A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song

by Steve Turner | Arts & Photography |
ISBN: 0732262887 Global Overview for this book
Registered by taniazed on 8/8/2007
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10 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by taniazed on Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Who was "just seventeen" and made Paul's heart go "boom"? Was there really an Eleanor Rigby? Where's Penny Lane? In a Hard Day's Write, music journalist Steve TYurner shatters many well-worn myths and adds a new dimension to the Fab Four's rich legacy by investigating for the first tim the ordinary people and events immortalized in the Beatles' music and now occupying a special niche in popular culture's collective imagination.

Arranged chronologically by album, the book breaks new ground by exploring how private incidents influence the group's writing and how their music evolved. Turner reveals that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was really a drawing by Julian lennon of his childhood friend; Bungalow Bill as an all American tiger hunter; Doctor Robert was a New York 'speed doctor'; and much more. A longtime beatles admirer; Turner tracked down and interviewed the real-life subjects of the songs, probed public records and newspaper archives, and spoke in depth to the people closest to the Beatles to unearth tales that have never before been made public. The result is a book that chronicles an untold story of the Beatles themselves.

Illustrated with over 200 photographs, A Hard Day's Write is visually alluring and highly entertaining journey to the land stretching just beneath your conscious mind, mapped out with strawberry fields, fool topped hills, and long and winding roads.

Journal Entry 2 by taniazed on Saturday, August 18, 2007
THIS IS NOW A BOOKRING


yvensong (Nevada, USA) US/Canada Only *BOOK IS HERE*
JennyC1230 (Georgia, USA) US Only
TheBowieFollies (New York, USA) Intl
WhitePine (Connecticut, USA) Intl
Stellarv (Brazil) Intl
LauraLeterboxer (Scotland, UK) Intl
voveryte (England, UK) Intl
penelopewanders (Switzerland) Europe Only
Bookworm-lady (Spain) Europe Only
vainilla79 (Spain) Europe only
boirina (Portugal) Intl
snufkin81 (South Africa) Intl (poss. surface)
back to taniazed

starbrightxx (Ohio, USA) US pref (taken out of ring because a number of books have stalled here. Will add back once books are moving again...)

Journal Entry 3 by taniazed on Thursday, November 8, 2007
I've put most of the songs together over at my profile on youtube. They aren't all the best videos, but in most the actual song is clear. Any not on my profile can easily be looked up on youtube.

Beatles Songs

Journal Entry 4 by taniazed on Saturday, November 10, 2007
Sending to yvensong on Monday!

Journal Entry 5 by yvensong from Reno, Nevada USA on Sunday, December 2, 2007
That was the slowest airplane flight! Maybe they sent this book on a glider. This arrived yesterday.

Will be starting real soon, as soon as I'm done with the BookRay I have.

Thanks for sharing.


Journal Entry 6 by yvensong from Reno, Nevada USA on Saturday, January 19, 2008
Thanks so much for sharing this! I enjoyed reminiscing about all the changes the Beatles went through. I had been quite the Beatles fanatic and looked forward to every album put out.

This is on its way to JennyC1230

Tracking #0307 0020 0001 3127 3537

Journal Entry 7 by JennyC1230 from Woodstock, Georgia USA on Monday, January 28, 2008
I caught this book as well as a Surprise RABCK from My Wishlist: Wicked Nights by: Nina Bangs

I am nearly done with the book I am reading now and will start this one right away! Thank you!

Journal Entry 8 by JennyC1230 from Woodstock, Georgia USA on Thursday, January 31, 2008
I finished this book last night! It was really great. I learned a lot more about the Beatles, and the way they write songs!

Thanks for sharing Taniazed and mailing to me yvensong! I contacted TheBowieFollies and they asked to be skipped, so I contacted WhitePine. I haven't heard from them, but when I get the address I will mail the book to them. Thanks!

Journal Entry 9 by JennyC1230 from Woodstock, Georgia USA on Monday, February 4, 2008
Mailed to WhitePine today. I hope that everyone enjoys the book as much as I did!

USPS Delivery Confirmation #03070020000131362453

Journal Entry 10 by WhitePine from Coventry, Connecticut USA on Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Received this book a few days ago . I am in the middle of a book club book but I do want to read this one !!!!!!!!!!

Journal Entry 11 by LauraLeterboxer on Sunday, March 30, 2008
Hiya,

This arrived from WhitePines this week. Thanks WhitePines!!

I've read the preface, and it looks very interesting. I like those albums that the author says he has the most to say about, so I'm very much looking forward to this.

Released 15 yrs ago (10/18/2008 UTC) at -- Somewhere in London πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ , Greater London United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I've had this book for far too long. For some reason, I've had trouble getting into it and didn't complete it. It probably has more to do with work pressures (and a lot of work related books and articles I'm reading at the moment). I've had trouble getting in touch with the next person on the ring as well, though I must admit I haven't been as diligent about trying as I should be. Anyway, finally got my act together and the address to send to, and it's on its way. I hope you enjoy this, voveryte, and I'm sorry to all in the ring for holding it up.

Journal Entry 13 by voveryte from -- Somewhere in London πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, October 20, 2008
Thank you very much for sharing this - looks very promising! I'll try to be fast, but you know, those bookrings - they all come at once!

Journal Entry 14 by voveryte from -- Somewhere in London πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, November 24, 2008
What a great book! Being a Beatles fan I knew most of the songs, but didn't know most of the facts hiding behind each song. At the same time it told the whole story of Beatles in a way. And towards the end you felt the end of the group coming and it felt a bit sad..
Anyway, I have enjoyed reading it so much and the pictures are great too.

The book is travelling to penelopewanders in Switzerland.

Journal Entry 15 by wingpenelopewanderswing from Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Friday, December 5, 2008
Arrived here today and will have to wait a bit as there are other rings in front of it, but it looks like a good book to look at during the holiday season. Thanks so much for sending.

Journal Entry 16 by wingpenelopewanderswing from Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Sunday, January 11, 2009
This is the kind of book to savor rather than race through. UPDATE
So, this took me almost a month to get through. Two major complaints: first would be the constant repetition - perhaps different sections were written at different times and therefore information was repeated, but it was irritating to reread the same story a few pages on, or the same info about the same song repeated when referred to as a single rather than part of an album, or vice versa. Secondly, and I suppose this is for reasons of copyright or something, but it bothered me that lyrics were referred to but not quoted. Perhaps I'm not enough of an afficionado to know all the songs by heart, but it would have been great to have a section with the lyrics someplace. As is I did enjoy remembering tunes I'd totally forgotten about, and found myself humming old Beatles hits the whole time I was reading the book. I've ordered a CD and look forward to actually hearing them again. Thanks so much for making this available. This should travel on in the next day or so - sorry it was here so long!

Released 15 yrs ago (1/12/2009 UTC) at β˜‘ 'Controlled Release' > Country > Province > City, .---controlled release---. Switzerland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Ironically, just after having sealed the package yesterday, I went to a talk in the evening and the presentation was punctuated with songs by the Beatles! This is now on its way to bookworm-lady. Sorry it spent so much time with me, but then, the Alps in the winter are worth dallying around for!

Journal Entry 18 by wingBookworm-ladywing from Madrid, Madrid Spain on Sunday, February 1, 2009
Wow, what a lovely book! It was worth waiting for it...
It was waiting for me when I came home from work on Friday.
Thanks for sending it on, Penelopewanders, and thanks for sharing, Taniazed!
All my best from a snowy Madrid,
Eva

Journal Entry 19 by wingBookworm-ladywing from Madrid, Madrid Spain on Friday, May 1, 2009
This is a really amazing book, a MUST for all Beatles' lovers out there.
It makes you reach for your old CDs, and want to listen to all these amazing songs again...

Quote from the Introduction:
"Twenty-five years after the band stopped playing, those songs still mean something to us. They are like old friends who we met when we were young and who made life a little more exciting and easier to cope with. Because of what they did for us, we have great affection for them. It is because we hold such affection for them that it makes sense to find out where they came from."

Vanilla79 isn't traceable, so I will send this on to my good friend Boirina.

Thanks for sharing, Taniazed!

Eva

Journal Entry 20 by wingBookworm-ladywing at Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada on Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (5/6/2009 UTC) at Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent this morning to Boirina, who is next in the bookray list.
Enjoy, it is an interesting book, with lots of research!
Eva

Journal Entry 21 by boirina from Mallorca - Calvià, Illes Balears/Islas Baleares Spain on Sunday, September 6, 2009
First of all, I want to apologise for not having made the journal entry until now. The book got here when I was really busy with the end of term exams and somehow I managed to place it in some boxes that went into storage for the summer, while we were doing some repairs at home. Last week I managed to get the boxes back.
I'll finish reading the book and I'll send it over to the next person in line in about two weeks time, from Portugal.

Journal Entry 22 by boirina from Mallorca - Calvià, Illes Balears/Islas Baleares Spain on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The book is travelling tomorrow. First it will fly from Mallorca to Portugal with my husband who will mail it right on arrival.

I must say that I also found it hard to get into it, for some reason. Then the book got mixed up with other books that were meant to go to the office, then it took a long time to unpack them to find that the book was there, then I tried reading it again, and then life got in the way. But I don't want to keep it any longer. It has actually been waiting for over a month because my husband hasn't travelled to Portugal for a while - I don't really trust the Spanish mail, I can't say why.

Thanks for letting me join, and I'm really sorry it's taken so long.

Journal Entry 23 by snufkin81 from Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Thursday, December 3, 2009
Safely in South Africa! Thanks, boirina. I have a few other books ahead of this one, but I will get to it a.s.a.p.

Journal Entry 24 by snufkin81 at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Thursday, April 12, 2012
I enjoyed this book a lot and will be looking out for a copy for myself. My only regret while reading this was that I didn't have any Beatles CDs with me at the time so that I could listen to the songs I was reading about.

Huge apologies to Taniazed for keeping this for an age! I will send this off promptly as soon as I have an address.

Journal Entry 25 by snufkin81 at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Thursday, April 26, 2012
Taniazed, I have tried to contact you by PM and on the forum. Please send me your address so that I can return your book to you.

Thanks! :)

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