Paul McCartney Said a ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Song Isn’t About Heroin

A song from The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was assumed to be about heroin because of a word in its title. Subsequently, Paul McCartney wasn’t thinking about drugs when he penned the song. Instead, he said the track had a positive message.

‘Fixing a Hole’ from The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ was thought to be about fixing heroin

In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul said “Fixing a Hole” from The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper had nothing to do with heroin. “‘Fixing’ later became associated with fixing heroin but at that time I didn’t associate it really,” he said.

“I know a lot of heroin people thought that was what it meant because that’s exactly what you do, fix in a hole,” he added. “It’s not my meaning at all.” During the 1960s, nearly every song with unorthodox lyrics was assumed to contain drug references, whether that was the case or not.

Paul McCartney said The Beatles’ ‘Fixing a Hole’ ‘was all about pissy people’

The “Silly Love Songs” singer said “Fixing a Hole” was a response to naysayers. “‘Fixing a Hole’ was about all those pissy people who told you, ‘Don’t daydream, don’t do this, don’t do that,'” Paul added. “It seemed to me that that was all wrong and that it was now time to fix all of that.”

Paul revealed “Fixing a Hole” had a positive message. “Mending was my meaning,” he explained. “Wanting to be free enough to let my mind wander, let myself be artistic, let myself not sneer at avant-garde things.
“It was the idea of me being on my own now, able to do what I want,” he added. “If I want I’ll paint the room in a colorful way. I’m fixing the hole, I’m fixing the crack in the door, I won’t allow that to happen anymore.”

How ‘Fixing a Hole’ and ‘Sgt. Pepper’ performed on the pop charts

“Fixing a Hole” was never a single, so it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune’s parent album, Sgt. Pepper, was a massive hit. It topped the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks. It lasted on the chart for 233 weeks in total.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Fixing a Hole” did not chart in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Sgt. Pepper was a huge success there. It topped the U.K. chart for 28 weeks. It remained on the chart for 277 weeks altogether. Sgt. Pepper became the Fab Four’s biggest studio album in the U.K. by a longshot.

The psychedelic rock band Electric Würms covered the track for The Flaming Lips’ album With a Little Help My Fwends. That interpretation of “Fixing a Hole” is much more avant-garde than The Beatles’ original. Notably, With a Little Help from My Fwends is an unorthodox track-by-track cover of Sgt. Pepper. Other than that, there are few covers of “Fixing a Hole” by notable artists.

“Fixing a Hole” is a great album track even if it inspired some false interpretations.