Lady Macbeth by Barclay James Harvest

Album: Welcome to the Show (1990)

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According to the December 1995 issue of the fanzine Nova Lepidoptera, the working title of this song was "Something Wicked This Way Comes," a line from the Shakespeare play Macbeth; the same line was used by Ray Bradbury as the title of a science fiction novel, which in turn inspired the John Lees song "Medicine Man."
There was some speculation that "Lady Macbeth" was written about Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to become Prime Minister of England, but Lees would say only that it was definitely not about her. He wrote it after being taken to task for being too literal with "John Lennon's Guitar"; it is possible though that the song is actually about a man. Ian Hunter used a similar cross-gender characterization with "Bastard." >>>
Suggestion credit:
Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments: 2

Moosehead from Schilary clinton was dubbed the lady macbeth of arkansas, and while this was written after he husband was governor, it was prior to his presidency. likely not about her, but apt.
John Mc from Liverpool, UkKnowing the man in question and something of the acrimony, and court case, between him and Lees, Lady Mcbeth is almost certainly about someone who was a musical director for BJH and is now head guy in a certain prog-rock band that has more than a shade of Mahler and Wagner about its compositions.

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