I’ll say it, ok? The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” is their greatest song, and should be in anyone’s Top 10 list of best songs, ever. It sounds like nothing else before or since. The final song on the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct sections written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions. While Lennon’s lyrics were inspired by contemporary newspaper articles, McCartney’s reminisce about his youth. The decisions to link sections of the song with orchestral glissandos and to end the song with a sustained piano chord were made only after the rest of the song had been recorded.
And that final note. My God.
