Hi, I recently listened to ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ by the Beatles and was a bit stumped due to the first line: 'Let me take you down, ‘cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields…’ I guess it might be somehow connected with arrogance or self-esteem of listeners but I’m not completely sure. Please, could you explain the meaning of ‘to take smb. down’ in this context?
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Hi Irina, a very interesting question. I read this line as “Let me take you down to Strawberry Fields”. In other words, it’s an invitation to come with you to Strawberry Fields. Since the Beatles are British, I’m sure @Alan can answer your question better than I ever could.
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Hi Irina,
I think you probably attach too much importance to the word ‘down’. It is simply a request to go down/wander down/walk down in the sense of going back to the past. This kind of nostalgia for the past is very similar in style to German Romantic poetry. In other words Lennon is inviting someone to come with him down ‘memory lane’ and away from the present. Both he and McCartney ((Penny Lane) used the names of places near Liverpool where they were born and grew up. Strawberry Fields was once the site of an orphanage for girls run by the Salvation Army
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Hi Irina,
Another point as I know you are interested in the use of English, There is an expression ‘Take someone down a peg or two’ which means to tell them not to be so proud of themselves, Imagine a notice board resting on a frame supported by pegs ar each side in holes. To reduce the height of the board you remove the pegs and pu them in a lower hole.
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Hello Torsten and Alan,
Thank you for your answers. That appeared to be much simpler.
The expression ‘Take someone down a peg or two’ seems very interesting so I’ll add it to my vocabulary.
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I think Alan’s suggestion that it may refer to “Take someone down memory lane” is the most likely meaning. Lennon probably cut the saying short so the lyrics would fit. A variation is “A walk down memory lane.”
At the time the song came out it was controversial because it was believed to be about drugs, specifically LSD. I thought that myself. I still believe it was influenced by LSD even if the song itself is not about that.
LSD at the time was largely a drug used for spiritual or mystical experiences. It caused a lot of serious introspection and reevaluation of “reality”. The entire song really does sound like the type of thinking and psychedelic experience from an LSD or similar trip. The music itself was one of the first psychedelic songs. The videos that went with it were also psychedelic.
The line about “tune in” is likely a reference to Timothy Leary’s famous saying, “Turn on, tune in, drop out”.
“Take someone down a peg or two” is also potentially the meaning of that first line. Again, it could be related to an LSD experience. A big part of the spiritual side of LSD was the breaking down of the ego.
It’s also possible that it’s an intentional double entendre. It may refer to both memory lane and the breaking down of the ego.
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