Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite ⏬👇

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! was written by John Lennon in the summer of 1967 while he was on holiday in Sardinia with friends, and was inspired by an old poster that hung outside his bedroom window. The song perfectly captures the simple magic of a circus: the sparkles, sequins and frills that surround circuses and music hall stages.

It is a portrait of an event from Dickens’s early childhood, drawn from his own memories and imagination. The work was originally written as a musical programme for a theatrical production in which Dickens played an important role in creating the scenery, costumes and effects on stage. Among these are the “Soda water” crate for Mr. Kite’s Great Balloon ascent, and Mr. Jingle on his pony chaise getting “knocked up” by the Coachman – though each one’s friends would attempt to explain it away as just an ordinary everyday occurrence…

Comments on the book

This fascinating book, in the main a series of lyrics, will demonstrate very clearly to any intelligent reader that Mr. John Lennon is a genius.

Extract from Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite by John Lennon and Paul McCartney: “Mr. Kite was abducted by a swarm of flying saucers from Venus, who is now about to return to our planet for his great performance.  It will take place on Friday Evening at eight o’clock sharp.”

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! is a 1967 album by The Beatles, later republished as Mr. Moonlight. It uses a number of traditional English tunes and songs within its own lyrics, which were mostly written by John Lennon. The album was released on vinyl in the United Kingdom on 18 March 1967, and on 20 April 1967 in the United States, with an identical track listing except for the addition of the standard version of “Because” as the final song instead of the uncharacteristic blues jam that closes this version.