| "The Fool on the Hill" | |
|---|---|
 Northern Songs sheet music cover | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the EP and album Magical Mystery Tour | |
| Released | |
| Recorded | 25–27 September and 20 October 1967 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Psychedelic pop[1] |
| Length | 3:00 |
| Label | Parlophone (UK), Capitol (US) |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
| Licensed audio | |
| "The Fool on the Hill" (Remastered 2009) on YouTube | |
"The Fool on the Hill" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 EP and album Magical Mystery Tour. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The lyrics describe the titular "fool", a solitary figure who is not understood by others, but is actually wise. McCartney said the idea for the song was inspired by the Dutch design collective the Fool, who derived their name from the tarot card of the same name, and possibly by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
The song's segment in the Magical Mystery Tour television film was shot separately from the rest of the film and without the other Beatles' knowledge. Accompanied by a professional cameraman, McCartney filmed the scene near Nice in France.
In 1968, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 recorded a cover version of the song that reached the top ten in the US. By the late 1970s, "The Fool on the Hill" was one of McCartney's most widely recorded ballads. A solo demo and an outtake of the song were included on the Beatles' 1996 compilation album Anthology 2.
- ^ Rolling Stone Staff (24 September 2024). "The 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
...featuring studio-tweaked psych-pop bedrock like "I Am the Walrus", "The Fool on the Hill", and the title track...