Beatles: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite Meaning

Song Released: 1967

Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite Lyrics

For the benefit of Mr. Kite
there will be a show tonight on trampoline
The Hendersons will all be there
late of Pablo Fanques'fair, what a scene
Over men and horses hoops and garters
and lastly through a hogshead of real fire
In this way...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   TheSeeker

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   Apr 3rd 2009 !⃝

   The title is taken directly from an antique circus poster that John bought which dated back to 1843, and a lot of the things mentioned in the lyrics (somersets, trampolines, Mr. Henderson, etc.) are also taken directly from what was written on the poster. As part of the Sgt. Pepper album's experimentalism, John decided to make this song a very atmospheric one, and thus worked to add the rich carnival sounds that play throughout it to really sell the idea of an old-fashioned circus type of atmosphere.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Dec 8th 2009 !⃝

   So just what was John Lennon talking about anyway? Who were the Hendersons? Where was Bishop's Gate? I know you've wondered this for at least a nanosecond or two of your life and it's just driving you crazy, so let me put those concerns to rest.
   
   It was late January in 1967 and The Fab Four were making a promotional film for Strawberry Fields Forever in Knole Park near Sevenoaks. While in between filming shoots, John and a friend were browsing at an antique shop near their hotel. John saw a strange old circus poster in a frame, hanging on the wall. He bought it almost on impulse, curiously drawn to its eccentric use of words and potential inspiration. It read something like this:
   
   PABLO FANQUE'S CIRCUS ROYAL
   TOWN-MEADOWS, ROCHDALE
   (a couple weird pictures of circus performers appeared here.)
   Grandest Night of the Season!
   AND POSITIVELY THE
   LAST NIGHT BUT THREE!
   BEING FOR THE
   BENEFIT OF MR.KITE,
   (LATE OF WELLS'S CIRCUS) AND
   MR. J. HENDERSON,
   THE CELEBRATED SOMERSET THROWER!
   WIRE DANCER, VAULTER, RIDER, etc.
   On TUESDAY Evening, February 14, 1843.
   Mssrs. KITE and HENDERSON, in announcing the following Entertainments ensure the Public that this Night's Production will be one of the most splendid ever produced in this Town, having been some days in preparation. Mr. Kite will, for this night only, introduce the CELEBRATED HORSE, ZANTHUS! Well known to be one of the best Broke Horses IN THE WORLD! Mr. HENDERSON will undertake the arduous Task of THROWING TWENTY-ONE SOMERSETS, ON THE SOLID GROUND. Mr. KITE will appear, for the first time this season, On The Tight Rope, When Two Gentlemen Amateurs of this Town will perform with him. Mr. HENDERSON will, for the first time in Rochdale, introduce his extraordinary TRAMPOLINE LEAPS AND SOMERSETS! Over Men & Horses, through Hoops, over Garters and lastly through a Hogshead of REAL FIRE! In this branch of the profession Mr. H challenges THE WORLD! For particulars see Bills of the day.
   From that very poster, he wrote the song. He placed the framed poster on the wall of his music room near the piano. Less than two weeks later, the Beatles recorded the song at EMI's Studio Two, and it was released on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album on June 1, 1967. The last known owner of the original poster was John's son Sean Lennon.
   
   Lennon never actually researched the poster. He just liked the wording. He didn't know who these people were. He just thought it was neato. However, there really was a Mister Kite in the 1800s. He was an actual circus performer named William Kite. He travelled a lot from one circus to another, and it's believed he worked for Pablo Fanque's Circus for two or three years.
   Now Pablo was a real guy in England too. However his real name was William Darby, and old pictures of him don't look hispanic. He was born in Norwich in 1796. He started calling himself Pablo in his thirties, possibly because back in those days it was easier for the public to accept a Spaniard as a circus performer and proprietor than a black man, but irregardless, he was living history, being the first black man in all of Great Britain to own and operate his own circus.
   
   The Hendersons were multi-talented circus performers who worked not only with Pablo, but also travelled much of Europe and Russia in their career. Although John Lennon says "The Hendersons will all be there" making them sound like a whole family like the Flying Wallendas, The Hendersons actually consisted just of clown and acrobat John and his wife Agnes. By the way what they called somersets in those days were actually somersaults and a trampoline over a century ago was actually a wooden apparatus we'd probably call a springboard today. Modern trampolines which are made out of springs and stretched canvas wouldn't be invented until some decades later.
   
   So anyway. Now ya know. You can see an actual copy of the original poster at http://getback.org which is also where I paraphrased most of this material. =) And below is the final result: the actual lyrics of the song.
   
   For the benefit of Mr. Kite
   There will be a show tonight on trampoline
   The Hendersons will all be there
   Late of Pablo Fanques Fair-what a scene
   Over men and horses hoops and garters
   Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
   In this way Mr. K. will challenge the world!
   The celebrated Mr. K.
   Performs his feat on Saturday at Bishopsgate
   The Hendersons will dance and sing
   As Mr. Kite flys through the ring don't be late
   Messrs. K and H. assure the public
   Their production will be second to none
   And of course Henry The Horse dances the waltz!
   The band begins at ten to six
   When Mr. K. performs his tricks without a sound
   And Mr. H. will demonstrate
   Ten summersets he'll undertake on solid ground
   Having been some days in preparation
   A splendid time is guaranteed for all
   And tonight Mr. Kite is topping the bill
3. anonymous

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   Dec 10th 2014 !⃝

   The Beatles based everything they created in their last phase from the Bible. It's a fact and it has been documented. Go the thegoodguise at wordpress read it all.
   
   Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite was derived in its entirety from Rev. 13. It matters not what characters or places in the song are actual entities - that is all just noise to distract you - to stop the rain from falling.
   
   But the rain is falling now. Look up and enjoy it!!!
   
   Jacob

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4. Coral Yarin Lazarof

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   Apr 11th 2011 !⃝

   I think that John's laughing at description that someone wants that a lot of people will come to his show. He wants a lot of money but he doesn't care if some of them is going to die because of these dangerous things that they are doing.
5. anonymous

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   Dec 5th 2009 !⃝

   PABLO FANQUE'S CIRCUS ROYAL
   TOWN-MEADOWS, ROCHDALE
   
   Grandest Night of the Season!
   AND POSITIVELY THE
   LAST NIGHT BUT THREE!
   BEING FOR THE
   BENEFIT OF MR.KITE,
   (LATE OF WELLS'S CIRCUS) AND
   MR. J. HENDERSON,
   THE CELEBRATED SOMERSET THROWER!
   WIRE DANCER, VAULTER, RIDER, etc.
   On TUESDAY Evening, February 14, 1843.
   
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   Mssrs. KITE and HENDERSON, in announcing the following Entertainments ensure the Public that this Night's Production will be one of the most splendid ever produced in this Town, having been some days in preparation.
   
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Mr. Kite will, for this night only, introduce the
   CELEBRATED
   HORSE, ZANTHUS!
   Well known to be one of the best Broke Horses
   IN THE WORLD!
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Mr. HENDERSON will undertake the arduous Task of
   THROWING TWENTY-ONE SOMERSETS,
   ON THE SOLID GROUND.
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Mr. KITE will appear, for the first time this season,
   On The Tight Rope,
   When Two Gentlemen Amateurs of this Town will perform with him.
   Mr. HENDERSON will, for the first time in Rochdale,
   introduce his extraordinary
   TRAMPOLINE LEAPS
   AND
   SOMERSETS!
   Over Men & Horses, through Hoops, over Garters and lastly through a Hogshead of REAL FIRE! In this branch of the profession Mr. H challenges THE WORLD!
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   For particulars see Bills of the day.
   _____________________________________
   That is what the poster said
6. anonymous

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   Dec 4th 2009 !⃝

   it was from a antique poster,the lyrics"Over men and horses hoops and garters
   Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
   In this way Mr. K. will challenge the world!comes from the words on the poster "Mr. HENDERSON will, for the first time in Rochdale,
   introduce his extraordinary
   TRAMPOLINE LEAPS
   AND
   SOMERSETS!
   Over Men & Horses, through Hoops, over Garters and lastly through a Hogshead of REAL FIRE! In this branch of the profession Mr. H challenges THE WORLD!"the lyrics "Having been some days in preparation
   A splendid time is guaranteed for all."comes from the poster"Mssrs. KITE and HENDERSON, in announcing the following Entertainments ensure the Public that this Night's Production will be one of the most splendid ever produced in this Town, having been some days in preparation."the lyrics"And Mr. H. will demonstrate
   Ten somersets he'll undertake on solid ground."comes from the poster"Mr. HENDERSON will undertake the arduous Task of
   THROWING TWENTY-ONE SOMERSETS,
   ON THE SOLID GROUND."the lyrics"Late of Pablo-Fanques is there, what a scene."comes from the poster"PABLO FANQUE'S CIRCUS ROYAL
   TOWN-MEADOWS, ROCHDALE"The name"
   Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite"comes from the poster"Grandest Night of the Season!
   AND POSITIVELY THE
   LAST NIGHT BUT THREE!
   BEING FOR THE
   BENEFIT OF MR.KITE,
   (LATE OF WELLS'S CIRCUS)"

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
7. MONGOOSE

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   Apr 7th 2009 !⃝

   Well it is what the person said about it being a poster and popalarty, and John is the one that found it, and it dates back in the late 1800's.
   
   On Sgt. Pepper's cover look at the bass drum in the middle of the cover and you will see it has two 10's next to each other.
   Paul was in a very serious car acciddent on Oct 10th., 1969. One day after John birthday Oct. 9th.
   It was a close call for Paul.
   Then Paul told John lets have some fun with this and act like I died that's where # 9 comes in, play it backwards and it says, I didn't burrie Paul, not Pauls a dead man.
   Paul said this live on the Larry King Show, and I have the tape to back up anything I say.
   Good job,
   THE MONGOOSE/JOHN LENNON
   code7@att.net

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
8. anonymous

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   Mar 31st 2009 !⃝

   circus poster confirmation.BUUT...
   Did you know it was made (along with a day in the life and others) as a song writing bet based on number and popularity?
   
   
   (he won.)
9. zuma06

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   Jan 22nd 2009 !⃝

   As someone else has written, it comes from a circus poster. You know, those things you buy in antique shops and hang on your walls.
10. slim_shady

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    Sep 13th 2008 !⃝

    This songs about how JFK was going to become president and have the world to a better place but the fuckin dumbass Illuminati hired some guy to kill him.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
11. GoodtimeCharlie

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    Jun 4th 2007 !⃝

    Exactly right!!
    Have you ever seen the picture/poster of John sitting on a couch with that poster on a wall over him?
    I have...
    I saw that poster in like '68 and started reading it. Suddenly it dawned on me:
    "HEY! That's that song!!"
    "What song?"
    "Y'know... THAT song... Read it..."
    "Aww, Faaar out...
    "There can't be many people who know that..."
    "I'm hip... But now we do..."
    My friend and I basked in the knowledge that we were among the handful of people who know the genesis of that song at the time...
12. anonymous

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    Aug 15th 2006 !⃝

    This was written almost line by line when Lennon saw a poster advertising a carnival.

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