I didn't intend to have all of Paul's "granny ####" bunched up like this, but I guess it makes sense that it would shake out that way.
155. When I'm Sixty-Four (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
Beatles version:
Spotify YouTube
Paul wrote this on his dad's piano when he was 14-16 (depending upon which interview you believe), so even though it was included on Sgt Pepper's, I don't think of it as being
entirely of those canonical sessions. Sure, some lyrics were added and the musicality of it was enhanced by what they were doing at the time, but at its core this is still a simple vaudevillian-style song from Paul's early years. I've never considered it a serious work, which I think makes me enjoy more than if I did, and Paul himself says that he originally wrote it tongue-in-cheek without a sense of how/when it would ever be used, with hopes that maybe it would make it into a cabaret show some day. This is simply a fun little song, and if you don't sing along when you hear it, there might be something wrong with you, or you are Mr. krista, or both.
Originally slotted to be the b-side to "Strawberry Fields Forever" before that was changed to a blockbuster double-a-side record with "Penny Lane," what shine most on this in my opinion are the flowing clarinets, the backing vocals, the final "hoo!", and the shift to a minor key for the bridge followed by the introduction back into major before the verse through the use of a cheerful chime. Though I find most of the lyrics slight, I find this clever:
Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Fun facts: Paul switches to a Scottish accent for the line "Grandchildren on your knee...". He also had the recording sped up significantly in production to, according to Geoff Emerick and George Martin, simulate a more youthful voice or, according to Paul, make the song more "rooty-tooty."
Mr. krista: "The Kinks had a lot of songs like that, that were English music hall variety. But the Kinks were funny because they were really sardonic. They were in love with England but still cynical. So Village Green Preservation Society was just as complex musically. Paul is kind of lacking that cynicism that might have made that song good. It’s just in the style it’s in because that’s how it was written, not because it has anything to say about a monarchy or an empire or anything. Music like that is why I tended to like the Kinks more than the Beatles.* That part where he rolls his r’s makes me want to throw him through a wall."
*Divorce pending.
Suggested covers: Keith Moon;
The Del McCoury Band
Only Ringo has any idea how to dance, though Paul is passable; maybe that's not a surprise from the rhythm section. Note John almost falls right off around 0:16, but surprisingly he does seem to be having (stiffly danced) fun. I have no idea what George is doing. I never stop laughing when I watch this.
Somewhere along the way - maybe when we get to that later point - I hope people will post their own top 10 lists (or top 20 or top 50 or top 204).
