Songs Mentioning the Beatles: Beleeka Doodle Day

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Ah, welcome to day four of the month-long countdown, the day where I lose everyone, or have you pining for last month when I didn’t have a countdown. Oh, you think this is bad, wait until we get to Paul’s song today! Yes, the highs and lows of celebrating Sir Paul’s 84th birthday this month starts with the first song of the month that mentions ONE Beatle in particular…and, in this case, it’s Paul! Beleeka Doodle Day - Al Stewart This goes back to 1967. That means it’ll be sixty next year. And, if you enjoyed “Year of the Cat” or “Song on the Radio” from Al Stewart’s moment of fame in America in the mid-70s, you can listen to this and not hear much of a difference (except there’s no saxophone in this song ). The thing I love about Al Stewart’s songwriting is the same thing that drew me to Robbie Fulks 20 years after I discovered Stewart through “Year of the Cat”: a song like this takes you to a scene and lets you draw your own conclusions. In this case, Stewart is a lost soul, wandering through the world with no real plan (“I could have gone to Cambridge with Lionel”) or purpose in life (“I spent all day playing Monopoly”). This pointlessness in a young man’s life leads him to dream about being someone famous, like Sir Paul, or powerful, like the Queen. This isn’t nearly as “polished” as Stewart’s mid-70s success, but you can still hear the absolute brilliance of his songwriting skills even at this early age. Beleeka Doodle Day Written by Al Stewart Recorded by Al Stewart From Bed-Sitter Images, 1967 BEATLE REFERENCE LYRICS: Sometimes I wonder how it feels to be Paul McCartney or the Queen