What does Yellow Submarine mean?

Beatles: Yellow Submarine Meaning

Album cover for Yellow Submarine album cover

Song Released: 1969


Get "Yellow Submarine" on MP3: Get MP3 from iTunes

Yellow Submarine Lyrics

In the town where I was born
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines.
So we sailed up to the sun
Till we found the sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine.
We all live...

  1. mickeybellottii
    click a star to vote
    Jul 6th 2010 !⃝

    Yellow submarine is not a children’s song. Its one of Paul’s best because he creates a profound original image to express a deep emotional situation.

    The image of the submarine refers to the claustrophobia the Beatles felt confined to hotel rooms while on tour. The yellow refers to the up happy feeling of being with best friends and making music

    “They sailed into the sun” they found the ultimate sucess

    “Our friends are all aboard” John Paul george and ringo
    : everyone one of us is all we need”

    “ the band begins to play “ They are on tour making music.
    “The sky of blue” means their future looks good and
    “the sea of green “is all the money they are making.

    The song is released when they Announce they will no longer tour Paul was the only one who wanted to keep touring and in his Mind was trying to put a positive spin on the situation.His arguments was even though hey were living this isolated life in hotel rooms(submarine) it was a sunny (yellow ) thing because 4 good friends were making great Music making money and still had a great future ahead.

  2. timelord
    click a star to vote
    Jun 2nd 2010 !⃝

    I have read many of these interpretations and some even said it was a children's song. With the help of Wikipedia this probably more correct and falls in line with the timeline and the happenings of the world at that time.

    Early in January 1969, the Family escaped the desert's cold and positioned themselves to monitor the tension in Los Angeles caused by Manson's predicted race war by moving to a canary-yellow home in Canoga Park, not far from Spahn Ranch.[64][70][71] According to Manson, their new locale would allow the group to remain "submerged beneath the awareness of the outside world,"[70][72] and the home was then dubbed the Yellow Submarine, after the Beatles 1966 single of the same name. At the Canoga Park house, Family members prepared for the impending, predicted apocalypse[73][74] that Manson had earlier termed "Helter Skelter," also after the Beatles song of the same title.

  3. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 9th 2010 !⃝

    Yellow submarine is a slang term for the drug nembutin, which is taken in yellow capsules.

  4. smergler1
    click a star to vote
    Dec 30th 2009 !⃝

    If you think they wrote this song about drugs your not a fan of the beatles. Yellow submarine was written because they when to make a movie and needed a song. The artist that was drawing it said he wanted a yellow submarine in the movie just in the background. Then John decided to make that the name of the movie and they came up with yellow submarine. It was made to go with the story of the movie. like "And our friends are all on board Many more of them live next door And the band begins to play" is about how they are all good friends and loved to play as a band with each other.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 16th 2009 !⃝

    The interpretation I read in a book it's about how they took drugs like a bunch of other songs from all the way back then.

  6. bernone
    click a star to vote
    Oct 16th 2009 !⃝

    Everyone is wrong. Its not about drugs or money, its about DEATH. the yellow submarine is a couff or casket. "sky of blue" is heaven or the next life, wich ever you prefer. "the sea of green", is the cemetary and or the grass in it. "sea of holes", are the graves ditches. "WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE", or will live in one sooner or later. some one else had the verses down pretty good in here but i cant remember the name. Anyways, what else can you say besides, the beatles are musical geniuses and was a mirical they found each other to give the world such great music.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 10th 2009 !⃝

    Well John's dad was a sea merchant so he could be talking about his father...

  8. MONGOOSE
    click a star to vote
    Jun 29th 2009 !⃝

    Think about this.......If you were one of the "Beatles" and had to live their life as the "Worlds" greatest band that happen over-night and it took John to make it "HAPPEN".

    They were all damn good yet, with out John their would of not been a band like the "Beatles", I give all 4 boys the most, they all lived their "Dream" and then 1st., the most silent one was.
    I called Mr. G., dead of cancer which they all went threw a very hard time after living togehter most of the time.

    John was the one that took it the hardest. John wrote a song...... and how John was soooooo good on switching the lyrics that wasn't even on the main hard copy plastic.
    Yet to live like they did to perform for all you people all over the world and had to hide in little apartments or just about anywhere they could find so they were not to be found by the "Media", "Fans" and "Freak's", that like carring a "Silver Hammer", if they did get found "Hell" the stupid fans would of cushed them to death just for the sake of touching one of them.

    And Paul with his very close of death with his accident on Oct. 10th., 1969 just one day after John's birthday, was hurt very bad. That's where number 9 started.

    Then come's John....They get to the Dakota gates for about the 1st., time since they lived there, someone said... gee it's such a nice evening why don't we walk to are apartment. So the signal given, "Do it", "Do it".
    John, being shot to death right after a nice "Dinner"...uhm?
    John died 2 hours later in the hospital holding Pauls hand.

    I have a few words to and have said about that statement.
    And by far it's not over after all these years"With alittle help from my freinds".........They think so, HA !!. They better "FREE THEIR MINDS INSTEAD" or get reprogrammed.


    NOW "THE YELLOW SUBMARINE"

    So, Richard(Ringo) thought of a funny idea of a way to hide and not to be found, well that yellow sub., in my books sure would of worked.
    All the money they had they should of built a under-water "Bunker".
    If we can make a "Bunker" below land right in people's face's and the people wouldn't even ask questions or even look at what was going on and in most of in "Mid-East", they would be shot.... maybe, who know's?
    So, that's it.
    Take it or leave it "Nowhere Man".
    THE MONGOOSE/ JOHN

  9. HowCouldYou
    click a star to vote
    Jun 25th 2009 !⃝

    Back in the 90's I helped set up the chairs at a charity event Mr. Ringo and some others were putting on. He practiced a few songs with the band while we worked and one of the songs was this one. Anyway, at some point while the others were practicing he was sitting out on the floor watching and relaxing and I confronted him and we talked for a brief second. He got really terse with me and said something about how it was a joke being able to float under water with a screen door, but he was super upset about it, saying think about it. I think the song is about when the guys got together and realised that the group would have to split up to move forward or had already 'burst' like as a band in a bubble that slowly waned in creativity, popularity, focus in order to grow. I really like him and the song still, and thanks to me and some luck, the rest of us got to watch the real show also.

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 24th 2009 !⃝

    Actually your all wrong,
    when they were tripping on LSD they all went to Pauls house which happend to be yellow and ringo saw it as they were in a submarine. read the anthology you will find the actual answers...

  11. yocathleen
    click a star to vote
    May 29th 2009 !⃝

    Well, I read a book on The Beatles and it said something about this song. So, what it means is that one day John was over at his friend's house, and they were having a LSD party and he said something about how "he feels like he's living in a yellow submarine".And how they were all on it and he was driving..so yeah.

  12. Waterdrake
    click a star to vote
    May 10th 2009 !⃝

    Guys...its a kids song. Its not about drugs. Ringo made it, the same guy who gave us Octopus's Garden. Its supposed to make us laugh. No drugs.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 15th 2009 !⃝

    Yes, the Beatles were a great band. And Yes, they did drugs. These facts are both true and in no way negate each other (nor do they support each other...drugs do not lead to great music).

    That being said, while the Beatles denied-for years- that any of their lyrics were drug-related, both Paul and Ringo have since reneged that idea. Both remaining Beatles have admitted that many (but not all) of their songs (in particular both Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds AND Yellow Submarine) were not only drug-inspired, but also drug themed. The "yellow submarine" in the song is a slang term for a very large blunt--big enough for many people to "live in" (share). Hence all the dreamy scenery.

    More importantly, I think it's important for people to differentiate between good musicians who use drugs and druggies who happen to make music. Two very different classes of people!

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 9th 2009 !⃝

    THIS IS DRIVING ME FRIGGING CRAZY!! gawd forbid a band write a song because they just like it. Yellow Submarine is a good song. its a good song, and stop trying to turn it into some drug story. Its just a good song. get over it!

  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 14th 2009 !⃝

    It's about weed. The background music sounds like someone taking a hit from a bong.




More Beatles songs »


 


Latest Articles

 


Submit Your Interpretation

[ want a different song? ]




Just Posted

Steve's Going to London anonymous
Yes I'm A Mess anonymous
Droppin' Plates anonymous
Rat anonymous
Cry for the Moon anonymous
And the Snakes Start to Sing anonymous
Gingerbread Man anonymous
Not Like the Movies anonymous
This Masquerade anonymous
Birthday Suit anonymous
Dollhouse anonymous
Death anonymous
Copy Cat anonymous
I Hate Jimmy Page anonymous
I Hate Jimmy Page anonymous

(We won't give out your email)