Magical Mystery Tour (2:49)

“Magical Mystery Tour” is a song by The Beatles, the opening track and theme song for the album and TV film of the same name. Unlike the theme songs for their other film projects, it was not released as a single.
The song is credited to Lennon/McCartney, and Paul McCartney said it was co-written. John Lennon said, “Paul’s song. Maybe I did part of it, but it was his concept.”. Lennon also said to the Hit Parader in 1972:”Paul wrote it. I helped with some of the lyric.”

McCartney said the “Roll up! Roll up!” introduction was inspired by a barker. The remaining lyrics explain in a general way the premise of the film: a mystery tour of the type that was popular in Britain when the Beatles were young. Lennon and McCartney expanded the tour to make it magical, which allowed it to be “a little more surreal than the real ones.”
Recording began on 25 April 1967, less than a week after the final sessions for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song was not complete when the session began and much of the evening was spent in rehearsals, but by the end of the evening the basic rhythm track was complete. The Beatles added bass guitar and vocal overdubs on 26 and 27 April. On 3 May, the brass fanfare and other parts were added in a disorganized session where the trumpet players began the evening without a score.