A/N Two stories in one day, my oh my how amazing am I? In case you've read my other story, I have figured out the whole chapter thing :) I'll be doing more of these ficlet things too, I already have a work-in pregress for Revolver... anyways, here you are!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Beatles, any of their members, Brian Epstein, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, or The Who... no matter how much I wish I did.
-Claire
1. Back In The U.S.S.R
While they weren't there when Ringo returned, he could definitely tell they had been. They had left their mark of friendship that brightened an otherwise dreary room and brought a smile to his face that was once ever-present, but now was few and far between.
Before him was a drum kit covered in flowers.
2. Dear Prudence
The finer points of comfort, as they always had been, were beyond John, and how to coax a girl from a cabin was far from his range of knowledge. So he used the only method he knew to express his feelings, and, as he sat in front of the window with his guitar in his lap, he sang the first things that came to mind, in hopes that it would work.
3. Glass Onion
It was one of those times when Paul could just relax and smoke some weed with John. He passed the joint to him and set back, letting the smoke drift through his mind. "I can see you," he commented, as he gazed at his friend through the joint.
"Like a glass onion," said John. And with that in mind, he inhaled deeply and left the room.
4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Ringo was the only one who enjoyed it. John hated it, George bit his lip about it, and even Paul was apathetic about his new tune. But Ringo completely and unashamedly liked it, from the happiness, to the bounciness, to everything in between. Perhaps it was a little too optimistic, but optimism these days was something that had been blatantly missing.
5. Wild Honey Pie
Pattie liked it, and Paul liked Pattie, at least better than Yoko. Maybe it was only forty-five seconds of the same repeated phrase, but if John got to put on whatever he wanted- why should Paul be any different in his privileges?
6. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
George had to keep himself from laughing at that boy and his mother who stayed in their cabin. They were amusing to watch, fussing about and worrying about everything and obsessing with their fancy, worldly possessions. Such the opposite of him they were that it was hilarious- that is, until they started killing elephants.
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The sound that Eric coaxed from his guitar sounded so much to George like the soft cries of love unrequited, of opportunity wasted and pleas unheard. It was a quiet, gentle wail of defeat that seemed so inexplicably human, a sadness that, no matter how happy the world seemed to be, would always be there- gently weeping in the background of life.
8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
The statement was fantastic, ridiculously, horribly fantastic. That happiness could be the feeling of having just shot something fascinated John, appalled him even. He fancied himself open-minded, but he simply could not understand a point of view that saw killing as happiness.
9. Martha My Dear
Ringo turned his car down a street, window open, and called out the name, feeling a bit silly for doing so. He could understand Paul's worry at having lost his dog, and he himself would probably feel the same way- but why on earth couldn't Paul have gotten the police to help him look?
10. I'm So Tired
John was lazy, he was lazy and fat and stupid and untalented and he hated himself. Reality and control seemed lately to be slipping through his fingers, and all he had the willpower to do now was to drink, smoke, and shoot up. But what did it matter what he did now? It would all be gone forever soon.
11. Blackbird
The announcements had been playing on the news all day, and even though Paul was an ocean away, the news appalled him. The very notion that someone could be murdered, just like that, for wanting peace and freedom, justice and equality was astounding. So Paul, tired of bad news, turned off the television and opened his notebook.
12. Piggies
Days off were a rarity nowadays, and times when George could simply visit his saintly mother without worry of press or fans or an unexpected recording session were even rarer. And the last thing he wanted her to worry about in her precarious health and finance was taxes.
13. Rocky Raccoon
Paul loved the westerns. From the first time he set foot in Texas, he simply adored the (albeit stereotypical) cowboy mentality he always saw in the moving pictures. And, if you could have an old-west movie, why not a song? But first, he would have to practice his accent.
14. Don't Pass Me By
It had taken four years for Ringo to get it on an album. It had taken four years of his song waiting in the depths of a notebook in the back of his mind to finally be recorded. Four years of being mocked- and on live television- for his efforts, and finally they had let him do it four years later- and yet they still didn't have enough respect to record it with him.
15. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
Monkeys were funny that way, mused Paul as he tried not to look at the two chimpanzees fornicating on the road in front with an amused grin on his face. It was really a question to ponder on, that it was so simple for them but so wrought with perils for humans. He already had a tune in his head as he sped off in the other direction to leave the monkeys to it.
16. I Will
Words were always something Paul struggled with when it came to making music. There was a time when he would go to John when the lyrics simply wouldn't come, but that time had passed. What was once a friendship had turned into a bitter and tense rivalry. And, still yet, Paul couldn't come up with lyrics.
17. Julia
It had been ten years since that day with the drunken policeman- ten years since Julia died, and every day John regretted that his mother never saw him achieve his dreams that she had so encouraged. The least he could do for her, for the only person who ever believed in him, was to write her a song and hope that somehow she would hear it, wherever she was. And so he sang a song of love- for Julia.
18. Birthday
Ringo liked it when these things happened, when everyone could just forget their differences and gather together in the studio to make something up on the spot. He was always one for spontaneity, and he even got to compose his own drum line for this one.
19. Yer Blues
Perhaps the title was idiotic, as Paul said, and unfitting to the dark content, but that was just it, that was the point. The lyrics were a rare and sincere peek to his feelings, and that completely and totally scared John, for his inner psyche to be published in song. Hence, the title- it would be much too terrifying if people began to take him seriously.
20. Mother Nature's Son
It seemed that Paul had certainly gotten into the Indian mystic spirit, and for this George was happy. He was happy for Paul, who had abandoned his uptight meticulousness to revel in the calm tranquility that came with being one with nature. But still, George knew it was only a matter of time before they were all screaming at each other again.
21. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey
Paranoid. They all were paranoid, except for him. And why not? John was in the glow of love that made the world seem a little brighter, a little more cheerful, and a lot friendlier. So what if they didn't like her? He did, and it was all that counted. They could keep their paranoia and leave him to his happiness.
22. Sexy Sadie
George desperately wanted to stay on the Maharishi's good side. It seemed like every time he had an interest, someone had to ruin it. Well, he wasn't the kid of the group anymore, and he wouldn't let John destroy this for him again with one stupid song. Yes, George had his own will, and the world had just better get used to it.
23. Helter Skelter
It wasn't as if Paul had anything against Pete Townshend, and he had no reason to dislike The Who, saving for the fact that their popularity was beginning to rival his own. But ever the perfectionist, ever competitive in his endeavors, Paul simply couldn't stand to have someone else breaking musical ground more than him. He was Paul McCartney, and no honor would remain untaken.
24. Long, Long, Long
So many songs he had written all piling up in the attic of the mind. There were songs of love and of god, rainy days and fairytales, and everything in between. Of all the songs he had shown them, they had chosen this one. But George shouldn't complain, for as he was always reminded, he's lucky they record his songs at all.
25. Revolution 1
John would take the flowers, he would voice his wishes for peace, but he would not join the crazy crowds that urged him to be with them. He wished for a better planet where nobody fought and killed as much as any protester, but still- we can't all change the world.
26. Honey Pie
Of the many things Ringo could have taken from his mother's attic, the old and scratched 78 rpm record that crackled and skipped when played was certainly a strange choice. But antiques were always fascinating to the drummer, and he smiled as he blew the dust from its vinyl surface- he knew a certain someone who could use it for his song.
27. Savoy Truffle
"Cream tangerine?" offered Eric, through a mouthful of chocolate.
As George took the small piece of chocolate from his friend as bit into the overly sweet inside, he said, "Too much chocolate, and you'll lose all your teeth."
Instead of responding, Eric simply smiled a cocoa-stained grin and popped another truffle.
28. Cry Baby Cry
What kind of a billboard was it, anyway? Cry baby cry, make your mother buy. Crying never worked, at least not for John, not when he was little, so he didn't cry now. But maybe it did for little girls with soft-willed mothers- after all, what should he know of little girls?
29. Revolution 9
Paul had tried his best to keep it off the album. But John had won the argument, and without Brian, Paul was without an ally. But it didn't matter in the least bit when it came to arguments; it was always John who came out on top.
30. Good Night
It was the first time for Ringo to be in the studio by himself. And, as he sang softly into the microphone as the violins played above him, no drums sitting before him and without a friend to smile at, he decided he didn't like it too much.
