10 Things You Didn't Know About The Beatles' Sgt Pepper Album
9. Mr. Kite Was Real
Another of Lennon's tracks from the album is Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite, a haunting ballad about a traveling circus. What many don't know is that despite its fantastical lyrics, the song was actually based on a real traveling fair!
Lennon, at the time, owned an 1843 poster for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royale, supposedly for the benefit of one Mr. Kite. Featured, of course, were some people with the last name Henderson along with the Somerset thrower. There wasn't any horse named Henry, though Lennon debunked the theory that the lyric was a symbol for heroin.
What the metaphors meant can be debated six ways to Sunday, but it's still interesting how Lennon was inspired by actual history in writing a song.