a plain white jacket with nothing on it at all!

The idea of converting the film’s soundtrack into a full album was copied throughout the world, even Britain succumbing to the concept in December of 1976. Nine years later, the era of EP’s was dying out in the UK so Parlophone had to recognize that the album format for “Magical Mystery Tour” was a good one after all.

Success Of The Album

“Magical Mystery Tour” eventually went on to sell over six million copies in America alone, which showed Capitol to have made a very smart move in packaging the film’s music as an album instead of an EP. While their recently renegotiated contract with The Beatles stipulated that future released albums were to contain the same amount of material in the US as in Britain, American fans didn’t feel "ripped off" by the album only containing eleven songs. Most of the Capitol Beatles albums up to this point only featured eleven anyways, and most fans in the states were not aware that this was a makeshift album. Having fewer tracks than “ Sgt. Pepper ” surely didn’t affect album sales.

  Written and compiled by Dave Rybaczewski

CLICK ON THE SONG TITLES BELOW TO READ THE IN-DEPTH HISTORY OF THE SONGS ON "MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR"

• MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
• THE FOOL ON THE HILL
• BLUE JAY WAY
• YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW
• I AM THE WALRUS
• HELLO GOODBYE
• STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER
• BABY YOU'RE A RICH MAN
• ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

CLICK HERE to hear the author's new album " Clarity "

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Magical Mystery Tour

The beatles.

About Magical Mystery Tour

"Magical Mystery Tour" is a song by the Beatles, the opening track and theme song for the album, double EP and TV film of the same name. Unlike the theme songs for their other film projects, it was not released as a single.

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The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. They became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in the history of popular music. Their best-known lineup consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, they later utilised several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as their songwriting grew in sophistication, they came to be perceived by many fans and cultural observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions. more »

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Written by: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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"Magical Mystery Tour Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. < https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/21907790/The+Beatles/Magical+Mystery+Tour >.

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Know any other songs by the beatles don't keep it to yourself, image credit, the web's largest resource for, music, songs & lyrics, a member of the stands4 network, watch the song video, more tracks from the album.

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• #6 A Day in the Life
• #7 All You Need Is Love
• #8 I Am the Walrus
• #9 Hello, Goodbye
• #10 The Fool on the Hill
• #11 Magical Mystery Tour
• #12 Lady Madonna
• #13 Hey Jude
• #14 Revolution
• #15 Back in the U.S.S.R.
• #16 While My Guitar Gently Weeps
• #17 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
• #18 Get Back
• #19 Don't Let Me Down
• #20 The Ballad of John and Yoko
• #21 Old Brown Shoe
• #22 Here Comes the Sun
• #23 Come Together
• #24 Something
• #25 Octopus's Garden
• #26 Let It Be
• #27 Across the Universe
• #28 The Long and Winding Road

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Movies soundtrack

• All This And World War II
• Magical Mystery Tour   1967

The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour lyrics

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Magical Mystery Tour [Mono Version]

• The Beatles

Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings

Magical Mystery Tour Lyrics as written by Paul Mccartney John Lennon

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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