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"'''Your Mother Should Know'''" is a song by the English rock band [[the Beatles]] from their 1967 EP and LP ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]''. It was written by [[Paul McCartney]] and credited to [[Lennon–McCartney]].{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=355}}{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=198}} Titled after a line in the 1961 film ''[[A Taste of Honey (film)|A Taste of Honey]]'', its lyrical premise centres on the history of hit songs across generations. McCartney said he wrote it as a plea for generational understanding and respect for a mother's life experience. In the ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]'' television film, the song serves as a big production number in the style of a 1930s [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] musical. Some commentators view the sequence as cultural satire, as the Beatles are seen dancing and dressed in white evening tails.
"Your Mother Should Know" is in the [[music hall]] style, further to McCartney's earlier composition "[[When I'm Sixty-Four]]". He first offered it as the Beatles' contribution to the ''[[Our World (International TV special)|Our World]]'' satellite broadcast in June 1967, but the band favoured [[John Lennon]]'s "[[All You Need Is Love]]" for its social significance. The initial sessions for the song took place at Chappell Recording Studios in London towards the end of August. The group were visited there by their manager, [[Brian Epstein]], a visit that marked the last time he joined them in the studio before his death on 27 August.
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The sequence starts with the Beatles coming down a grand staircase in white evening tails.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=1053}} After they descend, a line of female RAF cadets march through the shot and the band then continue to mime to the song, surrounded by a crowd of ballroom dancers.{{sfn|Greene|2016|p=40}}{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=456}} Lennon, Harrison and [[Ringo Starr]] are wearing red [[carnation]]s, while McCartney's is black. The carnation difference later contributed to the "[[Paul is dead]]" urban legend.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=356}}{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=597–98, 1053}} Towards the end, McCartney steps forward from his bandmates and indulges in a dance of his own while the others continue the basic routine.{{sfn|Greene|2016|p=40}} Greene writes that, in contrast to McCartney's obvious enjoyment, Lennon and Harrison's facial expressions suggest "they'd rather be anywhere else" than filming the scene.{{sfn|Greene|2016|p=40}}{{refn|group=nb|Lennon later objected to McCartney delegating him scenes to write to work with his outline for the film,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=131}} and he said, "George and I were sort of grumbling, you know, 'Fuckin' movie, oh well, we better do it.'"{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=263, 278, 285}} Harrison recalled that he was "in another world" during ''Magical Mystery Tour'' and that it was mainly McCartney pushing his ideas, but he nevertheless enjoyed filming "Your Mother Should Know".{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|pp=272, 273}}}}
According to film studies academic Bob Neaverson, the sequence is a pastiche of 1930s [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] musicals, particularly Berkeley's ''Gold Diggers'' series of films.{{sfn|Neaverson|1997|p=60}} In Greene's view, the sequence masks the sense of old-fashioned compliance in "Your Mother Should Know". He cites the entrance of the young RAF cadets, amid the throng of formally dressed dancers, as an example of the scene having "a satirical undercurrent and [addressing] the fissures of late 1960s politics".{{sfn|Greene|2016|pp=39–40}} Film-maker [[Anthony Wall (film-maker)|Anthony Wall]], commenting on the 2012 DVD reissue of ''Magical Mystery Tour'', also recognised the sequence as a subtle satire of British culture. He said of the Beatles: "All this ''Come Dancing'' stuff, the girls in uniforms, and coming down a staircase in white suits is kind of ridiculous, but they're also revelling in the peculiarity of it."<ref name="Harris/Guardian">{{cite news|first=John|last=Harris|title=Fab Furore: Is it time to re-evaluate the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/25/beatles-magical-mystery-tour|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=26 September 2012|access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref>
==Release==
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