Beatles: Help! Meaning

Song Released: 1965

Help! Lyrics

Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody’s help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I’m not so self assured,
Now I find...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Sep 15th 2009 !⃝

   quoted:
   
   "the song's lyrics stemmed from what john later termed as his 'fat elvis' period, in which he was putting on weight and realising he was actually happier in his penniless menlove avenue [his childhood home] days than he was as a wealthy and well-loved celebrity. and those menlove avenue days had been hardly bliss, spent desperately hiding the pain of the loss of his mother and his uncle george behind his tough guy facade. in "help!" he was saying that he had been wrong not to show that he needed other people's emotional sustenance."

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Jul 16th 2017 !⃝

   To me this is clearly a prayer to God. We all have Lennons so called fat Elvis stage in our lives at some point. And when your hitting rock bottom who is it that we all cry out for help to? Most of us often won't realize this need when we are so much younger shall we say... God bless to all...
3. anonymous

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   Apr 22nd 2023 !⃝

   It's about feeling really down in the dumps when you get a bit older. Don't need any help when we are young.
   
   
   Help me I'm feeling down (Depressed).
   
   And I do appreciate you being round (Someone there).
   
   Help me get my feet back on the ground (Just talk with me).
   
   Won't you please, please help me (Begging)
4. anonymous

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   Dec 12th 2020 !⃝

   When I was younger, so much younger then today, I didn't need anybody's help in any way, but now these days are gone, and I not so self assured
   I think this bit from help is saying when we where younger we were more strong and didn't need much help, but as we get older we get weaker and might need a little help mow and then.
5. Missouri1944

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   Jan 4th 2017 !⃝

   If you read the definitive 400 page book on Beatles history, you'll know the story:
   The movie was to be titled "Eight Arms to Hold You" Shooting was finished and John and Paul (and their wives)were heading to Spain for vacation.
   On the very day they were to catch their plane, the producer of the film called and told them the name was being changed to "HELP" He HAD TO HAVE a new song titled HELP, and he needed it NOW!!!
   John and Paul were pissed. They got together for one hour or so and cranked it out. They delivered a cassette tape of their composition to the producer with a the message, "This is it! Don't ask for anything more. Our participation in your movie is now complete. Adios.
   There is no deep, meaningful, secret message in the lyric.It's a common theme: I need somebody to love. [It ain't "The Day The Music Died"]. It's a one-hour-crank-it-out-special. That it became an iconic part of their songbook is testament to John & Pauls' incredible, God given talent.
   The End
6. anonymous

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   Nov 28th 2016 !⃝

   With some information floating around about this being the Vietnam War, that is really inaccurate. This song wasn't meant to be as meaningful as it turned out, since John was commissioned to write it specifically for the movie and it had to be somewhat commercial. Instead, John wrote basically a cry for help. This was literal and he was being sincerely real. During this period of time, John was feeling depressed about many things of which included his marriage, and did put on weight and such. He later said in 1980 that this was his now infamous "Fat Elvis" period. Drinking and eating was a way to somewhat cope with that depression he had. I've heard from many sources that this may have been also due to the stress of touring during the height of Beatlemania. So,yeah many things have caused it and some I haven't mentioned. The song, as he had later said, was him subconsciously crying out for help. During this time he was very insecure and unsure of himself, which were put in the lyrics clearly. Hope I explained it well. There's also tons of information you can find about this everywhere. It's very well known in Beatles lore.
7. anonymous

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   Mar 8th 2012 !⃝

   if you guys were true beatle fans you would know that the song is about acid

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

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   Feb 10th 2012 !⃝

   watch the beatles anthology, 8 hours of beatles on dvd, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison explain the meanings of a lot of songs. No arguements/no excuses, in their own words. For the record, according to John Lennon in an interview, he said he wrote 'Help', when he was feeling depressed in his 'fat Elvis' stage.
9. anonymous

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   Jul 29th 2011 !⃝

   when we are young we want to be left alone,we dont want parents,adults,teachers,to tell how we should live our life.....(when i was younger then today,i never needed anybodys help in any way)WE KNOW HOW WE NEED NO HELP WHEN WE ARE TEENAGERS,WE KNOW IT ALL!! but as we age as in our older life we see we were wrong and really did need help.........we dont want to be alone when we are old......we appreciate all being around,we appreciate the company of others!when we are young we never needed anybodys help in any way!!WHO NEEDS ADULTS TELLING US KIDS HOW TO LIVE;the sad feeling of being DOWN,sounds like an old lonely person seeking company!!AS WE AGE OUR ATTITUDE ABOUT OTHERS AND ATTITUDE ABOUT OURSELVES CHANGE!we want company as older people,not left lonely and no one around!!
10. anonymous

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    Jun 25th 2011 !⃝

    (Help i need somebody)(help not just anybody)(help you know i need someone help) he wants somebody to love him and he'll love them back

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

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    May 24th 2010 !⃝

    I think that this song describes someone going through a mid-life crisis, probably a man, because of the phrasing. He talk about how he feels and the comparisons between his younger day and how he now feel more defensely as he gradually gets older! I hope this heled!
12. anonymous

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    Apr 6th 2010 !⃝

    After become involved in the music business the Beatles became part of the hippy movement against the establishment "The Machine" as some call it. John Lennon before dying under mysterious circumstances said:
    
    “Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.” - John Lennon
    
    He was anti-establishment because he thought that people in the world were planning a terrifying future. The Beatles wrote the song "Help" because of the distraught feeling about what is really going on in the world. You feel helpless and lose touch with reality when confronted with the facts and one can only sing to get the pain out.
13. anonymous

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    Dec 10th 2008 !⃝

    umm, so all these answer's are very true...
    but i just read the john Lennon wrote it because he was going through is fat Elvis stage hahaha soo..
14. anonymous

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    Feb 21st 2008 !⃝

    I think breakascene is right. The lyrics say, "When I was younger... I never needed anybody's help in any way" that makes sense to John being rebellious when he was young and not being able to be independent anymore.
15. anonymous

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    Jan 7th 2008 !⃝

    Guys, they wrote this song for the movie HELP! They called the movie Help! and they needed a song to go with it so they wrote that one after coming up with the title for the movie. I watched the documentary.
16. BubblyBubble

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    Nov 26th 2007 !⃝

    I am sad yo say this but the song is about drugs. After Bob Dylan introduced the Beatles to pot, John got addicted and then wanted help. I'm not really sure though.....
17. LintheSwithD

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    May 30th 2007 !⃝

    Lennon wrote the lyrics of the song to express his stress coming from the quick rise to a massive level of success for The Beatles after years of obscurity.
    
    Wikipedia.org is a very reliable source.

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