While I was showing that to John, he was doing the Greek chorus, the parents' view: 'We gave her most of our lives, we gave her everything money could buy.' I think that may have been in the runaway story, it might have been a quote from the parents. Then there's the famous little line about a man from the motor trade; people have since said that was Terry Doran, who was a friend who worked in a car showroom, but it was just fiction, like the sea captain in "Yellow Submarine", they weren't real people."
The newspaper story McCartney mentioned was from the front page of the Daily Mirror, about a girl named Melanie Coe. Although McCartney made up most of the content, Coe, who was 17 at the time claims that he got most of it right. Her parents wondered why she had left... "She has everything here." In real life, Melanie did not "meet a man from the motor trade", but instead a croupier, and left in the afternoon while her parents were at work. She was found ten days later because she had let slip where her boyfriend worked.[2]
Coincidentally, Coe had met McCartney three years earlier when she was a contestant and prize winner on ITV's Ready Steady Go!.[3] An update on Melanie appeared in the Daily Mail in May 2008.[4]
Covered by Harry Nilsson on Pandemonium Shadow Show.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She%27s_Leaving_Home
She's Leaving Home
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As the day begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She goes downstairs to the kitchen
Clutching her handkerchief
Quietly turning the backdoor key
She(we gave her most of our lives)
Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives)
Home (we gave her everything money could buy)
She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years (bye bye)
Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Picks up the letter that's lying there
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
She breaks down and cries to her husband
"Daddy, our baby's gone.
"Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?
How could she do this to me?"
She (we never thought of ourselves)
Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves)
Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years
Friday morning, at nine o'clock
She is far away
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
Meeting a man from the Motortrade
She (what did we do that was wrong)
Is Having (we didn't know it was wrong)
Fun (fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
Something inside, that was always denied, for so many years
She's leaving home, bye, bye
The song "She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles is a poignant tale of a young girl who leaves her home to escape a life of predictability and suffocation. The song opens on a Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the girl tiptoes out of her bedroom, leaving behind a note that she hopes will explain everything. She heads downstairs to the kitchen where she quietly exits through the back door, finally feeling free.
The girl reflects on her life as she leaves, acknowledging the sacrifices her parents made for her. The second stanza starts with the father snoring as his wife gets dressed, picking up the letter left behind by their daughter. The mother stands alone and begins to cry as she realizes that her baby is gone. She questions why her daughter would treat them so thoughtlessly and wonders how she could do that to them. The third stanza takes place on a Friday morning as the girl is far away waiting for an appointment with a man from the motortrade. She's having fun and finally doing something that was always denied her.
The song is written with a sense of sadness and regret. The Beatles left the singer of the song nameless, giving it a universal quality that anyone can relate to. The lyrics are poetic and full of metaphors, including the phrase "something inside that was always denied." This line refers to the girl's desire for freedom and independence. The song's theme of parental love and sacrifice is a common one in pop music, but The Beatles have put their own spin on it, making it both intensely personal and universal.
Line by Line Meaning
Wednesday morning at five o'clock
As the day starts, and it's still dark out
Silently closing her bedroom door
She's not making any noise, so as not to wake anyone up
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She left a note to try to explain her feelings better than she could in person
She goes downstairs to the kitchen
She's making her way to the kitchen
Clutching her handkerchief
Holding onto her handkerchief tightly
Quietly turning the backdoor key
Unlocking the door without making any noise
Stepping outside, she is free
She feels free from whatever was holding her back
She(we gave her most of our lives)
Her parents sacrificed a lot for her
Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives)
She's leaving despite all her parents have done for her
Home (we gave her everything money could buy)
Her parents provided her with everything they could afford
She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years (bye bye)
She's leaving after feeling isolated for a long time
Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Her father is sleeping while her mother gets dressed
Picks up the letter that's lying there
Her mother finds and picks up her daughter's note
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
Her mother is standing by herself, stunned by the news
She breaks down and cries to her husband
Her mother starts crying and goes to her husband for support
"Daddy, our baby's gone.
Her mother expresses her sadness to her husband
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?
Her mother can't understand why her daughter would do this to them
How could she do this to me?"
Her mother feels hurt and betrayed
She (we never thought of ourselves)
Her parents put their daughter's needs ahead of their own
Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves)
She's leaving despite her parents putting her needs first
Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by)
Her parents worked hard to provide for their family
Friday morning, at nine o'clock
It's a few days later when she's supposed to meet someone
She is far away
She's not close to home anymore
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
She's waiting to meet someone
Meeting a man from the Motortrade
She's meeting a man who works in the car industry
She (what did we do that was wrong)
Her parents are questioning where they went wrong
Is Having (we didn't know it was wrong)
She's having fun, but her parents didn't realize something was wrong
Fun (fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
She's experiencing something that money can't buy
Something inside, that was always denied, for so many years
She's finally doing something she's always wanted to do but felt unable to
She's leaving home, bye, bye
She's made the decision to leave and says goodbye
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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