This past Thursday, June 1, 2017 was the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. There have been so many superlatives thrown around this week about this album that there is no need for me to do the same. But following the tradition of this blog for this year, I thought there might be some nuggets of life wisdom hidden in the lyrics of the songs. So for my usual Saturday Life Quote feature I present a quote from each track of the Sgt. Pepper album. Perhaps they will only get you humming the tunes or, maybe, taken in their totality, the stream of consciousness will seem almost James Joyce-like. Either take will be fitting for this epic album of songs.

1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: “It’s wonderful to be here/ It’s certainly a thrill/ You’re such a lovely audience/ We’d like to take you home with us/ We’d love to take you home”

2. With a Little Help From My Friends: “What do I do when my love is away?/ (Does it worry you to be alone?)/ How do I feel by the end of the day?/ (Are you sad because you’re on your own?)/ No, I get by with a little help from my friends”

3. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: “Picture yourself on a train in a station/ With plasticine porters with looking glass ties/ Suddenly someone is there at the turnstiles/ The girl with kaleidoscope eyes”

4. Getting Better: “Me used to be angry young man/ Me hiding me head in the sand/ You gave me the word/ I finally heard/ I’m doing the best that I can”

5. Fixing a Hole: “See the people standing there/ who disagree and never win/ And wonder why they don’t get in my door”

6. She’s Leaving Home: “Fun is the one thing that money can’t buy”

7. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!: “Having been some days in preparation/ A splendid time is guaranteed for all”

8. Within You Without You: “Try to realize it’s all within yourself/ No one else can make you change/ And to see your really only very small/ And life flows on within you and without you”

9. When I’m Sixty-Four: “Doing the garden/ Digging the weeds/ Who could ask for more?/ Will you still need me/ Will you still feed me/ When I’m sixty-four?”

10. Lovely Rita: “When it gets dark I tow your heart away”

11. Good Morning, Good Morning: “Nothing to do to save his life call his wife in/ Nothing to say but what a day how’s your boy been/ Nothing to do it’s up to you/ I’ve got nothing to say but it’s O.K.”

12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise): “We’re sorry but it’s time to go”

13. A Day in the Life: “I read the news today, oh boy/ Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire/ And though the holes were rather small/ They had to count them all/ Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall”