Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for March 10, 2024

It’s been a hard day’s night, so I want to hold your hand while we twist and shout in strawberry fields forever.

Is Stephan taking us on a magical mystery tour?

Let It Be Rat, he is through now, (knock on Norwegian Wood)

Well, he did (Sgt) pepper the strip with a lot of titles. That is something. We should twist and shout. (but I don’t want to stretch this too far)

I spotted 25, but since I lose an hour of sleep tonight, that’s enough for me for a day in the life.

I can try with a little help from my friends.

GODDAMMIT!!!! Why did RAT have to use his bat too early yesterday so he could forget it today when we all KNOW he NEEDED it to bash the author’s head ASAP!!!! Why?! Dan aka…grrr…

If he’d managed to work in ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun" or "Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" I would have been really impressed.

I hate the Beatles so this does nothing for me.

And yet I clicked on the strip, so I’m an accomplice.

Mother Mary and Eleanor Rigby feel left out.

Well, I’ll be a Paul of a Ringo!

I’ve Got a Feeling

Michelle

She’s Leaving Home

She Loves You

I’m a Loser

In My Life

Nowhere Man

I Saw Her Standing There

Yesterday

The Night Before

Act Naturally (written by Johnny Russel & Voni Morrison, a hit for Buck Owens)

Julia

Oh! Darling!

Lovely Rita

Something

Get Back

I’m So Tired

You’re Gonna Lose that Girl

Tell Me Why

Because

Let It Be

Come Together

Help

Two of Us

Why Don’t We do It in the Road?

I Am the Walrus

Paperback Writer

When I’m 64

Want You To

Don’t Let Me Down

Mean Mr. Mustard

Little known fact Pavlov used to give all his possessions names when he was asked what he used to train his dogs he said Michelle my bell

Re: Paperback Writer…story goes a shirttail relative of mine was sitting around with the Boys one day and Paul asked him: “So what do you want to do with your life, Royston?” To which he replied: “I want to be a paperback writer, that’s where the money is!”

HELP!

Where’s my silver hammer when I need it?

Is Rita the Meter Maid?! “Lovely Rita Meter Maid”!

I say we make Pastis the Fifth Beaten.

A Hard Day’s Night because of the time change!

It’s all in octopuses garden!

My favourite Beatles song is ‘Her Majesty’ because it ends the soonest.

Number 9….

I think my dad had an old cassette of that band. Was it the one with the bangs, and black suits? The singer was David Jones or something like that…

Life goes on

To hell with the tin foil, plastic Beatles.

You Won’t See Me Any Time at All spewing Beatles Here, There and Everywhere, Helter Skelter For No One - but if you do, Honey Don’t Bother Me. It’s All Too Much. Hold Me Tight and get Help. I’m Down and I Need You. All I’ve Gotta Do is Get Back and I’ve Got a Feeling I’ll Be Back to What You’re Doing When I Get Home. Word. (P.S. I Love You. We Can Work it Out)

Too easy.

Technically, “Act Naturally” shouldn’t count as a Beatles song. They performed it (with Ringo singing), but it’s not original to them.

“I know your name is Rita, ‘cuz your perfume’s smelling sweeter…” oops, wrong band.

I’m too tired to think this hard.

I can’t bother to count them….I haven’t finished my morning coffee. Anyway, I’ve got a day in the life to get through.

Last year one of my grandsons had to write a paper and incorporate as many Dolly Parton song titles as possible. It was fun. I do live in East Tennessee.

Actually 31 1/2. After Act Naturally, we have “Here comes…” just lacking “…the Sun”. And I say, it’s alright

Dear Mr. Pastis,

I just don’t understand; how do you do it? Song titles- here, there and everywhere! I would love you to tell me why. I want to tell you: you can’t do that! Do you want to know a secret? I like song titles too! But you’ve got to hide your love away. In my life, the things we said today get back to some other guy yesterday. Ask me why! Because there’s a place for what you’re doing, and it’s all too much – ask the piggies! You know what to do. Let it be. From me to you, I’ve got a feeling it won’t be long before you have to run for your life down the long and winding road, and it’s long, long, long! In spite of all the danger, with a little help from my friends, I’ll get you to Memphis, TN, where everybody’s got something to hide except me and my monkey. It don’t bother me if you’ve got trouble. We can work it out!

Sincerely,

Anonymous- you know my name (look up the number)

P.S. I love you!

I don’t want to spoil the party, so I’ll go

I want to tell you: My favorite is there, and I feel fine.

Hi Pig, sorry to read about Yer Blues.

HELP!

How about a Guns N’ Roses theme?

Oh My Michelle, I think about you, you Sweet Child of Mine. But sometimes, You’re Crazy and I feel like You’re Out Ta Get Me. That’s when I take to Mr. Brownstone and slip into a Coma. And that bothers you and we become Estranged. It’s been 14 Years of this, like a long, drawn out Civil War. If only you would be reasonable, You Could be Mine. It’s So Easy! But this Breakdown finally took its toll. I Used to Love Her, but I had to kill her. And now I’ve been sentenced to death, and I’m Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, soon to be headed to that Paradise City in the sky………..

This gag was done more effectively (more briefly and more elegantly as well) in the 1987 Douglas Adams novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. I think it’s only five or six songs referenced, but it comes out of nowhere and is so seamlessly constructed as ro highlight the difference between quality and quantity. Not slamming Pastis here — this is nice to see, especially in preference to one of those dreadful “pun” strips.

Good morning, good morning, good morning.

I found 22.

I have a headache!

If I listened to more old-school music, I might actually be able to do this. But I don’t, so have fun, all you Beatles fans!

Sorry, too busy hiking in the Norwegian wood, following a girl I saw standing there…

Eleanor Rigby is looking for her lost pet—Rocky Raccoon.

I couldn’t count them all. Was under the influence of some California grass.

Time for a revolution!

Which you’ll read about in the news, today! O boy!

nope

Don’t worry Pig, your other girlfriend will be dropping in on you shortly.

Lucy’s in the sky skydiving.

So who did Pastis win his bet with?

Unbelievable

I dig a pony in the norwegian wood myself.

Beatles? You’re really old, right? :D

Oh, no! Wait, here comes the sun!

there’s one nested in the other – You’re Gonna Lose that “Girl”. That makes 32, actually.

This guy is a genius!!! ☺️

Even through I probably got them all, having lived through the ’60s, I refuse to play, I quit after a couple of panels. I did enjoy the Buchanan and Goodman hit song title pastiche records from the late ’50s but I was in junior high.

Pig, you need to stop dating outside your species.

where’s my yellow submarine?

I would love it if there were 64.

Pastis was stretching in the next to last panel. And yet saved it talking to Mean Mr. Rat.

Stephen should be careful, Rat looks like he might bop him with Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

I am not seeing a Yellow Submarine!

Great work today Stephan!

Should have been 42.

I hope his Yellow submarine implodes.

While she’s Yellow Submarining them, Rat is quite correct in thinking, “MUD.”

Got ‘em all!

Happiness is a Warm Groan.

Didn’t even think to count was just having fun reading the song titles and singing along.

That was a long and winding road and I should have known better so now you better run for your life

Elmore James got nothing on this.

Their music makes me feel as free as a bird and it shows Pastis has some real love for The Beatles. I think it would help our world if more people listened to The Beatles every now and then.

Hey Jude! Go find Eleanor Riby who is enjoying some Golden Slumbers on her Yellow Submarine and don’t do it Helter Skelter! We need some help here!

easy peasy

No. I hate the Beatles and I’m starting to hate Pastis.

Nevertheless, Lets Be Natural here and just keep this Between Us. As much as I love The Beatles, The Rutles are Number One in my book. If Ron Nasty wanted to Hold My Hand, I wouldn’t say OUCH! Maybe on Another Day I’ll Let The Good Times Roll, visit Shangri La and have some Cheese and Onions. Or maybe, I’ll just I walk down Doubleback Alley and find Blue Suede Schubert with his friend, the Goose Step Mamma. Or maybe he’ll be just be with a Girl Like You. Then I’ll know that things are Looking Good.

Eh, I’ll wait till this runs in a treasury.

One universe over, the Beatles reunited in the 80s and the world got decades more of great Beatles music. Our universe got that Catcher in the Rye %#$ instead.

Got through the whole strip without “Piggies”? I mean, really…

OMG Stephan … You’re a funny man — LOLOL

Here’s the list:1. I’ve Got a Feeling2. Michelle3. She’s Leaving Home4. She Loves You5. I’m a Loser6. In My Life7. Nowhere Man8. I Saw Her Standing There9. Yesterday10. The Night Before11. Act Naturally12. Julia13. Oh! Darling14. Lovely Rita15. Something16. Get Back17. I’m So Tired18. You’re Gonna Lose That Girl19. Tell Me Why20. Because21. Let It Be22. Come Together23. Help24. The Two of Us25. Why Don’t We Do It In the Road26. I Am The Walrus27. Paperback Writer28. When I’m 6429. I Want You30. Don’t Let Me Down31. Mean Mr. Mustard

I thought that the first panel was strange but it wasn’t until the second panel that I figured out what was going on.

I disliked the Beatles when their first song came out. Nothing has changed my opinion.

This is almost worthy of Bushy Tails.

I only found 30.

I’ll only do it for the benefit of Mr. Kite.

Looks like way too much work, I’d be working on this eight days a week.

As the musician sang on his way to the electric chair—-“I Want To Hold Your Hand”

The .. who the what now?!?!

Thank you for the brain exercise in nostalgia. From the first comment by Pig, it was obvious an exercise in Beatle tunes. Lovely. Thanks Stephen