I have a Question about the beatles song: Yellow submarine?

Question

What does the yellow submarine mean in the song? I know it sounds kind of stupid and I may be the only idiot who doesn't really know, but I was thinking about it today and I am not really sure what it means. Thanks.

Answer 1

PAUL 1966: "It's a happy place, that's all. You know, it was just... We were trying to write a children's song. That was the basic idea. And there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song."

JOHN 1980: "'Yellow Submarine' is Paul's baby. Donovan helped with the lyrics. I helped with the lyrics too. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul's inspiration. Paul's idea. Paul's title... written for Ringo."

PAUL 1984: "I wrote that in bed one night. As a kid's story. And then we thought it would be good for Ringo to do."

PAUL circa-1994: "I was laying in bed in the Asher's garret, and there's a nice twilight zone just as you're drifting into sleep and as you wake from it-- I always find it quite a comfortable zone. I remember thinking that a children's song would be quite a good idea... I was thinking of it as a song for Ringo, which it eventually turned out to be, so I wrote it as not too rangey in the vocal. I just made up a little tune in my head, then started making a story-- sort of an ancient mariner, telling the young kids where he'd lived. It was pretty much my song as I recall... I think John helped out. The lyrics got more and more obscure as it goes on, but the chorus, melody and verses are mine."

GEORGE 1999: "Paul came up with the concept of 'Yellow Submarine.' All I know is just that every time we'd all get around the piano with guitars and start listening to it and arranging it into a record, we'd all fool about. As I said, John's doing the voice that sounds like someone talking down a tube or ship's funnel as they do in the merchant marine. (laughs) And on the final track there's actually that very small party happening! As I seem to remember, there's a few screams and what sounds like small crowd noises in the background."

Answer 2

The Yellow Submarine in the song genuinely means a cartoonish Yellow Submarine. BUT, the idea, whether it was a conscious idea or not, came from a 'upper' type drug called Preludin, or as they were commonly referred to back then, yellow submarines, since they were made out of yellowish coloured capsules. This was the speed drug that the Beatles and virtually all the other performers were using in Hamburg, circa 1960, so they could sing and party night after night after night. By the time the song was written in 1966, these speedy times in Hamburg were a distant memory, but nevertheless, the name Yellow Submarine may have actually been taken from those bygone times.

Answer 3

It's not really supposed to make sense, John Lennon wrote it based on an LSD trip he had. He was sitting in someones house ( I think it was George Harrison's) and he said the house kept transforming into a huge submarine. Therefore, he wrote a song about it.

Answer 4

I have heard of many explanations for the Yellow Submarine. The most common, however, is that it is the sign for homosexuality.

Answer 5

it means a yellow submarine

Answer 6

as the song says... "we all live in a yellow submarine"!!!! lol

Answer 7

No. Big red balloon is only 4 syllables so it doesn't scan. Anyway how would the "man who sailed the seas" have done it in a balloon?. He would have had to "sail the skies". (It would have worked a lot better if Ringo hadn't sung it!)

Answer 8

Who knows? It could be the same as at least half the songs they sang and have absolutely no meaning (and make no sense) whatsoever.

Answer 9

rumor has it allegedly they were on acid, and staring into an aquarium when they began to think up the song.

Answer 10

no im also an idiot