Once there was a way
To get back homeward
Once there was a way
To get back home

Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby

Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles await you when you rise

Sleep pretty darling, do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby

Once there was a way
To get back homeward
Once there was a way
To get back home

Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby


Lyrics submitted by Ice

Golden Slumbers Lyrics as written by John Lennon Paul Mccartney

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Golden Slumbers song meanings
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  • +8
    General Comment

    First time I heard this song I cried so much, including it's lead onto carry that weight and the end. These three songs just seem like the perfect illustration of life and death. We grow from childhood where we're too old to be comforted by our parents and sung a lullaby. There's no one to kiss us better when we scrape our knee. Things get harder, there's pressure and stress that we have to carry as weight on our soldiers until we die - but in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make, and the lives you touch on the way, and the people who touch you make it worth it. To be fair, I know nothing about life. I'm only fifteen. :S, but that's my interpretation for you. :)

    clockworkdollyon April 04, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The song is based on a poem by by 17th century poet Thomas Dekker. Also, Paul saw a song called Golden Slumbers in his step-sister's songbook, but he was unable to read the music so he just rewrote it with his own music and lyrics.

    BrainDamageon August 24, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is so beautiful...Paul's voice on this song brings me to tears every time I hear it.

    beatlesfan4evron June 25, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I think Paul wrote Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End as a catharsis for the impending breakup of The Beatles.

    I think McCartney wrote “Golden Slumbers” to try to express his sadness and hurt (and maybe even depression) at the breakup of the Beatles, and to try to soothe himself at the same time. He’s doing this with a song that is supposed to be a lullaby. A lullaby implies someone who is comfortable, singing a soothing song to someone in need of comforting. The person he is trying to comfort in addition to us, however, is himself. The person singing is also the one feeling the hurt, so Paul’s performance of the song is an emotional dichotomy, one part comforting (“sleep pretty darling do not cry”) and one part pain (“Golden slumbers fill your eyes”) and sadness (“Once there was a way to get back homeward“). That’s part of why this recording is so special.

    On “Carry That Weight“, Paul is conveying anger and blame, whether it’s toward John, Yoko, or Allen Klein, (or all of the above,) before the song heads back to sadness with the reprise of “You Never Give Me Your Money“.

    On “The End“, Paul comes to terms with the end of The Beatles and tries to help the fans do the same by performing a final number with rotating solos to close out a magnificent career for the group. The fans don’t know quite yet that this is the end, but Paul knows they soon will. And the final line expresses so well the impact of The Beatles, "and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make".

    Interestingly, this series of songs also represented my personal feelings after John Lennon’s murder. In my sadness and shock, I instinctively wanted to hear these three songs.

    STL Beatles fanon February 24, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The whole Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End was a great way to end the Abbey Road album. It's only fitting for a great band like the Beatles ( the greatest ever) to end their musical career with a song like The End.

    TidewaterHippieon June 01, 2007   Link
  • +2
    Memory

    The first time I heard the last trilogy of songs on Abbey Road I cried....I wanted to go home to my friends, but that was past and I could not go back. To this day I cry when I hear this song. Along with Blackbird, In My Life this trilogy of tunes these mean the most personally to me

    bb1969on September 04, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    A Londoner born c. 1570, Thomas Deker was the author of The shoemaker's Holiday (1600) The Pleasant Comedy of Old Fortunatus (1600) The Honest Whore (1604) The Gull's Hornbook (1609) The Roaring Girl (1611), and the posthumously published The Syn's Darling (1656).

    Bobo192on March 07, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Awe, when I first moved..I listened to this song, and as soon as I heard "Once there was a way to get back homeward. Once there was a way to get back home." I cried lol. I love this song.

    PunkAngel401on July 07, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I had always known about this song having been a beatles fan since I was ten! However it only took on any significance for me in the past few months. Drinking a lot and smoking too much weed, arriving back at my flat in a depressed state I started playing beatles tunes. This one leapt out and blew me away, made me actually cry.

    Its a tune I'm gonna play to my kids when I have some. Paul may be a bit of a sell out and some times his tunes do drip with insincerity, using emotion to sell but this is a true gem. Try some of the bootleg versions to find earlier takes when Paul is even more emotional, amazing stuff!

    Matt

    Nowheremanon February 26, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    oh but dream theater? ew.

    velvetsisteron December 23, 2005   Link

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