The meaning of Strawberry Fields Forever

Gazing through the logs of the few unfortunate people who actually go here, I realized that many of them get here via odd google searches, most commonly: "What is the meaning of Strawberry Fields Forever", and alternately "Video Strawberry Fields Forever". I'd get sued very quickly for posting the latter, though you can mostly get it on the Beatles Anthology DVD/VHS/Laserdisc set (and yes, they should release the Beatles' videos properly!). I can take a stab at answering the former, and indeed, it sort of follows the lines of thought from my prior post about Figure of Eight.

First of all, John Lennon took great amusement at people trying to derive meaning to his lyrics, and reportedly partially wrote I Am The Walrus in reaction to people trying to academically decipher his meanings by writing a song that he felt was incomprehensible simply to confound people from doing what I will attempt right now. (yes, I do find meaning even in I Am The Walrus, but that's for another post)

In its simplest terms, Strawberry Fields is a reference to the small garden John played at when he was a little kid in Liverpool. We know that much for sure. So one could easily see the song as advocating an escape into a childlike existence. (indeed, that's probably not far from the mark) However, the lyrics (to me) imply something a bit darker. If you follow the progression of the verses, each one becomes more and more confused, and each one expresses confusion and a desire to just give up trying to make sense of things and a desire to drop out of the whole mess.

"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see
It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out
It doesn't matter much to me"

The first verse really lays out the whole theme of the song. Things are confusing, and it's easier to go through life simply not caring about anything.

"No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low.
That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right,
that is I think it's not too bad."

Actually, this was the first verse that John wrote for the song, but it in many ways continues the theme of frustration at the world, though clearly the protagonist is even more apathetic about his state. In addition compared to the simple declarative statements of the first verse, this one has much more awkward and confused language. Even if the lyric sheets don't show it, the second line has pauses nearly every 2 words which should read more like "That is you can't, you know, tune in, but it's all right"

"Always, no sometimes, think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream.
I think ehh no, I mean ehh 'yes', but it's all wrong, that is I think I disagree."

The last verse is even more confused, and ambivalent than the others. The pauses have increased, and the clearest statement he has is that he's pretty sure he understands what is real and what isn't. However, the next line seems to contradict even that statement. In the end he simply says he THINKS he disagrees. With what? Well, we can't be sure. Indeed, part of the beauty of this song is it's abstract enough to apply to a lot of situations.

(note: there are disputes as to the actual lyrics to the 2nd line of the 3rd verse. Above is my interpretation...)

And finally the chorus is pretty direct:

"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to
Strawberry Fields, nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields Forever"

In comparison to the verses, this is a pretty forceful statement. The protagonist is going to reach towards a place of safety, where none of the concerns and confusions apply. In 1967 when it was released, I'm sure most saw that as an advocacy to "drop out" and consume "chemicals" to help escape reality. Whether or not John Lennon intended that meaning is harder to tell. He doesn't really use any code words for drugs (except possibly with the phrase "tune in"), and instead he references his childhood playground. To me this song is just about a person who wants to escape reality to a safe, easy life that doesn't really exist where he doesn't have to care about anything anymore.

Yes, this seems to be a pretty bleak song to be a hit single (though it didn't hit #1 in the UK thanks to Penny Lane counting as a double-A side, and thus halving the sales totals for both). The Beatles are known for being cheerful, but this song is anything but. Then again, people get married and have the bands play Every Breath You Take by the Police at their receptions, so I shouldn't take too much surprise at misconceptions about a song. Yes, I love this song. It's beautiful, and frankly I wouldn't have named this blog after it if I didn't really have an affinity to it. A desire to escape reality isn't necessarily bad, as long as one doesn't take it to the logical extreme.

Of course, this is my opinion, and even moreso than my ill-informed rants on politics, this is entirely up the interpretation of the reader/listener.

So what does this have to do with Figure of Eight? Strawberry Fields Forever suggests that maybe it's easier to not care about things, and Figure of Eight asks if it's better to care or not to. Even though Figure of Eight came out 22 years after Strawberry Fields Forever, it seems to ask a question that was answered by Strawberry Fields Forever. (even if the answer is not the correct one, or the intended one. Indeed, I'll leave that for the philosophers)

Note: I'm NOT advocating people to become rampant nihilists and quit caring about anyone nor anything.

I am simply wondering.