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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon said a line from a movie inspired The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
  • John didn’t mention the name of the movie.
  • “Strawberry Fields Forever” was a hit once in the United States and twice in the United Kingdom.
John Lennon in a hat
John Lennon | David Redfern / Staff

John Lennon said a line from a movie partly inspired The Beatles‘ “Strawberry Field Forever.” He used the line to cheer up The Beatles when they were depressed. In addition, he never mentioned the name of the movie.

John Lennon explained the origin of the line ‘Somehow it all works out’ from The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. During the interview, John was asked about the line “Somehow it all works out” from “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

“I mean, it’s like a little gag that The Beatles used,” he said. “When The Beatles were depressed, we had this thing that I would chant and they would answer. It was from a cheap movie they made about Liverpool years ago. And in it they say, ‘Where are we going, Johnny?’ or something, and the leader of the gang would say, ‘We’re going to burn this’ or ‘We’re going to stomp on that.'” John didn’t name the movie.

John Lennon altered the quote to cheer up The Beatles

John discussed how this quotation stuck with him. “Well, I would say to the others when we were all depressed, thinking that the group was going nowhere, this is a s***** deal, we’re in a s***** dressing room — I would say, ‘Where are we going, fellows?'” he recalled.

“And they would go, ‘To the top, Johnny,’ in pseudo-American voices,” he said. And I would say, ‘Where is that, fellows?’ And they would say, ‘To the toppermost of the poppermost.’ I would say, ‘Right!’ And we would all cheer up.”

The phrase “toppermost of the poppermost” may have been a reference to the British television show Top of the Pops. The phrase seems to have stuck with Ringo Starr. During a 1992 interview with Rolling Stone, he said he wanted his album Time Takes Time to hit No. 1 and reach the “the poppermost of the toppermost.”

How ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Strawberry Fields Forever” reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for nine weeks. The tune appeared on the album 1967-1970. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a week and remained on the chart for a total of 182 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Strawberry Fields Forever” hit No. 2 in the United Kingdom and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks. Later, the tune recharted at No. 65 and lasted on the chart for two weeks. On the other hand, 1967-1970 reached No. 2 and lasted on the chart for 131 weeks.

“Strawberry Fields Forever” was a hit and it might not be the same without a certain quotation.

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