Jukebox in My Head (selection B-64)

"She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles. I could just say "Hey, it's the Beatles" and leave it at that, but of course I won't. History will smile fondly upon the Beatles. No matter what bands you like, you owe a debt of gratitude to the Fab Four whether you know it or not. Pre-Beatles you had Elvis, Buddy and them, but when it comes to what we think of as "Rock" music, the Beatles did it first. They opened the door (actually they kicked it down) for every band that would follow.
 Supposedly George Martin was moved to tears when he first heard the tune and I believe it. What's for sure is that he wrote a stunningly-beautiful string arrangement for it. It's my favorite string part for any Rock song I've ever heard, if you can even call it that. I could listen to the strings alone. It's precise, majestic, sad and simply gorgeous. If it doesn't move you you'd better check your pulse.
 It tells the story of a girl running away from home after meeting a man "in the motor trade," from the parents' perspective. That alone is one of a million reasons the Beatles were so great. It captures the shock and sadness that the parents felt upon learning that their girl was gone. I can only imagine. The line "She breaks down and cries to her husband 'Daddy, our baby's gone'" gets me to this day. That's viciously-sad, man. It's getting me right now as I type. Up until then, most "sad" songs dealt with bad breakups and shit like that. This broke new ground. For those keeping score it's in 3/4, or "waltz" time. Three is the rhythm of the heart.
 It starts out with a harp, which sets the tempo and basically acts as a rhythm-guitar part, but most of the melody is strings. How many "Rock" tunes to this day do you know that start with a harp? Fucking brilliant. In fact, none of the Beatles played any instruments on it at all. I'm pretty sure that was a first too. The vocals are as beautiful as the strings. The chorus is just monstrous. It features Paul singing "She is leaving home" over a call-and-response countermelody sung by John and George. It goes "Sheeeeeeeee" ("We never thought of ourselves") "is leaving" ("Never a thought for ourselves") "hooooooooooome" ("We gave her everything money could buy"). Of course there's an obvious message there. When Paul jumps up into falsetto range to sing "Home" it just rips your face off. Monster.
 I guess the hook is when they sing "Bye-bye." There's nothing quite like it. Since there's no drums on the tune, I guess Ringo went out for a ciggy or maybe something a little stronger. His very absence from the track speaks volumes. He was such an integral part of most of the Beatles' tunes that his absence is palpable. Good ol' Ringo. I had a cat named Ringo. And don't get me started on the silly, useless debate as to whether or not Ringo was a good drummer. Anyone who even has to ask simply doesn't have any ears. He's the best Rock drummer ever to pick up sticks, in terms of playing for the song, and that's coming from a drummer. Anyway this is an incredible tune. You've probably heard it. If so, have another listen and see if it doesn't still slay you. If not, you're in for a serious treat. Enjoy. Bye-bye.

"She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaBPY78D88g