"Free As a Bird" clues
Subject: Free as a Bird clues...again
From: c_gagne@oz.plymouth.edu (Chessa N. Gagne)
Date: 18 Apr 1996 19:10:52 -0400
BEATLE REFERENCES IN "FREE AS A BIRD" VIDEO
***Obvious references***
:07 - portraits of Beatles as children on mantle (from left to
right, John, George, Paul. Ringo in front)
:14 - more portraits (left to right, Paul, John, Ringo, George)
:38 - Beatles walk through dock workers
:48 - Cavern Club (club where Beatles played many shows before
becoming famous)
:52 - Beatles performing at Cavern Club
1:06 - Strawberry Field ("Strawberry Fields Forever")
1:18 - Eggman appears ("I Am the Walrus")
1:27 - Beatles begin to walk off curb behind eggman
1:33 - Pretty nurse selling poppies from tray ("Penny Lane")
1:42 - Barber shop, with pictures of every head he's had the
pleasure to know, including the Fab Four ("Penny Lane")
1:47 - Sign on wall reads "Help" ("Help!")
1:49 - Boy holds up hand to whisper to girl ("Do You Want to Know
a Secret?")
1:50 - Ringo jumps from doorway
1:54 - Beatles stand by car
1:56 - Window has Beatles montage. First third looks like
'Anthology 1' cover. Other panels may be covers of other
two volumes.
2:02 - Birthday cake ("Birthday")
2:02 - Cake has a 6 and a 4 on it ("When I'm Sixty-Four")
2:07 - George appears on street
2:13 - George walks into office (In reality, Apple headquarters)
with sign that reads "Dr. Robert" ("Dr. Robert")
2:18 - Ringo runs by
2:22 - John in crowd scene at car wreck, craning neck while others
turn away ("A Day in the Life")
2:26 - Car wreck ("A Day in the Life" definitely, "Don't Pass Me
By" possibly)
2:27 - Fire engine ("Penny Lane")
2:29 - Policemen in a row ("I Am the Walrus")
2:32 - Fireman ("Penny Lane")
2:38 - Helter Skelter slide (It looks like a lighthouse, but you
can see the slide circling the building. "Helter Skelter,"
of course.)
2:38 - Kite ("Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite")
2:42 - Children run by in pig masks ("Piggies")
2:43 - Someone enters house through window from ladder ("She Came
in Through the Bathroom Window")
2:51 - Writer working at desk ("Paperback Writer")
2:54 - Beatles walk behind children in pig masks (It's small, but
it's obvious it's them)
3:05 - Beatles on TV
3:06 - John sitting in chair
3:08 - Copy of Daily Mail on table ("Paperback Writer")
3:08 - Bowl of green apples (reference to Apple Corps, Ltd.)
3:08 - Box of Savoy Truffles sits on table (kind of hard to make
out, but that's what it says: "Savoy Truffle")
3:10 - Picture of Chairman Mao in window ("Revolution")
3:13 - Workers repairing hole in roof ("Fixing a Hole")
3:13 - Blue Meanie pops his head through hole (the film "Yellow
Submarine")
3:18 - Newspaper taxi appears ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds")
3:22 - Woman leaves home ("She's Leaving Home")
3:22 - Picture of Mao being carried across street ("Revolution"
definitely, "Carry That Weight" possibly)
3:22 - John and Yoko waltz by (taken from film "Let It Be" and
probably representing "The Ballad of John and Yoko.")
3:23 - Blue Meanie pops head up from out of sewer (the film
"Yellow Submarine")
3:25 - Magical Mystery Tour bus passes in far background (Hard
to see, but it's there)
3:31 - Big game hunter leads procession, including elderly lady
and elephant, out of party ("The Continuing Adventures of
Bungalow Bill," who always went hunting with his elephant
and gun and always took his mum.)
3:33 - Ringo at table near door
3:45 - Brian Epstein begins to put on his scarf
3:47 - Head of Stu Sutcliffe on body of James Dean from "Sgt
Pepper" cover
3:48 - Flowers, drum and tuba from "Sgt Pepper" cover
3:49 - H.G. Wells and Lawrence of Arabia from "Sgt Pepper" cover
chat (I know other guests are supposed to be rest of
people on the cover, but they aren't as clearly
identifiable as these two)
3:58 - Eleanor Rigby headstone ("Eleanor Rigby")
4:00 - Priest walks from grave ("Eleanor Rigby")
4:01 - Sheepdog runs through cemetery ("Martha My Dear" definitely,
"Hey Bulldog" possibly)
4:04 - Long and winding road in background ("The Long and Winding
Road")
4:05 - Paul romps on hill ("The Fool on the Hill")
4:12 - Crosswalk from the cover of "Abbey Road"
4:14 - Meter maid with bag across her shoulder steps onto curb
("Lovely Rita." She's definitely wearing a uniform and
carrying a little white book.)
4:30 - Beatles walk into theater (taken from "A Hard Days Night")
***References with more than one possible interpretation***
:01 - Bird flying. (Interpretations range from "Blackbird" to
"And Your Bird Can Sing" to "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has
Flown)" to even "Blue Jay Way." The flapping of the ings,
though, sounds like the intro to the original version of
"Across the Universe" which I think it's meant to represent.
The entire concept of flying in the whole video could be
taken to represent "Flying.")
1:27 - Children run by holding hands ("Lady Madonna" is most
likely, but "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is another
possibility.)
1:45 - Woman appears in plastic-appearing coat (Some say, and I
agree, that she is "Polythene Pam," but others have
suggested she is "Sexy Sadie," or that her companion in the
white coat is "Sexy Sadie." Since I can't locate a "Sexy
Sadie" anywhere else in the video, I'll play it safe and place
it in this category.)
1:53 - Couple kissing in car (may be banker on corner with a
motorcar from "Penny Lane," a bit of the "four of fish and
finger pie" from "Penny Lane" (an old Liverpudlian
expression for heavy petting) or even amorous couple from
"Drive My Car." Most likely, though, it's "Why Don't We Do It
In The Road?")
2:45 - Sunflowers. (I lean toward saying they're "the flowers that
grow so incredibly high" from "Lucy in the Sky with
Diamonds." Other interpretations are "I'll Follow the Sun"
(since that is what flowers do), "Sun King" and "Here Comes
the Sun," hence its inclusion here.)
3:08 - Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II sits on floor ("Her Majesty"
or portrait of the Queen from "Penny Lane," though it's
hardly pocket-sized)
3:53 - Statue in cemetery turns head (Statue could be of the
Madonna ("Lady Madonna") or could be Mother Mary ("Let It
Be")
***Reference that may not actually *be* references***
1:18 - Marketplace (Could be reference to "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," but
since I see no one with a barrow in the marketplace, I'm
unconvinced.)
3:38 - Last boy in Bungalow Bill's entourage looks very much like
Sean Lennon. Could be a cameo or just a coincidence.
3:50 - Sun through panes in roof (It's the only intentional shot of
the sun in the whole video. It could be meant to represent
"Here Comes the Sun," "Sun King," "Good Day Sunshine" or
"I'll Follow the Sun.")
4:06 - Woman walks down road with suitcase (could be "She's Leaving
Home," but since we already had that song done with the
woman leaving home in the newspaper taxi at 3:22, would she
need to appear again?)
4:06 - Car heads up long and winding road ("Drive My Car"? Not
many other cars in video, and one of few that's moving. It
has also been posited that this is the man from the motor
trade, dropping off the girl from "She's Leaving Home," but
I think that's quite a reach.)
and let us not forget ...
***The Voice***
4:36 - Voice at end of song. It sounds like backward masking, and
it is definitely John's voice. Interpretations I've seen
include:
"Turned out well at the end"
"There's that noise again"
"Turned out nice again."
Having heard a tape of the reversed bit myself, I say it's:
"Turned out nice at the end"
Followed by:
"Hey, mister."
Which was a line John spoke in "A Hard Days Night."
*** Oddities ***
A. Is that a glass onion on the TV???
B. It's raining on the dockworkers. Could this be a reference
to "Rain"?
C. Is the "French" woman (in the light colored coat) who walks
out of the Penny Lane shop (in front of Polythene Pam) a
reference to "Michelle"?
D. The three children in front of the Penny Lane shop (just
before Ringo hops out of the door): Could they be Vera, Chuck,
and Dave?
E. The couple making out in the car has got to mean something.
F. Woman who looks remarkably like Cynthia Lennon walks past
record store.
G. This whole car accident scene is too weird for words. Is this
a prank on the whole "Paul is Dead" crowd?? Could possibly be
references to "Got to Get You Into My Life" ("I was alone, I
took a ride"), and "A Day In The Life" ("He blew his mind out
in a car"), as well as Ringo's "Don't Pass Me By" ("You were
in a car crash")
H. The writer looks remarkably like Alun Owen, who wrote the
screenplay for "Hard Day's Night"
I. The sunflower has got to mean something.
J. There's a bowl of green apples on the writer's coffee table
K. An imaginary Sgt. Pepper photo shoot is created.
L. Is the woman walking along the road a reference to "She's
Leaving Home?"
M. The Abbey Road cover is re-created, sans Beatles
N. Is the ukulele player in the Albert Hall??
*** Not so Clear References (and alternate interpretations) ***
"Across the Universe"
Flapping Bird Sounds at the beginning of video.
"Rain"
Beatles and dockworkers walking in the rain (0:37)
"I want to hold your hand"
Two of the children are running hand in hand
"Old Brown Shoe"
The man buying poppies from the nurse is wearing an old
brown shoe on his right foot.
"Baby's In Black"
Woman dressed in black starting to cross the street
"Polythene Pam"
Woman dressed in black starting to cross the street
"Girl"
Woman dressed in black starting to cross the street
"Another Girl"
The other woman walking out of the shop
"I'm Happy Just To Dance With You"
John and Yoko waltz across street (3:22)
"Lady Madonna"
Statue of Virgin Mary in cemetary
"Glass Onion"
Is there a glass onion on top of the TV?
"She's Leaving Home"
Woman walking with a suitcase down the road.
"Revolution #9"
Camera soars into sky, wheeling around again and again
between scene changes, happens 9 times in video.
...... chessa......
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*
% "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense." %
* *
% -Alice in Wonderland %
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*
