The Beatles - Penny Lane - Lyrics Meaning

In 1967 after several months without a new release, The Beatles' record label demanded a new single. In response, the band recorded "Penny Lane" and released it as one side of a double A-side with "Strawberry Fields Forever. Rolling Stone placed the song at number 449 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. The track was named after a street in the Mossley Hill area of Liverpool, England where Paul McCartney and John Lennon grew up. When they were young, the two boys would meet at a bus shelter at the Penny Lane junction to travel to the center of town. Since the song's release, Penny Lane has become a landmark and signs bearing the street's name are frequently stolen by fans. The city eventually discontinued putting up signs and instead painted the street's name on buildings. In 2007, the city installed theft-resistant signs, though they still occasionally disappear. "Penny Lane" paints a picture of a quaint suburb and its working-class citizens. McCartney based the people and places that appear in the lyrics on actual experiences. The old bus shelter was eventually turned into a Beatles-themed restaurant.