John Lennon Question

On the night of November 5th, throughout Britain, bonfires are set alight, effigies are burned, and fireworks are set off. The people do this to commemorate their country's most notorious traitor: Guy Fawkes.

A penny for the old Guy. As the saying goes. A traitor is a bit imprecise.

Guy Fawkes is right!

Thanks all for your responses. I always feel a little silly when I enjoy a piece of music while knowingly being ignorant of an important part of it.

I did a quick Google search and found that there are quite a few traditional English rhymes that sound similar to the following:

Please to remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
We know no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

The phrasing of the rhymes are similar enough to that which Lennon uses that I would agree with the Guy Fawkes explanataion.

Thanks again!

Niravp - You shouldn't feel silly if you don't know what the lyrics mean. I have albums I love where I don't even know WHAT language it's in. And I don't care! I have other (English) albums that the vocal is just a melody and I have no idea what the lyrics are. I'm just happy when it all goes together "right" and it's enjoyable.