Free As A Bird

1995 december 4

The video for the new Beatles song
has references to many other
Beatles' songs and events.
Here's a chronological listing of
what's in the video

 0:00:10
The sound of a bird's wings is heardboth on this video and on the original version of Across the Universe


 
. . . .
0:04:06 0:08:27 0:08:27 0:08:27
The opening sound effects and flight effects throughout could represent
Flying, And Your Bird Can Sing,
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Blue Jay Way, and Blackbird		 In My Life, the lads as lads.
Top row, John, George and Ringo.
Bottom row Paul		 Fly and butterfly may represent
Flying		 The cat. I'm Only Sleeping
0:24:01 0:28:12 0:29:11 0:32:22
Here Comes the Sun Liverpool's River Mersey
There are places I'll remember
In My Life		 Royal Liver Buildings
(pronounced Lye-ver)		 Liverpool Docks
0:39:04 0:48:13 0:50:25 0:54:21
John Paul George & Ringo
with the crowd in the Rain		 The Cavern Club.
The bouncer has a flat top
Come Together		 Its very hard to see the top half
of the girl who's waiting
in the doorway to enter the Cavern.
This leads some to tell her
I'm Looking Through You		 The Beatles perform
Some Other Guy at the Cavern
1:02:03 1:08:10 1:10:18 1:15:29
Police restrain fans
from approaching the Beatles		 Strawberry Field,
Strawberry Fields Forever		 Who's this at Strawberry Field? John? Mother Nature's Son? Silver Hammer Hardware Store, from
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
1:20:14 1:21:27 1:25:17 1:27:29
See how they run, Lady Madonna Foreground: I Want To Hold Your Hand
Background: I am the eggman (I Am the Walrus) - Above the Eggman's truck
is a sign that says Ringo.		 Paul, Ringo & George cross the street Anybody got a bit of money? Ah ah, Mister Wilson, ah ah, Mister Heath; Taxman
1:29:14 1:30:20 1:31:15 1:32:12
Ringo Paul George John
1:34:18 1:36:10 1:39:21 1:41:18
At left, a barrow in the marketplace
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
At right, the barber, Penny Lane		 A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray, Penny Lane And though she feels as if she's in a play, Penny Lane Every head he's had the pleasure to know. Notice photo of the Beatles in foreground of window. Penny Lane
1:44:22 1:44:04 1:48:16 1:52:15
The Barber, Penny Lane I'll have another cigarette, I'm So Tired Help on a sign in the window. Mandy Rice-Davies & Christine Keeler, the ladies of the 1963 Profumo scandal in Britain. Some have suggested that Rice-Davies, in the shiny black coat, may be Polythene Pam Ringo stands in the door of the Penny Lane bakery
1:54:04 1:56:01 1:59:05 1:59:27
John & Yoko answer the eternal question, Why Don't We Do It In the Road? John, Paul, Ringo & George The address, 51, is in the upper right.
What does it mean?		 On the right, the future cover of
Anthology 3 (almost certainly)
2:00:20 2:01:17 2:05:14 2:10:17
In the center, an early look at the cover of Anthology 2 At the left, the cover of Anthology 1 You say its your Birthday
The cake has two digits on it, When I'm Sixty-Four		 George arrives at Apple headquarters
2:14:23 2:20:02 2:24:02 2:27:15
Dr. Robert's office, conveniently located at 3 Saville Row Ringo has his camera A crowd of people stood and stared, including John. A Day In the Life He blew his mind out in a car: A Day In the Life - You were in a car crash: Don't Pass Me By
The license plate is either YEE 7 or YFE 7. One suggestion was that it means "Wifey 7" and refers to the seven Beatle wives.
2:29:08 2:30:20 2:39:02 2:40:00
He likes to keep his fire engine clean.
It's a clean machine, Penny Lane		 Pretty policeman standing in a row, I Am the Walrus I go back to the top of the slide, Helter Skelter Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
2:45:01 2:48:13 2:55:01 2:58:18
The ladder leads up to a leg disappearing where, She Came In Through the Bathroom Window The flowers that grow so incredibly high
Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds		 Piggies - also, See how they run like pigs from a gun, I Am the Walrus Like a Lizard on a Window Pane
Happiness is a Warm Gun
3:02:29 3:09:08 3:12:04 3:14:18
Paperback Writer and the clock reads 10:10, which is One After 909
 		 John, a bowl of shiny green Granny Smith apples, and the Beatles on Sullivan.
Also a newspaper headline about 4,000 holes found in Blackburn, Lancashire,
A Day In the Life. And a box of Savoy Truffle. On the floor, to the right of the truffles, is a portrait of the Queen,
"Penny Lane" & "Her Majesty"		 On the window, a picture of Chairman Mao Revolution
 		 A blue meanie peeks out while the man is Fixing a Hole
 
3:21:12 3:22:26 3:24:20 3:26:13
On the left side of the street, being walked is Hey Bulldog Newspaper taxis appear Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds She goes out For No One and carrying pictures of Chairman Mao Revolution. And Max, the Blue Meanie, does an encore. Sleeps in a hole in the road, Mean Mr. Mustard Does this mean that the Meanie's full name is Max Mustard? John & Yoko waltz, from "I Me Mine" segment of Let It Be
Bus at end of street from Magical Mystery Tour
3:35:14 3:42:17 3:49:00 3:50:06
Bungalow Bill, his elephant and gun, in case of accidents he always took his mom.The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill - Ringo is at right. I guessed he was Ravi Shankar, but he's probably not. Lets just say he represents the influence of Indian music. Brian Epstein puts on his scarf to leave,
I Don't Want To Spoil The Party		 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
3:52:09 3:59:02 4:01:14 4:02:26
Stu Sutcliffe on the James Dean cutout,
and, I thought, the Maharishi Mahash Yogi.
It's not Ram Dass, as someone suggested.
Turns out ol' Ram is American.		 Mother Mary from Let It Be or Lady Madonna Eleanor Rigby. September 12th.
The song was certified US Gold on September 12, 1966.
Another odd suggestion is this obscure song from the Broadway musical Hair		 Father Mackenzie from Eleanor Rigby
4:04:04 4:08:25 4:15:08 4:21:07
Martha My Dear and Father Mackenzie The Fool on the Hill
She's Leaving Home
The Long and Winding Road		 Lovely Rita, filling in a ticket in her little black book. Abbey Road
4:32:11 4:32:24 4:33:17 4:40:08
Paul in A Hard Day's Night John & George in A Hard Day's Night Ringo in A Hard Day's Night A man and his dog. What does it mean?
4:49:08   Descriptions ©1995 &1996 David Fell

Page set-up by The Movie Connection

The curtain falls, The End. The performer plays a Banjo-Uke, and is George Formby, a British music hall performer of the 30s & 40s. Formby was known to say "it's turned out nice again," which is the backwards message heard at the end of the song.
Images are ©1995 Apple Corps Limited  -   For research purposes only. Publishing for profit is expressly prohibited.

With the BEATLES