 Lennon began writing the song in Almería , Spain , during the filming of Richard Lester 's How I Won the War in September – October 1966 . The earliest demo of the song , recorded in Almería , had no refrain and only one verse : " There 's no one on my wavelength / I mean , it 's either too high or too low / That is you can 't you know tune in but it 's all right / I mean it 's not too bad " . He revised the words to this verse to make them more obscure , then wrote the melody and part of the lyrics to the refrain ( which then functioned as a bridge and did not yet include a reference to Strawberry Fields ) . He then added another verse and the mention of Strawberry Fields . The first verse on the released version was the last to be written , close to the time of the song 's recording . For the refrain , Lennon was again inspired by his childhood memories : the words " nothing to get hung about " were inspired by Aunt Mimi 's strict order not to play in the grounds of Strawberry Field , to which Lennon replied , " They can 't hang you for it . " The first verse Lennon wrote became the second in the released version , and the second verse Lennon wrote became the last in the release . 
