Beatles' Songs Containing Numbers - Part 1 Quiz

Answer: 4,000

From "A Day In The Life":

"I read the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire"

The holes reference was lifted from a newspaper article and referred to the number of potholes in the streets of Blackburn. The amount of material required to fill said holes was considered to be such that it would fill the Albert Hall, hence the reference later in the song:

"Now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall"

Answer: Eight

"Eight days a week
I love you
Eight days a week
Is not enough to show I care"

The title of this song is attributed to one of Ringo Starr's quirky sayings. This is allegedly the first pop song to fade up from silence.

Answer: Twice

"I don't know why she's ridin' so high
She ought to think twice
She ought to do right by me
Before she gets to saying goodbye
She ought to think twice
She ought to do right by me"

John Lennon has been quoted as saying "That was one of the earliest heavy-metal records made". Hmmm. Wonder what he was on when he uttered that! "Ticket To Ride" was covered in 1969 by The Carpenters, whose version personally sends me to sleep!

Answer: One

If nothing else, the fact that the word 'time' is singular should have given you the answer. The lyrics in question are:

"Oh, rock on George, one time for me"

and

"Oh, rock on George, for Ringo one time"

Answer: Across The Universe

"Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe"

A beautiful song; according to www.songfacts.com, "Across The Universe" first appeared on "No One's Gonna Change Our World", a charity album for the World Wildlife Fund".

Answer: Three

"Every summer we can rent a cottage
In the Isle of Wight
If it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera Chuck & Dave"

I always laughed at the line "If it's not too dear'. Any one of the Beatles could have rented the whole of the Isle of Wight out of petty cash!

Answer: Twelve o'clock

"At twelve o'clock a meeting round the table
For a seance in the dark
With voices out of nowhere
Put on specially by the children for a lark"

According to www.songfacts.com: "John Lennon said he got the title for the song from an advertisement. The original line from that advertisement was "Cry, baby cry. Make your mother buy".

Answer: Five o'clock

"People running round it's five o'clock
Everywhere in town is getting dark
Everyone you see is full of life
It's time for tea and meet the wife"

Apparently, NASA makes a habit of sending wake up calls to its Shuttle crews using this song.

Answer: A drink or two

"I've had a drink or two and I don't care
There's no fun in what I do if she's not there
I wonder what went wrong, I've waited far too long
I think I'll take a walk and look for her"

An album track from "Beatles For Sale", this has always been one of my favourite early fab four tracks.

Answer: Seven

"You say you've seen seven wonders
And your bird is green
But you can't see me
You can't see me"

According to a comment on www.songfacts.com: "The signature dual-harmony electric lead guitar parts were played live (without overdubbing) by Harrison and McCartney. Lennon played the rhythm in the "D major" position with the capo on the 2nd fret (to account for the song being in the key of E). John used the 2nd fret capo several times ("Nowhere Man", "Julia", "Norwegian Wood", to name a few)".

My comment to that: "Eh?"

Answer: I'll Cry Instead

"But I'll come back again someday
And when I do you'd better hide all the girls
I'm gonna break their hearts all 'round the world
Yes, I'm gonna break them in two
And show you what your loving man can do
Until then I'll cry instead"

"I'll Cry Instead" has been covered by Billy Joel and Joe Cocker, amongst others.

Answer: A ten bob note

"Sleeps in a hole in the road
Saving up to buy some clothes
Keeps a ten-bob note up his nose
Such a mean old man"

"Mean Mr Mustard" was not played by some radio stations at the time as it was believed that the line "Keeps a ten-bob note up his nose" was a cocaine reference.

Answer: Two

"You said that you would be late
About an hour or two
I said that's alright I'm waiting here
Just waiting to hear from you"

Some random tidbits regarding "Don't Pass Me By" is that it was the first song written entirely by Ringo and it was also a Number One hit in Scandinavia.

Answer: Maggie Mae

"To the port of Liverpool
They returned me to
Two pounds ten a week, that was my pay"

Not to be confused with Rod Stewart's "Maggie May", The Beatles' song is somewhat shorter.

Answer: Fifteen

"She said she'd always been a dancer
She worked at fifteen clubs a day
And though she thought I knew the answer
Well I knew what I could not say"

This song is supposedly based on an actual event where a female fan broke into McCartney's house. The most famous cover of this song is undoubtedly the painful sore-throat version from Joe Cocker!

Answer: Ten

"And Mr H will demonstrate
Ten summersets he'll undertake on solid ground"

Well, if you hadn't read this a million times already, here's once more. The song was inspired by a poster for a circus that John Lennon had spotted. Presumably, in his mind, a thought bubble appeared and he thought "Fab! Gear! Another album track".

Answer: Roll Over Beethoven

"Roll over Beethoven
A rockin' in two by two"

A classic cover version of a Chuck Berry song.

Answer: Three

"Three Cool Cats" was released on the "Anthology" albums. It is a very interesting track indeed!

Answer: Maxwell's Silver Hammer

"She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away
So he waits behind
Writing 50 times "I must not be so-o-o-oo"

and

"P.C. Thirty-One says "We caught a dirty one"

I suspect this is the only popular music song to include the word "Pataphysical", wouldn't you agree?

Answer: Three

"He roller-coaster he got early warning
He got muddy water he one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me"

"Come Together" was banned by the BBC because of the line "He got monkey finger, he shoot Coca-Cola" because it contravened their rules on advertising. It is also suggested that "Hold you in his armchair, you can feel his disease" should properly be heard as "Hold you in his arms, yeah you can feel his disease". This is a suggestion which does make some measure of sense.

Answer: 12

"12 Bar Original" was never released on an original album. It has since surfaced on a number of rarities and compilation albums however.

Answer: 4.30

"Woke up last night, half past four,
Fifty women knocking at my door"

Answer: If I Fell

"So I hope you see that I would love to love you
And that she will cry when she learns we are two
Cause I couldn't stand the pain
And I would be sad if our new love was in vain"

"If I Fell" is taken from the album and movie "A Hard Day's Night". According to www.songfacts.com: "It was used in a scene where they perform to a group of school kids in a theatre. The kids were all borrowed from nearby schools, and had no idea they would see The Beatles. One of the kids was 13 year old Phil Collins, who didn't make the final cut, but was given outtakes with him in it years later when he contributed commentary for the DVD release of the movie".

Answer: Three

"You'd say I'm putting you on
But it's no joke, it's doing me harm
You know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain
You know it's three weeks, I'm going insane
You know I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind"

In the final verse of this song, John Lennon sings "And curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid git". It is said that this is a reference to John's annoyance at being addicted to cigarettes, as it was Raleigh who introduced tobacco to Europe.

P.S. John, quit!

Answer: Yes

Yes! There is! The numbers are contained in the opening three lines to "All Together Now", which appeared on the "Yellow Submarine" album:

"One, two, three, four
Can I have a little more?
five, six, seven eight nine ten I love you"

Also contained within were nine colours:

"Black, white, green, red
Can I take my friend to bed?
Pink, brown, yellow orange and blue I love you"

and the letters A to J, even though the song was not brought to you by Sesame Street!:

"A, B, C, D
Can I bring my friend to tea?
E, F, G H I J I love you"