The fourth take Lennon recorded in Spain shows yet more development.

A recording may be found on this YouTube video, from 4:02-5:45.

A transcription of this fourth take is below. (Click the picture to enlarge.) Note: In many instances, the rhythms have been simplified for the sake of visual simplicity.

There are several minor changes to the verse (the addition of the word "is" to the first line, the furthered melodic ornamentation to the words "but it's alright", a slight melodic and lyrical variation on the words "You know I think it's not too bad"), but the most significant differences are in the chorus: the first half has been doubled in length (the second half remains the same), and a melody and lyrics have been added to all but the last three measures.

Though still lacking a few lines and word changes, the words to this chorus are very similar to those of the result.

This is, in fact, the first time the words "Strawberry Fields" have been used in the song - but it appears only in th first half of the chorus and not in the second half (as would be the case with the finished product). One wonders when Lennon stopped calling it "It's Not Too Bad" and started calling it "Strawberry Fields".

Strawberry Field (note: singular, not plural) was an orphanage in Woolton, very near to the house where Lennon grew up.  Woolton was “a delightful place for two rambunctious boys to grow up in,” said John's best friend from childhood, Pete Shotton. “Its fields and woods had yet to be superseded by housing projects, and John and I suffered no shortage of secret dens and playgrounds – whose allure was often enhanced by their being officially off-limits to the public. One of our favorites was Strawberry Fields, a large, wooded property attached to the castle-like lodgings of the Salvation Army Children's Home. During the summer, this institution regularly opened its strawberry-colored iron gates for a series of garden parties. John I, however, were in the habit of climbing over the walls whenever the spirit moved us – unless and until the resident nuns happened to chase us away” (page 38). John's aunt, Mimi, with whom he lived with for the majority of his childhood, recalled similar fond memories: "There was something about the place that always fascinated John. He could see it from his window, and he loved going to the garden party they had each year. He used to hear the Salvation Army band, and he would pull me along, saying, 'Hurry up, Mimi – we're going to be late!'” (Goldman page 255)

Paul McCartney saw a little bit deeper:  “I've seen Strawberry Fields described as a dull, grimy place next door to him that John imagined to be a beautiful place," he said. "But in the summer it wasn't dull and grimy at all: it was a secret garden. John's memory of it wasn't to do with the fact that it was a Salvation Army home; that was up at the house. There was a wall you could bunk over and it was a rather wild garden, it wasn't manicured at all, so it was easy to hid in. The bit he went into was a secret garden like in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and he thought of it like that, it was a little hide-away for him where he could maybe have a smoke, like in his dreams a little, so it was a get-away. It was an escape for John” (Many Years From Now page 306-7).

An escape from what? During his childhood, an escape from his caring but domineering Aunt, and from the emotional turmoil surrounding his mother (from whom John was forcibly taken to live with Aunt Mimi, and who died when John was 17 years old) and absentee father.  In 1966, however, Lennon would have been 25 years old, and his imaginary return to Strawberry Field in the form of song was an escape from the reality that, no longer touring, the Beatles were probably through as a band.


CITATIONS
Goldman, Albert. The Lives of John Lennon. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, NY, 1988.

Miles, Barry. Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. Henry Holt and Company, New York, NY, 1997.

Shotton, Pete and Nicholas Schaffner. The Beatles Lennon and Me. Stein and Day, New York, NY, 1983.

Formal structure of [60] "It's Only Love":
          Intro  (bridge)   0:00-0:10*
          Verse 1    0:10-0:27
          Bridge     0:27-0:35
          Chorus   0:35-0:52
          Verse 2     0:52-1:09
          Bridge     1:09-1:18
          Chorus    1:18-1:39*
          Coda (bridge) 1:39-157*

Comments: Last chorus extended to propel the song to its conclusion. Similar extensions served similar purposes in [11] Thank You Girl, [12] She Loves You, [18] All I've Got To Do, [21] I Want to Hold Your Hand, [41] "What You're Doing", [45] "I Feel Fine", and [54] "Tell Me What You See".

The only other Beatles recording to date to use an introduction based on the bridge is [13f] "Please Mister Postman". No other Beatles recording to date uses a coda based on the bridge.

The second take Lennon recorded of "It's Not Too Bad" in Spain is nearly identical to the first, and thus provides no real insight. More revealing is his next take. Therefore it is that third take that will be discussed here.

A recording may be found on this YouTube video, from 2:32-4:01.

A transcription of this third take is below. (Click the picture to enlarge.)

Note: In many instances, the rhythms have been simplified for the sake of visual simplicity.

There are two significant developments to be observed in this third take: First, lyrics to the initial line have been written - and they will change only slightly between this third take and the completed recording of "Strawberry Fields Forever".

Second, this take is the first instance of what would ultimately become the chorus. But the harmonic rhythm (the rate of chord changes) will change considerably, and the progression will be altered slightly near the end.

Formal structure of "Yesterday"
          Intro (verse)  0:00-0:05
          Verse 1       0:05-0:24
          Verse 2       0:24-0:41
          Middle 8     0:41-1:01
          Verse 3       1:01-1:19
          Middle 8     1:19-1:39
          Verse 4       1:39-1:56
          Coda (verse)  1:56-2:06
Comments: In a manner similar to [46] "I'll Follow the Sun", the formal layout of "Yesterday" is very simple and straightforward, just like the music.

“It took me six weeks to write the song," Lennon said in a 1980 interview with David Sheff of Playboy magazine. "I was writing it all the time I was making the film. And as anybody knows about film work, there's a lot of hanging around. I have an original tape of it somewhere. Of how it sounded before it became the sort of psychedelic-sounding song it became on the record” (page 154). The original tape Lennon refers to is a series of six recordings, the first take of which will be discussed here.

A recording of that first take may be found in this YouTube video from 0:27-1:14.

A transcription of this first take is below. (Click the picture to enlarge.)

Note: In many instances, the rhythms have been simplified for the sake of visual simplicity.

True to his description, the recording contains just Lennon's vocals and guitar playing, and consequently is very light in nature - far removed from what "Strawberry Fields Forever" would eventually become, and rather evocative of the warm, breezy summer nights in the south of Spain. This very first version also reveals the lyrics that would ultimately become the second verse nearly in tact - save for the very first line.

The chord progression for the first half of the song will change greatly, but quite the opposite for the second half - just one additional chord will be added. That being said, everything else (including verse 1, verse 3, the introduction, the coda, and the chorus - with it's title lyrics) had yet to be written. There is, in fact, no mention of Strawberry Field at all in this initial version - no doubt why the song was originally called "It's Not Too Bad".


CITATIONS
Scheff, David. All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. St. Martin's Griffin, New York, NY, 1981.

Formal structure of [58] "I'm Down":
          Verse 1     0:00-0:06*
         Chorus      0:06-0:21*
         Verse 2     0:21-0:27
         Chorus     0:27-0:41
         Solo 1       0:41-0:59*
         Verse 3    0:59-1:06
         Chorus     1:06-1:19
         Solo 2      1:19-1:36*
         Chorus    1:36-1:55
         Chorus    1:55-2:12
         Chorus/Coda    2:12-2:32*

Comments: Begins with verse, like [15] "All My Loving", [19] "Not a Second Time", [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [42] "No Reply", and [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".

Dual solos, like [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [38] "I'm a Loser", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", [46e] "Honey Don't", and [56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy".

Verse and chorus combine to form a 12 bar blues pattern (though the chorus is extended through repetition of the final two measures, so it's actually a 14 bar blues).

The final chorus fades out, and thus functions as a coda.