10 Songs Inspired By Real Events

In the grand scheme of Beatles' songs, "A Day In the Life" seems to be beyond just the typical rock and roll formula. With it being the culmination of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting ambitions, the entire track is not only the Beatles' greatest work, but one of the greatest achievements in 20th century music. For as much magic this track contains, the origins came from something tragic.

When coming up with the first verse, Lennon's inspiration actually came from one of the Beatles' acquaintances named Tara Browne, who had died in a car crash a few months prior to the band going into the studio. In the context of the song, Lennon listlessly looks through the newspaper to find the story of Browne's death as having "blown his mind out in a car."

As the narrator continues to comb through the drabness of everyday life, we flip to Paul McCartney's section, whose character's routine is almost the antithesis to Lennon's initial distraught narrator. Bringing some of their best creative ideas to the table, the band assembled a full orchestral crescendo that seems to encapsulate both the anxiety of everyday life coupled with the excitement that makes life worth living. Though the album may have been inspired by death, the Fab Four created one of rock's most life-affirming soundscapes.