That spring morning, knowing that my mother was a Beatles fan, my father suggested “Yellow Submarine.” There was no deliberation, no getting mired in the paradox of choice - just an instinctive offering fetched from some mysterious mental library.Įventually, my parents got pregnant, got married, had this child. My mother’s parents, elementary schoolteachers in rural Bulgaria who tended to an orchard and the occasional farm animal, used a melody of unclear origin but aurally evocative of a Bulgarian folk song my father’s parents, both civil engineers and city intellectuals, used a fragment from a Schumann waltz. Partway between the primitive and the poetic, between the mating calls of mammals and the sonnets by which Romeo and Juliet beckoned one another, these signals were part of a couple’s shared language, a private code to be performed in public. At the time, Bulgarian couples customarily had whistle-calls - distinctive tunes they came up with, usually borrowed from the melody of a favorite song, by which they could find each other in a crowd or summon one another from across the street. One spring morning, having finally begun to feel like a couple, they were walking across the lawn between the two dorms and decided it was time for them to have a whistle-call. Upon arrival, he began courting my mother with such subtlety that it took her two years to realize she was being courted. It was the middle of the Cold War and they were both traveling from their native Bulgaria to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where they were to attend different universities - my father, an introvert of formidable intelligence, was studying computer science my mother, a poetry-writing (bordering-on-bossy) extrovert, library science.Īn otherwise rational man, my father describes the train encounter as love at first sight. Here is my essay, as it appears in the book. The anthology is now out as In Their Lives: Great Writers on Great Beatles Songs ( public library), featuring contributions from wonderful writers like Pico Iyer (“Yesterday”), Rosanne Cash (“No Reply”), Rick Moody (“The End”), Rebecca Mead (“Eleanor Rigby”), Roz Chast (“She Loves You”), Jane Smiley (“I Want to Hold Your Hand”), and Adam Gopnik (“Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane”). Can the mop-tops save the day with a few choruses of 'All You Need Is Love?' Need one ask? Updated with handwrought digital refurbishment, audio commentaries, interviews, a vintage making-of, animation cells, and stickers, Yellow Submarine remains in a realm of its own: a riot of silliness, idealism, and melody that's less a time capsule than simply timeless.And now for something a bit out of the ordinary: When editor Andrew Blauner invited me to contribute to an anthology of essays by some of his favorite writers about their favorite Beatles songs, I did something I rarely do - I accepted, because a particular Beatles song happens to be a significant animating force in my family story. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,' 'Eleanor Rigby,' and then-new tunes 'Hey Bulldog,' 'Only a Northern Song,' and 'It's All Too Much,' John, Paul, George, and Ringo eventually cross the Sea of Green to confront the Meanies. Armed with 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,' 'Sgt.

So, sailor Old Fred sets off in a flying yellow submersible to ally himself with the Beatles, and together they brave the acid-drenched Seas of Time, Monsters, Holes, and finally, Nothing, where they pick up Nowhere Man Jeremy Hillary Boob. Pepperland, where gentlefolk wander amongst string quartets and Pop Art flower arrangements, comes under attack by a bipolar tyrant and his gang of Blue Meanies, exploding clowns, apple-wielding gentlemen clubbers, and an aggressive flying glove. With little involvement beyond a cameo appearance at the finale (actors voice the band), and songs from their vast catalog providing the film's backbone, the Beatles allowed director George Dunning and his squad to run wild in creating a satirical fantasia for all ages. The Fab Four's third cinematic opus animates the band's droll screen persona and filters it through the psychedelic Sixties. The Beatles Yellow Submarine (Apple/Capitol)Īfter years adrift in the Sea of Indifference, Yellow Submarine rises anew.

Yellow submarine album