A hard days night

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helloI have a problem with the meaning of "a hard days night". Can somebody give the explanation about that expression. It's also the title of a Beatle song GreetingsJ.P.M.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]hello I have a problem with the meaning of "a hard days night". Can somebody give the explanation about that expression. It's also the title of a Beatle song[/nq]
"A hard day" is one which has taken a lot out of you usually from working hard, often from frustrations that have occurred during the course of the day.
"A hard day's night" is the same, except you've done it at night instead of during the day.
At their most literal, the lyrics can apply to someone working a demanding night-shift job.
At a less literal level, they apply to someone who's been up all night (doing whatever they might be doing when they've stayed active all night).
That's how I've always read the song, anyway.

Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 21 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey to whhvs)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]hello I have a problem with the meaning of "a hard days night". Can somebody give the explanation about that expression. It's also the title of a Beatle song[/nq]
You need an apostrophe there, "A Hard Day's Night."

It was not a well-known expression, it was coined by Ringo who was said to have an unusual way of putting words together. The Beatles used it for the title of their movie, and John wrote a song to fit. Here's a typical explanation:
When filming began, there was no title for the film. Suggested titles were "On The Move," "Let's Go," and "Beatlemania," but The Beatles rejected these.
During this time, The Beatles were extremely busy
performing concerts, writing songs, as well as
dealing with the movie. Once after a concert,
following a long day that started early in the
morning, Ringo went outside and still thinking it
was day, said, "It's been a hard day,(then looked
around and saw it was dark out and said) "day's
night," and the title was born.

Best wishes Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]hello I have a problem with the meaning of "a hard days night". Can somebody give the explanation about that expression. It's also the title of a Beatle song[/nq]
It's said to be an expression used by John Lennon when the Beatles were an unknown rock band playing in a red-light district nightclub in Hamburg. They played late into the night and slept all day. A hard day's work for them at the time was indeed a 'hard day's night'. They eventually used the phrase as a song title.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]hello I have a problem with the meaning of "a hard days night". Can somebody give the explanation about that expression. It's also the title of a Beatle song[/nq]
It's not also* the title of a Beatles song. It *is the title of a Beatle's song. Before that, it wasn't an idiomatic phrase.

The story goes that after some hard work filming or recording or touring, Ringo slumped down and said "that was a hard day's night" which was literally meaningless but indicated that he was tired. John noted the phrase and used it in a song, but it still doesn't really mean anything specific.

David
==

Usenet · Answer

Donna Richoux filted:
[nq:1]When filming began, there was no title for the film. Suggested titles were "On The Move," "Let's Go," and "Beatlemania," but The Beatles rejected these.[/nq]
Just as the following film, "Eight Arms To Hold You", was changed to "Help!" and the "Get Back" documentary became "Let It Be"..
ObAUE: have the group ever discussed the semaphore positions on the cover of the UK "Help!" LP?...they certainly aren't spelling "help", even if one allows for the possibility that the photos may have been permuted or flipped in processing...in fact, it seems unlikely that they can be made to say anything meaningful at all..r

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[nq:1]Donna Richoux filted:[/nq]
[nq:2]When filming began, there was no title for the film. Suggested titles were "On The Move," "Let's Go," and "Beatlemania," but The Beatles rejected these.[/nq]
[nq:1]Just as the following film, "Eight Arms To Hold You", was changed to "Help!" and the "Get Back" documentary became ... permuted or flipped in processing...in fact, it seems unlikely that they can be made to say anything meaningful at all..r[/nq]
From http://www.liv.ac.uk/ipm/beatles/breflib/helpcovr.html :

The photographer who conceived of and executed the photo, Robert Freeman, confirms that no semaphore

...I had the idea of semaphore spelling out the
letters HELP. But when we came to do the shot the
arrangement of the arms with those letters didn't
look good. So we decided to improvise and ended up with the best graphic positioning of the arms.
(Freeman, Robert The Beatles , Barnes & Noble, NY, p. 62)
Most interesting theory on that page was that they spelled LPUS both "'elp us" and LP + us.

Best Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]hello I have a problem with the meaning of "a hard days night". Can somebody give the explanation about that expression. It's also the title of a Beatle song[/nq]
That's funny because I have somewhat of a problem with the meaning of the expression "eight days a week". It's also the title of a Beatles song.
And as for "Goo goo g'joob", wot the ****** 'ell's that s'posed to mean, like?

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MM filted:
[nq:1]That's funny because I have somewhat of a problem with the meaning of the expression "eight days a week". It's also the title of a Beatles song. And as for "Goo goo g'joob", wot the ****** 'ell's that s'posed to mean, like?[/nq]
All will be made clear, if only you view it through a glass onion..r

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[nq:2]hello I have a problem with the meaning of "a ... that expression. It's also the title of a Beatle song[/nq]
[nq:1]That's funny because I have somewhat of a problem with the meaning of the expression "eight days a week". It's also the title of a Beatles song.[/nq]
Don't you ever work 25 hour days?
Jan

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[nq:2]Donna Richoux filted: Just as the following film, "Eight Arms ... they can be made to say anything meaningful at all..r[/nq]
[nq:1]...I had the idea of semaphore spelling out the letters HELP. But when we came to do the shot the ... 62) Most interesting theory on that page was that they spelled LPUS both "'elp us" and LP + us.[/nq]
More likely, it's "Lies Paul Under Stone?" the first of many hidden references in the ouevre to McCartney's oft-denied but ne'er-disproven demise.
However, another theory has rapidly been gaining ground among scholars since the recently authenticated Weybridge Diaries were discovered: that it's a nostalgic reference to the group's recreational-drug habits during their Mod years: "Lennon Popped Uppers Sometimes".

A hard days night

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