"Golden Slumbers" by Paul McCartney
The little hearts of the kids
“Once, there was a way to get back homeward / Once, there was a way to get back home / Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry / And I will sing a lullaby”
Some of these Paul songs sound more like vignettes. Kind of like “Maybe I’m Amazed”, they sound like they are a bridge from one song to another. And this one is, in fact, just that: side two of Abbey Road is best consumed as one extended suite, with “Golden Slumbers” sending you on your way to the cosmic finish line via “Carry That Weight”, “The End” and the cute little encore of “Her Majesty”.
If you blink your ears you’ll miss it. But man, does this little song open up a whole world.
How does Paul do it? It’s a lullaby… it’s an anthem… it’s a lullaby… it’s an anthem… ok, I guess it’s both. Makes sense, right?
“Golden slumbers fill your eyes / Smiles awake you when you rise / Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry / And I will sing a lullaby”
This is a lullaby for your inner child. Sadly there is no way “back homeward” without endlessly rehashing the past. The way to go is forward, with our childhood hopes and dreams held preciously in our hearts. And that is our work, to create the next “homeward” in the little hearts of the kids, so that they can one day yearn for it too.
And just like “Maybe I’m Amazed”, this song’s A and B sections flow right into each other, back and forth. You can play them forever if you don’t have anything better to do.
But we have a lot to do.
“Once, there was a way to get back homeward…”
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