Although it was not used in the original take, a 41 piece orchestra was eventually asked to play on the song "Day in the Life". The musicians were all asked to dress formally. Upon arrival to the recording session, in true Beatles fashion, each orchestra member was given a novelty costume to wear (false noses, party hats, gorilla-paw gloves). The orchestra was conducted by Paul McCartney, who told them to start with the lowest note of their instruments and gradually play to the highest.
As most know, the beginning half of the song was written by John Lennon and the second half written by Paul McCarty. In the first verse, John was inspired by a story he read in the Daily Mail newspaper. The line "Blew his mind out in the car." was taken from the story of Guinness heir Tara Browne dying when he smashed his lotus into a parked van. John clearly took some creative license in writing this lyric, as Tara Browne's death was in fact accidental.
The last verse is also taken from a newspaper headline. The lyric "4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire" was taken from the UK Daily Express, January 17, 1967 in a column called "Far And Near." John's friend Terry Doran was the one who completed John's line "Now they know how many holes it takes to fill..." Terry told him "fill the Albert Hall, John."
And so an epically beautiful song was written purely off the inspiration of newpaper headlines - it is said that this was something that Paul and John challenged each other to do - always with a competitive spirit those two!
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