The view from my 10th floor room in the Thistle Hotel in Liverpool. Yes, Gerry Marsden fans, that is the Mersey River.Ian, the tour guide, had been a professional singer in his youth. The two of us, of similar vintage and unabashed temperament, possessed a limitless knowledge of the Beatles catalog, and we weren't afraid to use it. It started on the coach heading north, with an impromptu duet on the coach microphone. The song was "Girl".
Ian: Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay?
Paul: She's the kind of girl you want so much it makes you sorry, still you can't forget a single day.
Both: Ah, giiiirrrllllll. Giiiirrrlllll.
Ian: She's the kind of of girl who puts you down when friends are there you feel a fooo-oool
Paul: When you say she's looking good, she acts as if it's understood, she's cooooool
Both: Oooooh-oooh, Oooooh-oooh, giiirrrllllll.
The captive audience groaned, but they were grinning and, and in few cases, singing along.
After we checked in and had dinner at the Thistle Hotel, we set out for Mathew Street and the Cavern Club, where the Quarrymen, Silver Beatles and Beatles played almost 300 times in the early 60's. Along the short walk, Ian and I broke into "In My Life". The harmony may have been rough, but the words remain haunting, and in the fading light of Liverpool, eerily appropriate:
There are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed
Some for ever not for better, some are gone, and some remain
All these places have their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living...in my life, I've loved them all.
Mathew Street is a cobblestone alleyway lined with small music clubs and music stores. Across from the rebuilt Cavern Club is the Cavern Pub, built with the original bricks that have been inscribed with the names of dozens of rock luminaries who have descended the stairs of the Cavern to play on the stage where the Beatles earned their chops.
We were able to bring the students down into the Cavern in small groups. I stood transfixed in front of a glass display case containing, from left to right, a Hofner bass guitar, a Gretsch electric, and a Rickenbacker. Paul. George. John.
As we waited for the last group to emerge, one of our students, Michelle, came over and asked Ian and me if we knew the song she was named for. We did, and we sang it to her as well as we could.
9 comments:
Imagining you singin' on American Idol :-)
Michelle, ma belle, son les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble, tres bien ensemble...
I bet every single one of us of a certain vintage has a story to go along with every one of the Beatles' lyrics.
What a GREAT day!
You did it just right.
*debbi*
Ohhhhhh...Girl, In My Life and Michelle...and of course I was a Gerry & The Pacemakers fan, too, so your photo of the Mersey made me think of Ferry 'Cross the Mersey...those were all good songs. And believe it or not, Tiny Tim and Brave Combo recorded a very nice rendition of Girl a few years ago...I always liked that song.
Judi
How wonderful.
Rubber Soul............I'm so jealous I'm gritting my teeth.
you certainly sound like you had waaaaay toooo much fun.
Now the little diddy is playing in my head "Cross the Mersey...."
And I am smiling about it! Shhhhh...
Wow!
That was a magical mystery tour!
How lucky your students are to have seen these places with a coupla singing tour guides! And Michelle will remember her cute high school English director singing to her for the remainder of her life! (I would!)
And the hotel room view is fabulous! But where's the ferry?
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