Talk:The Fool on the Hill

Untitled
An infobox was requested for the 1968 Sérgio Mendes version of "The Fool on the Hill" at WikiProject_Missing_encyclopedic_articles/List_of_notable_songs/13.

References! Where are the references? Aaadddaaammm 04:36, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Other possibilities
Mention of other theories of the meaning of this song? About Hitler, for example? Aaadddaaammm 04:43, 15 October 2006 (UTC) I also agree there is other meaning, i belive that the song may reffer to buddy holly. buddy holly was often called a "hillbilly"- also, the chourus for me is what stands in the basic of what is art. all the beatles like holly, and so did paul, i think it might very well reffer to buddy holly. (P.S. the hitler theory is dumb.)

Back in the early 1970s, the song was widely believed in America to refer to Richard Nixon, although he was not in public office at the time it was written.Anti-war wishful thinking, in all likelihood. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.71.242.42 (talk) 12:34, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Moved from article
The following story: 1. seems weird; 2. wasn't mentioned by Lennon or McCartney as quoted here; 3. has been copied literally from another website (Songfacts). More references should be found for it. --194.145.161.227 23:48, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The song is about a man who is considered a fool by others, but whose foolish demeanor is actually an indication of wisdom.

The event which prompted this song happened when Paul McCartney was walking his dog, Martha, on Primrose Hill one morning. As he watched the sun rise, he noticed that Martha was missing. McCartney turned around to look for his dog, and saw a man standing near him, who had suddenly appeared on the hill. The gentleman was dressed respectably, in a belted raincoat.

McCartney knew that this man had not been there seconds earlier as he had looked in that direction for Martha. He and the stranger exchanged a greeting, and this man then spoke of what a beautiful view it was from the top of the hill (that overlooked London). After a few seconds, McCartney looked around again, and the man was gone. He had vanished as he had appeared. A friend of McCartney's, Alistair Taylor, who was present with McCartney during this strange incident, later wrote of this event in his book, Yesterday.

Both McCartney and Taylor could not imagine what happened to this man. He had seemed to vanish in thin air. The nearest trees for cover were too far to reach by walking or running in a few seconds, and the crest of the hill was too far to reach in that short time. What made the experience even more mysterious was that just before this man first appeared, McCartney and Taylor were speaking to each other of the beauty of the view towards London and the existence of God.

Back home, they spent the morning discussing what had happened, trying to make some sense of it. They both agreed that this was something others would infer occurred as a result of an acid trip, but they both swore they had not taken or used any drugs.

The strophe reminds me of the famous 2nd piano concerto by Rachmaninoff. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zapspace (talk • contribs) 17:17, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps the Most Pet Sounds-like in production Beatles song?
I have just listened to this a few times recently and realised how similar in production style to Brian Wilson's in the Pet Sounds era. Note the flutes, the bass harmonica, acoustic guitar and double tracked vocals. It is certainly different in song structure - much more minor key oriented but production certainly seems to nod more to Pet Sounds than Sgt. Peppers. What does anybody else think? Not really worthy or mention is it?89.242.56.172 21:22, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

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Hi

I see Shirley Bassey mentioned under the links at bottom, but why is she not mentioned under COVERS? To me, that is the most beautiful version evdr of this song and was a grest success with this singer. --Rui &#39;&#39;Gabriel&#39;&#39; Correia (talk) 08:03, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Harmonica
Both Lennon and Harrison are credited for "harmonica". But where in the song are these harmonicas? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.194.161.31 (talk) 17:06, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Homebrew Computer Club
Another editor has removed a section that described an early use of a personal computer to play this song. There are multiple sources that describe the event, and it may be the first example of a personal computer playing music, though the sources did not claim that. (The computer in question was one of the first computers one could call "personal", so it must be one of the first examples if not the first.) Given the subsequent convergence of personal computers and music that followed, the event seems notable to me. I propose we restore the content. — John Cardinal (talk) 13:14, 29 January 2010 (UTC)


 * The problem is that notability has not been established. As John suggests, if there were a WP:RS stating that this was some sort of a first, then maybe it would be notable (cf. Phonograph/Mary Had a Little Lamb) and could be referred to here but even then, the technical detail (Electromagnetic interference etc.) has no place on this page -- by all means include it on the Homebrew Computer Club page or a Computer Music page. Wrapped in Grey (talk) 17:03, 29 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Support — John Cardinal (talk) 13:14, 29 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Oppose — Wrapped in Grey (talk) 17:03, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

Critical Reception
I don't think this section is fair at all. 86.42.248.108 (talk) 21:14, 31 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Let's just delete this section; it's not needed for a non-single track. Wrapped in Grey (talk) 22:45, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Dead external links to Allmusic website – January 2011
Since Allmusic have changed the syntax of their URLs, 1 link(s) used in the article do not work anymore and can't be migrated automatically. Please use the search option on http://www.allmusic.com to find the new location of the linked Allmusic article(s) and fix the link(s) accordingly, prefereably by using the Allmusic template. If a new location cannot be found, the link(s) should be removed. This applies to the following external links: --CactusBot (talk) 18:40, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:513103

Errors due to coding of references for various books used as citations
I added a link to song facts website because it explains in more detail about the man on Primrose Hill. The other link that was there was to a book by Alistair Turner, but when I added my cite the web it made the other link because not working and created red ink errors.It's very frustrating to be told to spend money to get a book to look up something, and I am sure very few people will bother to do that. Yesterday: The Beatles Remembered Book by Alistair Taylor who was Brian Epstein’s personal assistant is out of print and not available as a Kindle or eBook. I believe Song Facts took the information from that book. I would like to get a copy, but being that is out of print and a used hard cover, I feel that 27.50 plus shipping on Amazon is too much money when later the book may be release on the Kindle or other eBook system making it easier to obtain. I have added the book back to references using a template. I have added the correct 13 digit number, but it does not lead to a way to search the book, but it is easy for someone to search the title. The book does sound very interesting, and I would like to read it someday.Ty78ejui (talk) 15:24, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

Sexy Sadie
Added note that this is one of 2 songs they did about the Maharishi.--Daveler16 (talk) 16:56, 13 September 2019 (UTC)

Flutes or slide whistles?
One aspect of the recording I was always struck by was the use of wooden slide whistles, including a solo from 1:55 to 2:05. But there is nothing in the article about this feature of the music, except that "flutes were added on 20 October" with a citation to Winn, John C. (2009). That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-307-45239-9. I was not able to track down that book (without buying it) to see if Winn was referring to slide whistles. May I humbly suggest the article would be strengthened by including some discussion of the (notable) use of slide whistles.Robert P. O&#39;Shea (talk) 11:58, 17 June 2021 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure if this was intended as a joke or not but there are no slide whistles in this track, woodwind parts are instead done with standard Western concert flutes (played by a group of session musicians) and a recorder tracked with a penny whistle (both played by Paul McCartney), the "sliding" sound you hear in the instrumental sections can be done easily on a recorder/penny whistle by gradually covering a hole with your finger starting from one side; if there were slide whistles you would hear natural glissandi between every note, and the trill towards the end would be impossible. Simon-holmes69 (talk) 06:50, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

Pinder and Thomas
Re this recent edit. First of all, where are they? I think maybe first heard at about 1:01. And then from about 1:20? Slightly more prominent after 2:01. And again after 2:45. They seem to play just single notes, and sound to me almost like a bass clarinet or a bassoon. Second, how many are there? Not many, I'd say, maybe even just one. Third, why Thomas, who could certainly play the harmonica, but was really flute specialist, and Pinder who was a keyboard-layer and was never credited with the harmonica in the Moody Blues? Lastly, ok so they might have out some harmonic down "Anyway, Mike and I went into Abbey Road after that, and we played on “I Am The Walrus” and “Fool on the Hill.” And it was my idea to put all those harmonicas on. There was George and John, me and Mike around the microphone." But how do we know if those tracks were ever used in the final mix? Are there really three harmonicas (or is Thomas suggesting four?) Lennon and Harrison are already credited with the harmonica part, and they could have easily overdubbed more than one track anyway. Just suggesting some caution here, somehow, in the credits. I seem to remember adding it to Thomas article, when he died back in 2018. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:12, 23 April 2024 (UTC)