Glass Onion

Песня Glass Onion - третья по счёту на Белом альбоме. Прогрессивная для своего времени, как мне кажется. А также рекордсмен среди песен Beatles по количеству упомянутых в ней других песен Beatles. :)

Удивительно, но эта песня на форуме почти не обсуждалась - есть лишь престраннейшая тема "Кто не слушал Glass Onion". Даже Стас не создал для Glass Onion отдельной темы. :))

Набросимся на неё, господа-битломаны? :) Разберём по косточкам?

Интересный вариант этой песни есть на Антологии (с шумом стекла).

Трогательные слова Джона из "Антологии":

JOHN: [‘Glass Onion’] That’s me, just doing a throwaway song, à la ‘Walrus’, à la everything I’ve ever written. I threw the line in – ‘the Walrus was Paul’ – just to confuse everybody a bit more. It could have been: ‘The fox terrier is Paul.’ I mean, it’s just a bit of poetry.

I was having a laugh because there’d been so much gobbledegook about Pepper – play it backwards and you stand on your head and all that.

At that time I was still in my love cloud with Yoko. I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just say something nice to Paul, that it’s all right and you did a good job over these few years, holding us together.’ He was trying to organise the group and all that, so I wanted to say something to him. I thought, ‘Well, he can have it, I’ve got Yoko. And thank you, you can have the credit.’

The line was put in partly because I was feeling guilty because I was with Yoko and I was leaving Paul. It’s a very perverse way of saying to Paul: ‘Here, have this crumb, this illusion, this stroke – because I’m leaving.’

Британский носитель языка попытался объяснить мне что это обозначает. Вот его пояснение

The Beatles lyrics are always full of metaphor.
'Looking through an onion' refers to the fact that onions are composed of layers and that there is always more to life than what you can see with your eyes. When you are looking to see if something is real or true there are always 'layers' to look through first of all.

Позволю процитировать самого себя из темы "Эволюция моих музыкальных вкусов"
<а я ещё вёл личный хит-парад, определяя лучшую двадцатку недели, месяца и, соотвественно, года. Интересно было бы сейчас найти эти записи))).
Помню, когда ко мне попал "Белый" альбом, очень долгое время лидировали Yer Blues и Glass Onion.>

2ИГОРЬ:

>Британский носитель языка попытался объяснить
>мне что это обозначает. Вот его пояснение
>The Beatles lyrics are always full of metaphor.
>'Looking through an onion' refers to the fact
>that onions are composed of layers and that there
>is always more to life than what you can see with
>your eyes. When you are looking to see if something
>is real or true there are always 'layers' to look
>through first of all.

Согласен. Попалось мне как-то недавно весьма забавное сообщение, касающееся московского концерта Пола и датированное 28.05.2003. В том числе там упоминается и Glass Onion. Привожу это сообщение ниже, хотя оно больше относится к другой теме:

Hi, all Beatlefans:

I want to add my two cents of spice to reviews of Macca's visit to
Russia. I must say from the beginning that I have not been at the Red
Square show for some reasons. But I can translate to you the opinion of
two serious Beatlefans from Russia, to whom I called after the show,
that indeed both Sir Paul and the sound have been great.

Instead, I had a chance to watch Moscow TV, switching channels from time
to time. So, I want to share some my impressions with you. I have to say
that maybe my TV impressions will look a little bit strange for you, and
somebody may even think that they contain a flame to Macca. But,
nevertheless, these facts may be interesting to the Beatlefans in
different countries.

Please, don't think that the events below have been organized by Russian
Beatlefans. Believe me, fans are fans, and they are the same as the
Beatlefans all over the world. But the official mass media are very
different...


BEHIND THE SCENES
(Looking through the Glass Onion in Moscow)

1) Once Apon A Long Ago:

The visit of Paul to Russia was accompanied by the unprecedented
advertisement of insecticides on TV, which had been broadcasted perhaps
every 15 minutes, practically on every TV channel, for several days (it
still continues but less frequently). A typical example: "Once upon...
there had been only two cockroaches. Now there are thousands of them.
Don't worry! Our Raid Max will kill them all!" So, I wasn't surprised
when I read the news that, when Paul had been officially honored in St.
Petersburg with a Doctoral degree, he had also received a special gift:
a new album of the DDT rock group.

Comment:
DDT stands for:
(i) 1,1'-(2,2,2-trichloroethylene) bis [4-chlorobenzene], a
nondegradable pesticide, also known as "Dust" (in the former USSR) or
Guesapon, Neocid (in other countries); DDT has been banned in many
countries (since 1970 in the USSR), because it had been found that this
substance is much more dangerous to humans than to bugs;
(ii) the former Soviet underground rock group; recently the DDT is no
longer an underground group and it claims to be one of the most popular
bands in Russia playing patriotic rock music; in Russian mass media this
group is often used in conjuction with the Beatles, but that's another
story...

2) You Know My Name (Look Down The Number):

But nevertheless... In spite of all the danger, the Messiah has arrived
to Russia to bring the boys back home. Sir Paul arrived to the Red
Square in a black limousine (number A 665 YA), especially prepared for
Macca. While Paul was out of the limousine, a nice girl demonstrated an
inside of the car to journalists, assuring that neither ram's nor goat's
hides (nor other materials made from an animal) had been used in the
design of seats, as Macca requested. Later, at the press conference,
somebody asked Paul that soon he's going to be 64. How does he feel?
Macca answered that he is full of energy, and probably he will change 64
to 84 in the words of his famous song and will continue singing.

3) The Sheff Prepared A Special Menu:

To the left of the scene, where Paul gave the show, "Lobnoye mesto" (the
place of executions) is located (see the plan of the Red Square
attached), where many heads had been cut down centuries ago. Very near,
in the lane to the left of the most prestigious sitting places
($500-$1500 per one place, these 2000 seats have not been in the open
sale, they have been reserved for special guests), the Strawberry fields
have been organized, where the special guests could enjoy strawberries
and Champaign free of charge and in the unlimited quantities.

I guess that the sheff cook organizer is not a big Beatlefan, since he
certainly lacks a fantasy. Can you imagine how it could be organized?
"Lobnoye mesto" could serve as a table for special guests. They could
enjoy the Cream Tangerine and Montelimat, Semolina Pilchards,
Marshmallow Pies, etc., etc. A real brilliant could be a dead dog's head
in the center of the table, and the special guests could enjoy the
Yellow Matter Custard dripping from the dead dog's eye. While waiting
for the show to begin, the languished fans on cheaper places could
appreciate the old Paul's film "The Defeat Of The Dog" on big screens!

But... the lack of fantasy... I can only hope that next time Macca will
come to the Red Square together with the Rolling Stones to rock this
place! And the sheff will be more dedicated and inventive. And he will
prepare really something special to the special guests!

"I know it's only rock' n' roll..."

4) So Much Georgia On So Many Minds:

But that's another story...

Mr. Moonlight
-----------------------
"It's just a one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine..."

Довесок.

"Glass onion" is British slang for a monocle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_Onion

Типично НЕ битловская песня. В ней нет ничего битловского. Странно что они ее записали. С другой стороны правда развитие и движение Битлз как раз в этом и было - записывать нечто не имеющее отношение к некому типичному битловскому репертуару... Это самое главное.

2Expert:

>Типично НЕ битловская песня. В ней нет ничего
>битловского. Странно что они ее записали. С другой
>стороны правда развитие и движение Битлз как раз
>в этом и было - записывать нечто не имеющее отношение
>к некому типичному битловскому репертуару... Это
>самое главное.

а на кого похоже?

2Medicene Jar:


>а на кого похоже?

В том-то и дело, что ни на кого. Лично мне она всегда резала слух своей нервностью, немелодичностью. Ну а могильные скрипки вообе все добивали. Принимаешь ее как попытку плыть против течения, против всех правил и обычаев сочинения "хитового" материала.