Li'l Bit o' History: Strawberry Fields Forever Mystery Cache

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FluteFace: This has had a nice, long run. Thanks to all who visited! Good Night, Geocache!

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Hidden : 10/16/2005
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields forever.
 Lyrics © Northern Songs. Written by John Lennon/Paul McCartney.


The cache is not at the coordinates listed above. As you read through your history lesson, the digits needed should become apparent.

I just couldn't resist putting a li'l bit o' a cache here when I saw the name of this place. And what better way to introduce post-boomers to what many believe was, and still is, the greatest pop piece ever recorded.

Strawberry Fields Forever was recorded by the Beatles in late 1966 and released in the US in February of the next year. Although it is usually attributed to both Lennon and McCartney, 4 it is know to have been composed only by John Lennon. It was released as one side of a double A-side single, coupled with John McCartney's Penny Lane. Both songs were originally intended to be 8 on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but ended up as part of the Magical Mystery Tour album instead.

John Lennon started writing the song in late 1966. It was a stressful time in his life: The Beatles had just retired from t0uring; John's unfortunate remark in March of 1966 that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus" had taken its toll; his marriage was failing; and his drug use was increasing, especially his use of LSD. Many believe that, even though there are no obvious references to drugs, the song's style, tone and "stream of consciousness" lyrics were influenced by his 8 experiences with acid. Strawberry Fields Forever is typically viewed as one of the defining works of the psychedelic rock genre.

Many John Lennon (and Paul McCartney) songs share themes of childhood nostalgia for places in and around Liverpool, where he grew up. Strawberry Fields Forever refers to the Salvation Army orphanage in Woolton, which was called Strawberry Field. It was a large Victorian style building located about five walking minutes from where John lived. He attended events there with his Aunt Mimi, and used to play in the trees behind it with his childh00d friends Pete Shotton and Ivan Vaughan.

The recording of Strawberry Fields Forever is actually a melding of two different versions of the song. The Beatles recorded several takes of two different arrangements of the song. The first was fairly basic (keyboard, 6 guitars and drums) while the second was a more complex arrangement and included brass and a string quartet. Lennon decided he liked the beginning of the first and the ending of the second. The 1 challenge was that the versions were slightly different in tempo, and almost exactly half a tone apart in pitch. Lennon handed the mess over to producer George Martin. But the problem was fairly easy to solve: George sped one up slightly and slowed the other down, making them fairly easy to combine. The edit is detectable on recordings: it 2 can be heard at one minute into the song, and sometimes a second earlier on some CDs.

It is of interest to note that a new instrument was used in the production of this song. Paul McCartney played it to produce the 2 flute-like sounds in the introduction. It was a Mellotron, a British electronic keyboard that used eight-second tape segments of real musical instruments for each key. Strawberry Fields Forever is thought to have the first use of the Mellotron on a p0p recording. As a result, other groups of the era, including Traffic, Family and The Rolling Stones, began including it in their recordings. The Mellotron used in this song is now owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

As of January 2005, Strawberry Field was still standing. It had just announced that it would be closing its 8 doors as a children's home (as opposed to orphanage in the past) in March for financial reasons. Over the years, the 9 gates (see above) to Strawberry Field have become an icon, with thousands of visitors annually. New York's Central Park also has a Strawberry Fields Memorial, dedicated to John Lennon.

And last but not least, something for 5 old "Paul Is Dead" hoax supporters: It had been believed by many that Lennon said "I buried Paul" at the end of the song. He actually said "cranberry sauce" and confirmed that in a 1980 Playboy Magazine interview. He said that it was 4 a kind of icing on the cake of the weirdness of the song.

Things for you to know:
  • It takes only a finger and no strength to find this cache. There is no need to move anything to find it.
  • This is a very busy place, with muggles often around in great numbers until 10p every night of the week. Please use stealth.
  • The cache is easily available 24/7, but the area's gates do close at closing.
  • This is a li'l bit o' a cache and contains only a li'l bit o' a log. An extraction tool may be needed for the log.
  • Please bring something to write with. Leave only initials. No stickers, please.
  • You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.
  • Congratulations to Gordy&Sassy on their FTF. Their prize was a magnetic cache container -- but not a key box!


Please let me know if there are any problems with the cache or the coords.
Most importantly, have fun!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Vg'f n yvggyr zntargvp.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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