Paul McCartney Said Tarot Cards Inspired 1 of The Beatles’ Songs

Paul McCartney revealed one of The Beatles’ songs was inspired by tarot cards. In addition, he said the track in question had a message meant for his generation. The song appeared on the soundtrack for one of The Beatles’ movies.

The Beatles’ Paul McCartney discussed why he had some issues with tarot cards

In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the artist Marijke Koger. “I used to know Marijke, she was a quite striking-looking girl,” he recalled. “She used to read my fortune in Tarot cards, which was something I wasn’t too keen on because I didn’t want to draw the death card one day. I still don’t like that kind of stuff because I know my mind will dwell on it.”

Paul kept drawing the same card. “I always steered a bit clear of all that s***, but in fact it always used to come out as the Fool,” he remembered. “And I used to say, ‘Oh, dear!’ and she used to say, ‘No no no. The Fool’s a very good card. On the surface it looks stupid, the Fool, but in fact it’s one of the best cards, because it’s the innocent, it’s the child, it’s that reading of fool.'”

Paul McCartney wanted 1 of The Beatles’ songs to have a message for his generation

Koger’s explanation made Paul like the word “fool.” “So I began to like the word ‘fool,’ because I began to see through the surface meaning,” he said. “I wrote ‘The Fool on the Hill‘ out of that experience of seeing Tarot cards.”

Paul said “The Fool of the Hill” had a message. He felt gurus were often undervalued. The “Ebony and Ivory” singer used “The Fool on the Hill” to tell his generation that gurus should be respected.

How the song and its parent album performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“The Fool on the Hill” was not a hit in the United States, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song appeared on the soundtrack of the album Magical Mystery Tour. The album topped the Billboard 200 for eight weeks, staying on the chart for 93 weeks altogether. In the U.S., Magical Mystery Tour was the most successful of the Fab Four’s soundtrack albums.

“The Fool on the Hill” was not a single in the United Kingdom, so The Official Charts Company reports it did not chart there. Meanwhile, Magical Mystery Tour became a modest hit in the U.K. There, the soundtrack reached No. 31 and remained on the chart for 10 weeks.

“The Fool on the Hill” was not a hit — however, it has an interesting connection to tarot.