Editing When I'm Sixty-Four (section)

==Critical reception==
Reviewing ''Sgt. Pepper'' for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', [[Lillian Ross (journalist)|Lillian Ross]] described "When I'm Sixty-Four" as a charming and tasteful parody, "but, like the best parody, it is written with affection, and it has an excellence in its own right, independent of its value as parody."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Ross |first=Lillian |date=24 June 1967 |title=Sgt. Pepper |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1967/06/24/sgt-pepper |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Ross|2017|p=345}} [[Peter Clayton]] of ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' magazine called the song a pastiche of [[George Formby]], but added it has "a kind of gentle affectionateness about it – and a certain meaty substance – which raise it well above mere kidding".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-gramophone-review-1967|first=Peter|last=Clayton|title=Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (original Gramophone review from 1967)|publisher=[[Gramophone (magazine)|gramophone.co.uk]]|date=1 June 2017|orig-year=June 1967|access-date=17 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105161113/https://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-gramophone-review-1967|archive-date=5 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In his review of the album for ''[[The Times]]'', [[William Mann (critic)|William Mann]] calls the song a [[vaudeville]] number, "which comments pointedly on this old-time vogue and its relevance for modern beat song."{{sfn|Mann|2006|p=96}}

In [[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]]'s scathing review of the album for ''[[The New York Times]]'',{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=83}} he said that the song is not mocking in tone, but complained that "an honest vision is ruined by the background which seeks to enhance it."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Richard |author1-link=Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944) |title=From the Archives: The Original Review of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/arts/music/archives-beatles-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-review.html |access-date=17 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 June 2017}}</ref>

In his book ''[[Revolution in the Head]]'', [[Ian MacDonald]] describes the song as "aimed chiefly at parents, and as a result got a cool reception from the group's own generation".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=221}} He adds that the song borrows heavily from Formby's English music hall style while invoking the illustrator [[Donald McGill]]'s seaside postcards.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=220}} Allan Moore views it as a synthesis of [[ragtime]] and pop, adding that its position following Harrison's "[[Within You Without You]]" – a blend of Indian classical music and pop – demonstrates the diversity of the album's material.{{sfn|Moore|1997|p=47}} He says the music hall atmosphere is reinforced by McCartney's vocal delivery and the recording's use of [[chromaticism]], a harmonic pattern that can be traced to [[Scott Joplin]]'s "[[The Ragtime Dance]]" and [[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss]]'s ''[[The Blue Danube]]''.{{sfn|Moore|1997|p=46}} He says the complementary nature of young and old found in the song influenced the composition of [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]'s 1995 song "[[(What's the Story) Morning Glory?|She's Electric]]".{{sfn|Moore|1997|pp=47–48, 89n21}}

[[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] writes that "When I'm Sixty-Four" represents "the McCartney side of [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]]'s corny hokum".{{sfn|Riley|1988|p=222}} Walter Everett agrees with Riley's description, adding, "this penchant for the audience-charming vaudeville sketch led to McCartney preferences that Lennon detested the most."{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=113}} [[BBC Music]] critic Chris Jones calls the song "pure nostalgia for his parents' golden age" and cites it as an example of ''Sgt. Pepper'' being "less a kicking out of the jams, more a spreading them on scones at teatime".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5dcz/|first=Chris|last=Jones|title=The Beatles ''Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' Review|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|date=2007|access-date=4 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115084916/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5dcz/|archive-date=15 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>