Beatles: Helter Skelter Meaning

Song Released: 1968

Covered By: Motley Crue

Helter Skelter Lyrics

When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again
Yeah yeah yeah hey

Do you, don't you want me to love you
I'm coming down fast but I'm miles...

1. bobdylan

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   Sep 12th 2010 !⃝

   Yeah, it's just a harmless(?) roller coaster. I love what U2 did with it to open their movie--Mad Irish Bono dangling a crucifix (not that's not sardonic. I'm sincere. it was great!).
   Paul McCartney said the greatest song of the sixties was "Whiter Shade of Pale".
   That song is so replete with melancholy. It's gorgeously sad. The sixties did good and did it's fair share of damage as well. I read "Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test" when I was sixteen, just before my first bong hit! God, it's been a rough roller coaster, my drug addiction. Thanks Timothy--you Cad!
2. anonymous

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   Jul 13th 2010 !⃝

   It's not that the beatles wrote the lyrics with any paticular hidden meaning. But that Manson was psychically conversing with higher power via his own mental speculation and had his reckoning confirmed subliminaly by a line of the song, which may have all the while been playing ambiently in the background.
3. anonymous

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   Apr 18th 2010 !⃝

   This song is about tripping your brains out in the desert communes in the 60s and the Enlightened One, instructing us to exact our vengeance on the rich squares by brutally murdering them and smearing blood everywhere Charlie, ...er..uhhh....the enlightened one tells us to....he is the leader......let the cleansing BEGIN!!!HEALTER SKELTER!!!!
4. devc770

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   Apr 10th 2010 !⃝

   You're all absolutely right about this song being a response to The Who, but I believe the lyrics are as important as the music. The music is simply the Beatles rocking out-- though it's undoubtedly good, it lacks the intense thought process and creativity that is apparent in most of their songs at the time. This in itself is a dig at The Who's creative ability.
   
   Now look at the lyrics with that in mind--"You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer," "I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you." To me, these lyrics are a way of the Beatles telling The Who that they not only lack the ability to create music of the same caliber, but also, when prompted to record a song on the same level as The Who's music, the Beatles can easily create a song that's better than much of The Who's music-- they can "come down fast" and break them.
5. joo_joo_eyeball

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   Mar 29th 2010 !⃝

   helter skelter is about the rollercoaster of being with a girl, when paul says "do you dont you want me to love you?" hes talking about a girl who keeps sending him mixed signals and "helter skelter" just refers to the general confusion that goes with this situation.
   Charles Manson was just nuts, there are no subliminal messages in the white album, revolution 9 was about a nightmare John had, its just easy to blame it on the beatles beacuse they were so innovative and always doing things differently, and the world knows that they used drugs, so they always think they are connecting the dots
6. anonymous

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   Feb 21st 2010 !⃝

   This songs lyrics are vague in the fact that they are interpreted by everyone differently. It's about whatever you want it to be about. Whether it's bi-polar disorder or substance abuse. It's kinda like watching a funny show with your kids and noticing they laugh about completely different things than you do. What can you relate to? A roller coaster, mental illness? It doesn't matter, it's your song so don't let anyone change that.
7. anonymous

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   Feb 14th 2010 !⃝

   The song is definitely about Paul subliminely communicating with angry young Americans back in the sixties, and instructing them to murder rich socialite "squares", and cut unborn fetises out of pregnant women, and smearing the word, "PIGGIES", on walls everywhere, in thier unrighteous ,warloving,establishment,blood.
8. anonymous

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   Dec 30th 2009 !⃝

   It's obviously about dialectics (read hegel)
9. anonymous

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   Dec 5th 2009 !⃝

   In the 60s the most popular stlye of record player was the "record changer" which stacked records and released one at a time. As each record in the stack was released it 'slid' to the bottom of the spindel and started playing.
   
   To play a record again one would pick-up the pile, pull it 'back to the top' engage the catch and re-start the mechanism.
   
   As each record went down the 'slide' the process started again and as the record started to "turn and go for a ride" you would "see"/hear your song again.
   
   Clear as mitten?
10. anonymous

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    Nov 28th 2009 !⃝

    Helter Skelter is a name of an old English slide and the intro totally describes it but helter skelter also means confusion a panic. That's were Charles Manson comes in. I'd have to agree on it being about him or similar to him the lyrics describe the nut in a way.
11. crazey_2005

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    Nov 26th 2009 !⃝

    I think Charles Manson gave this song a more sinister appearance because he used it as an excuse to (allegedly) have at least 8 people killed. As far as I'm concerned the Beatles were too "far out" for this song to be interpreted any other way except all in good fun. Whether it's about a roller coaster or someone high on some substance...who cares? It's still a great song. We all live in a yellow submarine but have you ever seen one? lol
12. loganator454

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    Oct 26th 2009 !⃝

    Paul mc cartney read a reveiw in rolling stone magazine that stated that the who's newly released single is arguably the loudest most obnoctius song with the loudest drums and other instruments however is still a great song and is opening a new frontier of music.Paul mc cartney wanted to beat this and composed helter skelter whith the help of john lennon. possibly high from lsd thought of the helter skelter (an amusement ride that is basicly a humungus water slide). The exact lyrics are as follows. When i get to the bottom i go back to the top of the SLIDE then i stop and i turn and i go for a ride then i get to the bottom and i see you again.
13. anonymous

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    Sep 15th 2009 !⃝

    Just to correct something:
    
    The "blisters on my fingers" at the end of the track is said by Ringo, so it's drums (not a guitar, as someone said) he's been playing for so long that he has blisters.
14. anonymous

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    Sep 3rd 2009 !⃝

    You are all nuts! This song is about two turds being glued together to make a boat in hopes that it will carry the rider to a safe place. I mean come on folks. Get with the program.
15. anonymous

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    Apr 6th 2009 !⃝

    Seems GetBackJojo has it the closest. Just I'm not so sure it was about a roller coaster. He may have written it about the state of confusion that existed in some parts of the US at the time. All the race riots, etc, that was going on in places like California.

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