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TL;DR:

  • Paul McCartney said one of the lyrics from The Beatles’ “Day Tripper” had a risque meaning.
  • He compared it to a line from The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.”
  • “Day Tripper” was more popular in the United Kingdom than it was in the United States.
Paul McCartney sitting during The Beatles' "Day Tripper" era
The Beatles’ Paul McCartney | Fiona Adams/Redferns

Paul McCartney said The Beatles‘ “Day Tripper” included a provocative lyric. Paul felt older listeners would not understand it. Despite this, he felt “kids” got it.

Paul McCartney explained the meaning of The Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’

In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed The Beatles’ “Day Tripper.” “This was getting towards the psychedelic period when we were interested in winking to our friends and comrades in arms, putting in references that we knew our friends would get but that the Great British Public might not,” he said.

Paul commented on a provocative lyric from the song. “So ‘she’s a big teaser’ was ‘she’s a p**** teaser,'” he added. “The mums and dads didn’t get it but the kids did. ‘Day Tripper’ was to do with tripping.”

Paul McCartney compared the line to a lyric from The Beatles’ ‘A Day in the Life’

Paul explained why he liked writing the line about the “teaser.” “I remember with the p**** teasers we thought, ‘That’d be fun to put in,'” he revealed. “That was one of the great things about collaborating, you could nudge-nudge, wink-wink a bit, whereas if you’re sitting on your own, you might not put it in.”

Paul compared the line to a line from “A Day in the Life.” “You know, ‘I’d love to turn you on,’ we literally looked at each other like, ‘Oh, dare we do this?'” he recalled. “It was a good moment, there was always good eye contact when we put those things in.”

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‘Day Tripper’ charted once in the United States and twice in the United Kingdom

“Day Tripper” became a hit. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. The Beatles released “Day Tripper” on the compilation 1962-1966. The album hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for 175 weeks altogether.

The Official Charts Company reports “Day Tripper” was far more popular in the United Kingdom. There, it was a double A-side single with “We Can Work It Out.” The song reached No. 1 for five weeks in the 1960s, remaining on the chart for 12 weeks. In 1985, the tunes recharted at No. 73, staying on the chart for three weeks.

Meanwhile, 1962-1966 became a hit in the U.K. as well. It peaked at No. 3. 1962-1966 lasted on the chart for 167 weeks.

“Day Tripper” was a hit — even if some listeners didn’t understand it.

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