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Abbey Road, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Show Don't Tell, The Beatles, writers, writing
“Show, don’t tell.” You’ve heard it a million times.
You strive for it, sometimes achieve it, and if you are like me, most of the time wonder what all this showing-not-telling means.
This picture of the Beatles immediately before the photo shoot for the Abbey Road album cover is poignant. It “shows” the bond between two members of the band. Maybe Paul is teasing Ringo, or maybe he is adjusting his collar, but the photo captures an intimate moment.
An article accompanying the photo could read, “The Beatles were a tight-knit band.” Or, a writer could say, “Paul sensed Ringo’s anxiety and whispered a joke to lighten the moment.” The first sentence “tells” about the band’s relationship and the second “shows” us they cared about each other.
Another thing I love about this photo is that Paul is wearing sandals. Did he kick them off just before crossing Abbey Road? Also, what do you suppose the lady was saying to them? Get a haircut? I have all your albums? Don’t even THINK about breaking up?
P.S. Some feel the word “iconic” is overused and therefore diluted its meaning. I don’t believe that is the case when using it to describe the Abbey Road photo.
Robin Coyle 
That’s a fabulous photo isn’t it? You cannot beat some of the Grandma fashions of the time either. She was probably waiting for the bus.
She looks just like my mother-in-law. Yup. I bet she wondered if they were in queue (how British of me) for the same bus.
Reblogged this on Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde and commented:
Beatles + Writing = Perfection
I think that this woman is getting close to the Fab Four to determine whether or not they are real or whether these were new wax figures from Madame Toussaud’s museum. See how none of the Beatles seem to be paying any attention to her? I think they may be wax figures. These look pretty well done to me, though. ~ Lily
I bet she poked one of them and he said, “Easy there bird. Don’t rumple the suit.”
Love that photo!!!
Me too! Didn’t you send it to me?
You can tell by the purple-striped gown she wears that this women is a costumer/seamstress for the Tommy Nutter Clothing Label. This was the outfit of many of the sewers on Savile Row. A moment before this shot she told John to pull his pants up. Ringo, it was well know, had a bit of a hump on his left shoulder and she was trying to get that less noticeable. In a moment, she will tell Paul to lose the sandals for this next shot and people will think you’re dead. It will be great fun! Finally, she will be apoplectic at George for wearing all denim, so, she made sure he was last in line. The story is there if you just read it.
Brilliant. A-B-S-O-L-U-T-L-Y Brilliant. I will be chuckling all day over this. Ringo has a hump?
He has a hump, he likes to hump, I don’t know. Something about humping I heard once long ago about him. Yeah, yeah, I think it was Paul is dead and Ringo has a hump. Yeah, that was it! HF
Did you have to listen to the album backwards to make out the words?
I am ashamed to admit it, but I did do that! Over and over until I was convinced that Paul indeed was dead. Then, I taunted my older sister, who loved Paul, until I made her cry. Ah, what a great brother I was. Ironically, Paul is the only one still alive, not counting Ringo. Which nobody ever does. HF
Poor Ringo. Sad, neglected, and always in the background. Still chuckling over your comments Harper.
“Local housemum asks global sensation if he would be interesting in going out on a simple date together. Paul encourages, Ringo to give the broad a try.”
Cheeky bird, isn’t she?
How awesome that the first post of yours I read is this one. And here I sit in my T-shirt with the jacket cover of the album The Revolver on it. I adore the Beatles, they are iconic for me. I grew up with them as first a 10 yr old when their first wave in the USA.
Each album I have has been recorded to CD and the vinyl’s put away to be played only for special times. There is no way the same sound of a needle on vinyl can be found digitally. No comparison.
I adore them too. Can I borrow your tee-shirt?
LOL….LOL… Not today~
Damn.
Er, Robin… I think you missed a very important point: Paul is wearing sandals but, thank the lord, no socks! I think that’s a crucial fact! 😉
This is very cool. That whole thing about a picture telling 1000 words is so true. I really enjoyed this post, you’re right, sometimes that ‘show don’t tell’ is hard to fathom! 🙂
Socks with sandals should be a crime.
Yes. There should definitely be a law against it!!!
Good reminder. That lady, by the way, is a friend of the family. She hasn’t seen Ringo for a while. “How is your mother?” she asks, “What does she think about your trip to America?”
How nice that she asked after Ringo’s mum.
This has always been a bug bear of mine and this is the first time anyone has shown the exampe rather than told it. Thank you so much, very clever.
Cool! Glad you liked it.
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Love the photo, and that’s a great example for “show, don’t tell.” That has always been one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp. I still don’t think I’ve really got it down!
When talking about a band that changed the face of popular music, I think iconic is a perfectly acceptable description. 🙂
I meant to add in the post – sometimes it is ok to tell. Maybe the door is red, not “the color of the floor at a grisly crime scene.”
LOVE the Beatles. What do you think the lady was saying to them?
Oh, man, I think I’ve read some books that did that…. 🙂
I’m thinking she’s the neighborhood busybody, always at the window waiting for something to happen. She saw them and had to investigate.
“Who are you people? Why are you taking pictures of my street? Beetles? I’ve never seen any. Mind you, the rats are getting to be a problem. But the Council won’t do anything about them.”
It also looks like a good Monty Python skit…. 🙂
That’s hysterical! 🙂
I think she’s actually maybe saying, ‘I know your face from somewhere… didn’t you used to work at the corner shop? …Yes, that’s right, you went to school with my young Charlie…’
Isn’t it nice that she isn’t scolding them for loitering on her street.
Yes. 🙂
I liked C S Lewis advice to a young writer (read it on a blog somewhere). Do not tell them to be terrified. Terrify them. (No, I do not mean to imply C.S. Lewis is blogging). Thank you for the post – enjoyable, as always.
Wouldn’t it be fun if old C.S. started a blog. That is one I would follow for sure. I like the quote and thanks for the thumbs-up on the post.