The Beatles — The Fool On The Hill
Album: Magical Mystery TourAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 2074
Length: 2:55
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Day after day, alone on a hill
The man with the foolish grin
Is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him
They can see that he's just a fool
And he never gives an answer
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
Well on the way, head in a cloud
The man of a thousand voices
Talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him
Or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
And nobody seems to like him
They can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
Ohh oh-oh-oh-oh ohh-oh-oh
Round and round and round and round and round
He never listens to them
He knows that they're the fool
They don't like him
The fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
Ohhhh
Round and round and round and round and
Ohhhh
The man with the foolish grin
Is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him
They can see that he's just a fool
And he never gives an answer
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
Well on the way, head in a cloud
The man of a thousand voices
Talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him
Or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
And nobody seems to like him
They can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
Ohh oh-oh-oh-oh ohh-oh-oh
Round and round and round and round and round
He never listens to them
He knows that they're the fool
They don't like him
The fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round
Ohhhh
Round and round and round and round and
Ohhhh
Comments (141)add comment
This film was one of the very first films to be broadcast in colour on a new TV station - BBC2 - before BB2 we had just 2 TV stations - how the world has changed!!
jp33442 wrote:
Go see a physician. Get that mellon checked.
Is it me or am i just so fucking sick of the Beatles, if I don’t hear another song by them no problem
Go see a physician. Get that mellon checked.
One of the best songs I've ever heard. I love it ... 
drover wrote:
Well Maybe
One of the few Beatles songs that just doesn't connect with me.
Well Maybe
jp33442 wrote:
Too bad for you.
Is it me or am i just so fucking sick of the Beatles, if I don’t hear another song by them no problem
Too bad for you.
thewiseking wrote:
God
Found a nice little story in 'songfacts' about this song. You're probably right, wise king.
c.
God
Found a nice little story in 'songfacts' about this song. You're probably right, wise king.
c.
jp33442 wrote:
Do you live on a hill?
Is it me or am i just so fucking sick of the Beatles, if I don’t hear another song by them no problem
Do you live on a hill?
tinypriest wrote:
God
Who was that fool on the hill?
God
I think that amongst all songs that could be considered “pop songs,” the instrumentation of this song can be considered most unusual. I don't even need all fingers on one hand to count the songs I know that prominently feature a recorder…
oh my...
it is probably you
play more beatles, they got a bazillion songs you can play
it is probably you
play more beatles, they got a bazillion songs you can play
Is it me or am i just so fucking sick of the Beatles, if I don’t hear another song by them no problem
Just an outstanding piece of music....WHAT A MELODY!!! 10 10 10 10
Most excellent! If you have not seen Get Back and you are a Beatle fan...you must see it...the first one is jaw dropping cool!
The definition of a fool is... "One that does not listen".
Have we all been fools at one time or another?
Have we all been fools at one time or another?
Who was that fool on the hill?
kingart wrote:
You'd be better off begging for the island of Manhattan to walk north.
Thanks but no thanks! We don't need Noo Yawk in the Great White North, we've already got Montreal!
You'd be better off begging for the island of Manhattan to walk north.
Thanks but no thanks! We don't need Noo Yawk in the Great White North, we've already got Montreal!
dimar wrote:
Saturday Club on the radio...All you need is Love on the BBC World broadcast. What memories.....you had to be there.
Glad to say I grew up in the era when The Beatles were at the top of their game. I have memories of listening to them on the radio while I ate breakfast before school. Takes me back whenever I hear them.
Saturday Club on the radio...All you need is Love on the BBC World broadcast. What memories.....you had to be there.
acolt wrote:
Whaat? Exactly this one is far beyond decent, the lyrics, the instrumentation, voice... it's a perfect little song! I understand the concept of taste and I accept your oppinion - I love this one. There are other "decent" songs from the Beatles ... and yes, the world doesn't end due to that :-)
The Beatles are allowed to have a song that's merely "decent." It's not blasphemy. The world will not end.
This is one of those songs.
This is one of those songs.
Whaat? Exactly this one is far beyond decent, the lyrics, the instrumentation, voice... it's a perfect little song! I understand the concept of taste and I accept your oppinion - I love this one. There are other "decent" songs from the Beatles ... and yes, the world doesn't end due to that :-)
Every Beatles song sounds like it was recorded yesterday. What they did was amazing.
The Beatles are allowed to have a song that's merely "decent." It's not blasphemy. The world will not end.
This is one of those songs.
This is one of those songs.
Fools on Capital Hill
Love the Beatles though
ahhhhhhhhhh...........the Gods!
Love Maggie Bell's version better
Folks do understand how stupid they sound when they say they hate this, don't they?
alexpohlenz wrote:
You'd be better off begging for the island of Manhattan to walk north.
Please, I beg you.Do not put The Beatles on!
You'd be better off begging for the island of Manhattan to walk north.
4merdj wrote:
... mas o original é o original, cara ...
true, but Sergio's really swings
... mas o original é o original, cara ...
true, but Sergio's really swings
On_The_Beach:
You clearly jinxed the US presidential election. You extra-territorial bad boy.
You clearly jinxed the US presidential election. You extra-territorial bad boy.
Steely_D wrote:
Yep. It always makes me a bit vertiginous to remember buying Sgt Pepper's when it came out and listening to the new music...
And getting that sheet of fake mustaches and buttons inside the album sleeve. It was my first album.
Yep. It always makes me a bit vertiginous to remember buying Sgt Pepper's when it came out and listening to the new music...
And getting that sheet of fake mustaches and buttons inside the album sleeve. It was my first album.
dimar wrote:
Yep. It always makes me a bit vertiginous to remember buying Sgt Pepper's when it came out and listening to the new music...
Glad to say I grew up in the era when The Beatles were at the top of their game. I have memories of listening to them on the radio while I ate breakfast before school. Takes me back whenever I hear them.
Yep. It always makes me a bit vertiginous to remember buying Sgt Pepper's when it came out and listening to the new music...
Skydog wrote:
... mas o original é o original, cara ...
i have come to like the version by Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 better
... mas o original é o original, cara ...
i have come to like the version by Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 better
Glad to say I grew up in the era when The Beatles were at the top of their game. I have memories of listening to them on the radio while I ate breakfast before school. Takes me back whenever I hear them.
Please, I beg you.Do not put The Beatles on!
Great song, but that flute is making my ears bleed.
jagdriver wrote:
Bullshit to your "bullshit."
When John and George didn't want to tour anymore (for several very valid reasons), they quickly figured out that they could just send Ed Sullivan, et al., some video tape. Their videos were always featured items on such variety shows, kept them current (i.e., a presence before their worldwide fans), and were groundbreaking. Just as A Hard Days Night paved the way for The Monkees a few years later, so these video "performances" paved the way for MTV and, later, YouTube.
"Scopitones" were 16mm films played on special jukebox-like devices, featuring recording artists in short films as early as the 1950s.
Bullshit to your "bullshit."
When John and George didn't want to tour anymore (for several very valid reasons), they quickly figured out that they could just send Ed Sullivan, et al., some video tape. Their videos were always featured items on such variety shows, kept them current (i.e., a presence before their worldwide fans), and were groundbreaking. Just as A Hard Days Night paved the way for The Monkees a few years later, so these video "performances" paved the way for MTV and, later, YouTube.
"Scopitones" were 16mm films played on special jukebox-like devices, featuring recording artists in short films as early as the 1950s.
this is awful.
again I sit here looking out at the incomparable Flatirons, connected to all moments connected by this song, this mystical musical flowering and joyous interplay of frequencies, this trippy yet sublime composition that turns in on itself in the end and begins again
coloradojohn wrote:
Amen to that Brother!
It stands as the perfect illustration of the zeitgeist of that moment in time
I feel lucky and blessed to have been serenaded on radio and vinyl by these masters of melody and crafters of wordplay back in the day...
Amen to that Brother!
It stands as the perfect illustration of the zeitgeist of that moment in time
— Sir Paul — Call the post-Beatles Sir Paul what you want--and I've called him plenty--he was a melodic genius.
I feel lucky and blessed to have been serenaded on radio and vinyl by these masters of melody and crafters of wordplay back in the day...
sorry, just too utterly depressing.... PSD immediately please..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bronorb wrote:
I grew up in the sixties and I don't recall the hype being outrageous. I'm sorry but IMHO the Beatles were THAT good. We waited for each new album with great anticipation and the funny thing was that each album surprised you. It was always something different. They constantly reinvented themselves and MMT was a perfect example of that. It followed Sgt. Pepper's which was groundbreaking in and of itself. And then you had the White Album. Another 180 change in direction. Through it all ran these great pop tunes on each album that people loved. My parents even found songs that they liked on these albums.
There had never been a band so talented AND creative before.
And I doubt there ever will again.
My thoughts and recollections exactly
I grew up in the sixties and I don't recall the hype being outrageous. I'm sorry but IMHO the Beatles were THAT good. We waited for each new album with great anticipation and the funny thing was that each album surprised you. It was always something different. They constantly reinvented themselves and MMT was a perfect example of that. It followed Sgt. Pepper's which was groundbreaking in and of itself. And then you had the White Album. Another 180 change in direction. Through it all ran these great pop tunes on each album that people loved. My parents even found songs that they liked on these albums.
There had never been a band so talented AND creative before.
And I doubt there ever will again.
My thoughts and recollections exactly
bronorb wrote:
I grew up in the sixties and I don't recall the hype being outrageous. I'm sorry but IMHO the Beatles were THAT good. We waited for each new album with great anticipation and the funny thing was that each album surprised you. It was always something different. They constantly reinvented themselves and MMT was a perfect example of that. It followed Sgt. Pepper's which was groundbreaking in and of itself. And then you had the White Album. Another 180 change in direction. Through it all ran these great pop tunes on each album that people loved. My parents even found songs that they liked on these albums.
There had never been a band so talented AND creative before.
And I doubt there ever will again.
My thoughts and recollection exactly
I grew up in the sixties and I don't recall the hype being outrageous. I'm sorry but IMHO the Beatles were THAT good. We waited for each new album with great anticipation and the funny thing was that each album surprised you. It was always something different. They constantly reinvented themselves and MMT was a perfect example of that. It followed Sgt. Pepper's which was groundbreaking in and of itself. And then you had the White Album. Another 180 change in direction. Through it all ran these great pop tunes on each album that people loved. My parents even found songs that they liked on these albums.
There had never been a band so talented AND creative before.
And I doubt there ever will again.
johnjconn wrote:
well stated:
- Good band
- Highly overrated
True on both points.
They were good and they were way over hyped up. Even John agreed with that.
But I still like them
I grew up in the sixties and I don't recall the hype being outrageous. I'm sorry but IMHO the Beatles were THAT good. We waited for each new album with great anticipation and the funny thing was that each album surprised you. It was always something different. They constantly reinvented themselves and MMT was a perfect example of that. It followed Sgt. Pepper's which was groundbreaking in and of itself. And then you had the White Album. Another 180 change in direction. Through it all ran these great pop tunes on each album that people loved. My parents even found songs that they liked on these albums.
There had never been a band so talented AND creative before.
And I doubt there ever will again.
well stated:
- Good band
- Highly overrated
True on both points.
They were good and they were way over hyped up. Even John agreed with that.
But I still like them
I grew up in the sixties and I don't recall the hype being outrageous. I'm sorry but IMHO the Beatles were THAT good. We waited for each new album with great anticipation and the funny thing was that each album surprised you. It was always something different. They constantly reinvented themselves and MMT was a perfect example of that. It followed Sgt. Pepper's which was groundbreaking in and of itself. And then you had the White Album. Another 180 change in direction. Through it all ran these great pop tunes on each album that people loved. My parents even found songs that they liked on these albums.
There had never been a band so talented AND creative before.
And I doubt there ever will again.
jagdriver wrote:
Maybe it's more fair to claim The Beatles popularized the music video concept. (Most folks can't name pre-MTV music videos, and even fewer could name pre-Monkees stuff, which is blatantly inspired by the Beatles' films.) I'm not going to claim the Wikipedia article is definitive, but at least it has facts and references for a broader context. Zep's one-word "bullshit" response isn't helpful.
Bullshit to your "bullshit."
When John and George didn't want to tour anymore (for several very valid reasons), they quickly figured out that they could just send Ed Sullivan, et al., some video tape. Their videos were always featured items on such variety shows, kept them current (i.e., a presence before their worldwide fans), and were groundbreaking. Just as A Hard Days Night paved the way for The Monkees a few years later, so these video "performances" paved the way for MTV and, later, YouTube.
When John and George didn't want to tour anymore (for several very valid reasons), they quickly figured out that they could just send Ed Sullivan, et al., some video tape. Their videos were always featured items on such variety shows, kept them current (i.e., a presence before their worldwide fans), and were groundbreaking. Just as A Hard Days Night paved the way for The Monkees a few years later, so these video "performances" paved the way for MTV and, later, YouTube.
Maybe it's more fair to claim The Beatles popularized the music video concept. (Most folks can't name pre-MTV music videos, and even fewer could name pre-Monkees stuff, which is blatantly inspired by the Beatles' films.) I'm not going to claim the Wikipedia article is definitive, but at least it has facts and references for a broader context. Zep's one-word "bullshit" response isn't helpful.
Zep wrote:
Bullshit.
Bullshit to your "bullshit."
When John and George didn't want to tour anymore (for several very valid reasons), they quickly figured out that they could just send Ed Sullivan, et al., some video tape. Their videos were always featured items on such variety shows, kept them current (i.e., a presence before their worldwide fans), and were groundbreaking. Just as A Hard Days Night paved the way for The Monkees a few years later, so these video "performances" paved the way for MTV and, later, YouTube.
Bullshit.
Bullshit to your "bullshit."
When John and George didn't want to tour anymore (for several very valid reasons), they quickly figured out that they could just send Ed Sullivan, et al., some video tape. Their videos were always featured items on such variety shows, kept them current (i.e., a presence before their worldwide fans), and were groundbreaking. Just as A Hard Days Night paved the way for The Monkees a few years later, so these video "performances" paved the way for MTV and, later, YouTube.
I like the doubling of vocal for the chorus, but at the same time I don't like it. Maybe I would have liked it more if Paul had sung it more closely the way he does in the first take. Too many variables in pitch and timing. Oh well. He succeeded. He's Beatles...nuff said.
max_p wrote:
RP isn't a rock and roll station, thank God
Flutes are not very rock and roll. 'cept Tull
RP isn't a rock and roll station, thank God
This is a lesser Beatles tune in my book. Singable? Yes. Great on MMT album? Check, especially with "Flying" after it. But I guess it's only "pretty good" because I wouldn't spin it by itself.
I may upgrade, but the "video" from the Magical Mystery Tour "film" is dreadful dull and amateurish--and since I saw it a few months back really weighs on my rating--fair or not.
I may upgrade, but the "video" from the Magical Mystery Tour "film" is dreadful dull and amateurish--and since I saw it a few months back really weighs on my rating--fair or not.
redeyespy wrote:
If a teacher tried to do that today they'd be cited for lacking the requisite amount of "rigor" in their lesson.
This one's for Mr. Trotsky (no, not Leon), my 10th grade English teacher who played this in class one afternoon. We spent most of the period discussing the lyrics--pure poetry, imo.
If a teacher tried to do that today they'd be cited for lacking the requisite amount of "rigor" in their lesson.
Classic Goodness
Flutes are not very rock and roll. 'cept Tull
Man, this song makes me smile like a fool everytime - simply love it.
This song is soooo good for the ears...
the story of my life... sigh... a great song from a marvelous album...
I generally prefer John's songs over Paul's, but this one of his better ones. Magical Mystery Tour is my favorite Paul song, which is on the same album as this.
Regarding the debate about "first music video ever," it really does depend on what you mean. I would consider those 1950's Alan Freed films (such as "Don't Knock the Rock" and "Mister Rock and Roll") to be little more than collections of music videos.
RobK wrote:
Beatles - good band but highly overrated IMO.
There's always someone ...
Haven't listened to this old tune in a long, long time.
What magic. Together they were gods.
They have only transcended the generations. Been on the hill lately ?RobK wrote:
Beatles - good band but highly overrated IMO.
This one's for Mr. Trotsky (no, not Leon), my 10th grade English teacher who played this in class one afternoon. We spent most of the period discussing the lyrics--pure poetry, imo.
Beatles - good band but highly overrated IMO.
fab4fan wrote:
No it's you who obviously has such low standards and bad taste in music that you can't even hear what a beautiful song this is!
Let me guess; your second-favourite Beatles song is "Mr. Moonlight"?
On_The_Beach wrote:
No it's you who obviously has such low standards and bad taste in music that you can't even hear what a beautiful song this is!
You must have pretty low standards.
No it's you who obviously has such low standards and bad taste in music that you can't even hear what a beautiful song this is!
TexasAggies wrote:
If you think the chord progression in "Great Gig In The Sky" is "tuneless," I'd have to say you've probably never played a note of music in your life. 
Sure, this is a beautiful song by Paul, but no need to trash another gorgeous song in the process of complimenting this one.
I don't have to play a note of music in my life,I have a very sharp ear for music and I always have since I was a child. I grew up with a lot of music in my house,my father was a big Bob Dylan fan when he was younger,he had Leonard Cohen,Peter Paul and Mary,and Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass albums and my sister who is 4 years older had a very big diverse music collection and I had my own radio at age 8 that I listened to a lot. So I know I hate Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin's music!
Plus the guy who gave The Fool on The Hill a yawn,gave a Pink Floyd song a good rating!
Sure, this is a beautiful song by Paul, but no need to trash another gorgeous song in the process of complimenting this one.parrothead wrote:
The Beatles invented music videos.This was the first song to be released as a single video. Which came from the Magical Mystery Tour movie. The rest is history as they say.
Bullshit.
renlat wrote:
Very bizarre !! I thought Paperback Writer was the first one, filmed in the Chiswick House gardens.
Analysis paralysis
fab4fan wrote:
What? This is a beautiful song,one of Paul's best in The Beatles!
You must have pretty low standards.
celadonstone wrote: FWIW (bidding starts at 1 cent and goes down from there), the first publicly available music video was actually on TV. The producers of the "Ozzie & Harriet" show dedicated a segment of one episode to help get the youngest son's musical career off the ground... Ricki Nelson singing (I think) "Travelin' Man".
Ok, but I was focusing on the Beatles efforts and which came first. Not the 'first music video ever'. A lot of folks could claim that, Wiki covers some of them including Rick Nelson's, however, it does depend on the circulation of the video and time period whether it can take such credit.
Again, URL is available here:
(click here)
Very bizarre !! I thought Paperback Writer was the first one, filmed in the Chiswick House gardens.
