The Beatles Discography – Day Tripper

“Day Tripper,” an uptempo song recorded by the Beatles on October 16th, 1965, clearly illustrates the band’s collaborative abilities, and reflects the giddy heights they could attain when they effectively combined their musical and lyrical gifts.   

Released as a double A-side single on December 3rd of that same year (the flip side was the impressive “We Can Work It Out”) the song scored on both sides of the pond, quickly soaring to No. 1 in the U.K. and No. 5 on the American Billboard Hot 100, becoming a classic amongst the Beatles discography.   

Although “Day Tripper” was recorded at the same time as Rubber Soul — and is clearly musically and stylistically consistent with many of the album’s tracks — it doesn’t appear on RS. However, it can be found on the 1966 album Yesterday and Today. In 1973, it was included on the 1962-1966 Beatles compilation, a.k.a. The “Red” Album.   

From its electrifying opening notes to its final fade-out, “Day Tripper” is a taut, exhilarating romp that owes much of its strength to its shared vocals and its democratic assignment of musical duties. The song’s hallmark guitar line – spare, angular, and arresting – will eventually become one of the most celebrated and recognizable riffs in modern music.  Although it bears the unmistakable melodic and rhythmic fingerprints of John Lennon, it is George Harrison who plays it, both in the studio and in concert.  (Lennon pitches in on lead guitar, with an enthusiastic solo near the two-minute mark).   

Lennon also wrote the song’s hook — as well as the lion’s share of the lyrics — but it is Paul McCartney’s lush, impassioned voice that ushers in the song’s beginning lines. It is this juxtaposition of disparate elements — Lennon’s dark, sardonic lyrics, McCartney’s buoyant vocal style — that is at the heart of the song’s appeal.   

A brisk, insistent tambourine, overdubbed by Ringo Starr, hurries the verses along and contributes to the impression of relentless velocity. When the chorus arrives, Lennon takes up the lead vocal and McCartney seamlessly switches to a supporting harmony.   

The lyrics of “Day Tripper,” like those of many Beatles songs, are subject to multiple interpretations.   

At its most literal, the song appears to take aim at “day trippers” – shallow, superficial tourists and sightseers who descend on a locale for a day’s entertainment. The song’s deeper meaning, which relies on a play on words, is reportedly a dig at what would today be called “weekend warriors” — people perceived as not fully committed to dropping LSD, or “tripping.”   

John Lennon hinted at this, acknowledging that the song was about “weekend hippies.” Close to 40 years later, Paul McCartney, in a 2004 interview with USA Today, was more straightforward.  He stated unequivocally that the song was “about acid.”   


A related theory regarding the meaning of the lyrics holds that John actually wrote “Day Tripper” to tease Paul about his reluctance to drop acid; neither Beatle ever confirmed this.  Other analysts have claimed that the song is really about a frustrating sexual interlude. Still others, pointing to the “Sunday driver” phrase, believe the song references the death of John’s mother, Julia, who was struck by a car.   


Whether the song is interpreted as a pointed reproach from John to Paul, a general condemnation of drug dilettantes and dabblers, or a put-down of invasive tourists, “Day Tripper” still stands as a perfect representation of the exuberance, vocal virtuosity and unstoppable energy of the Fab Four near the peak of their creative powers.