| The Beatles – Two of Us Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think this is probably about John. By 69/70 the Beatles were about to split. This was mainly down to John not wanting to a part of the group anymore. This is Paul appealing to John to remember all the good memories that they have. In the end Pauls attempts were futile and in anger he announced the end of The Beatles to the world in april 1970. | |
| The Beatles – The Long and Winding Road Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think this is Paul singing to John. John had decided to leave the Beatles. Paul wanted to keep the Beatles together. John wouldnt listen and Paul didnt want to see the band that they had been in together sice childhood split up. | |
| The Beatles – Revolution 9 Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think this song expresses the sound inside Lennons acid addled mind. He would often zone out and dissapear deep into his own mind. Sounds from the outside world would filter through into his mind like sounds through static on a radio set. They would then react with each other and produce surreal effects. This song show the effects. | |
| The Beatles – Sun King Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song details Lennons detachment from the world. He is watching the laughing happy people in the sunshine and he does not feel part of them. Perhaps it could refer to the sixties flower children although im not sure. A reason for Lennons detachment from society could be his Heroin addiction which by 1969 was rendering him numb and indifferent to his surroundings. | |
| The Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This is perhaps Johns greatest piece of work. It shows him in a fragile state. He misses the innocence of childhood. In this song John expresses the pain of not being able to fit in straight society. On the one hand he cheriches his unique perception on life, on the other he just wants the simplicity of a normal and stable existance. | |
| The Beatles – She Said She Said Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| The revolving guitar line evokes Johns confused schizophrenic mind state in the mid sixties where thoughts would go round and round in his head. John was already fairly troubled at the begining of the sixties. Add to this worldwide fame and LSD and you have a dangerous concoction. This song is confused, stuttering and repetetive. John is trying to express his feelings of inadequacy "your making me feel like i've never been born" and desires the comfort of childhood "when i was a boy everything was right". These feelings would be more clearly expressed on Strawberry Fields. On She Said She Said these feelings are just beginning to rise to the surface in John and are to intense for him to express coherently. | |
| The Beatles – Rain Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| John casting a cynical eye over straight society. A anthem for the rebellious sixties youth, a la street fighting man. | |
| The Beatles – Nowhere Man Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This i John singing about himself. He is withdrawing from life, he is directionless. He needs artistic and personal satisfaction and he cannot find it. He cannot find it because he cannot get over the death of his mother. Im Only Sleeping is the continuation of this song. | |
| The Beatles – Julia Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is almost definately about Johns mother. Issues about his mothers death were hanging over him throughout his time in the beatles. In this song he seems to be saying that he can transfer the pain he feels over his mother death into love for Yoko. But he also seems to be saying to his mother that although he loves Yoko, he will never forget her. This is a very emotional song and one in which John expresses his most personal psychological feelings. | |
| The Beatles – It's All Too Much Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song details the feelings experienced when on Acid. The massiveness of the world and your insignificance and not being able to take it. | |
| The Beatles – In My Life Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Yes this song reflects back at life with the maturity and wisdom of someone at the end of their life. The fact that Lennon was only 23/24 when he wrote it makes it all the more remarkable. This song signals a new maturity it pop music writing, where artist began to express deep thoughtfull feelings, rather than just cliched teenage expressions. As an artist John was leading this new maturity in pop. The singer songwriters of the late sixties early seventies such as Neil Young and James Taylor have Lennon and this song to thank for alowing a more grown up artistic outlook to become acceptable in pop. | |
| The Beatles – I've Got a Feeling Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I think this song is about the sixties. Paul section is just a mantra. It dosnt mean much, but it is positive and suggests he has an answer. Johns section casts an eye back at 1968 and perhaps the whole sixties youth movement in general. In 1968 the dream of 1967 died. I think John also ties his own turmolic events up with events of 1968. John refers to people pulling there socks up and putting there foot down. This must refer to all the social porotest of the sixties. In 68 students protested in the USA and in Paris. Pulling your socks up could also refer to John trying to get his life back on track in 68 after spending 65-67 in a drugs haze. Everybody saw the sunshine and Everybody let there hair down must refer to the hippies and flower children. Growing your hair long and the summer of love. But everybody had a wet dream refers to the ultimate failure of the sixties generation and the clueless idealism of the peace and love politics. John is up to date and by 68 he is already turning his back on the youth movement and realises its failure. In do this he is in league with lou reed and Frank Zappa. It was Johns cynisism that often made the Beatles what they were, and it ofset Pauls positivism, making the Beatles the most diverce and intriging band of there generation. But by 1971 John was singing "Imagine" The polar opposite of what he was expressing in this song. |
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| The Beatles – I'm So Tired Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This details the turmoil in Johns soul. He has many personal problems- drug addiction, failing marrige, screwed up childhood. This is a howl of desperation, whilst also managing to not take himself to seriously and poking fun at himself. If you look at The White Album you see Johns state of mind around 1968. Happiness is a Warm Gun- Heroin Addiction Revolution- His interest in revolutionary politics Julia- Issues with childhood Child of Nature- Eastern Religion Goodnight- His Son and family All this was weighing him down and he needed help desperately. |
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| The Beatles – I'm Only Sleeping Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is John retreating from normal life and sliding into drug addiction. He casts a sick druggie eye over normal society and decides to withdraw from it. From this point John would become more and more detached from the world, leaving Paul to run the group. It is only by 1970/71 that John starts to escape from this lethargic state. His Plastic Ono Band album can be seen as his awakening from this state. | |
| The Beatles – I'm Looking Through You Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think this is Paul singing to Jane Asher. I think he is saying that Marajuana has enlightened his perception and he can now "see though" Jane Asher and he realises he is not in love with her. Very bitter. | |
| The Beatles – I Want You (She's So Heavy) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song details lennon sexual obsession with yoko. In 1969 there was alot going on for John. Revolutionary politics, heroin addiction, Janov therepy. At the heart of what John was feeling was probably this- his sexual urges over yoko. This song is repetetive and Lennons vocals are desperate. Emaphasing his sexual and emotional exasperation. | |
| The Beatles – I Am the Walrus Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song is kinda Johns statement to the world. Its everthing that was on his mind in 1967 mashed together and mixed with LSD. The piano intro is taken from the sound of a police siren. John will have been sitting in his garden, perhaps on acid, and he will have heard the police siren. This will have set his sinister train of thought onto notions of authority and societies control over individuals. An aspect of Johns genius was to get influenced by all that was going on around him, and this is shown in the way he reacts to the police siren. "I am he As you are he As you are me And we are all together." This basically means were all the same. Its a gesture of togetherness, a hippie slogan. John was ultimately a believer in the goodness of human kind. This line is a plea for empathy amongst humans. "See how they run Like pigs from a gun See how they fly." Possibly reffering to police again in "pigs." Sinister surreal imagery. Hear Johns politics are more agressive and punk like. This is the counter side to his peacefull humanitarien opening to the songs lyrics. Hear already we see the confusion in Johns mind and the many contradictions in his politics. "I’m crying." Johns confusion and frustration about society bubbles over. He is crying over what he see's all around him. But no one can see him cry. "Sitting on a cornflake - waiting for the van to come." All though his life John feared he was insane. He was an original, and saw things in a unique way. But he wasnt sure if this made him a genius or insane. Hear he believes himself to be insane. "Corporation teeshirt" An image of materialistic society, posibly refering to Beatle merchandice, posibly to some sort of authority figure, ties in again with the police. "stupid bloody Tuesday" This is the sort of expression a straight nine to fiver may mutter to himself. Its again Lennon looking at straight society. Similar to "Good Morning Good Morning" also written around this period. "man you been a naughty boy" possible refers to psychology very popular at the time. At our heart we are all just the children we were before. frightened and scared. This is again John singing about straight society. "You let your face grow long." Society dosnt let us express our true feelings. It is "naughty" to express sadness or dissatisfaction with the world. John is very sad and disatisfied in 1967. He is also saying that most "normal" people are as well, and it would be better if we were allowed to express it without being deemed insane. "I am the eggman " In victorian Britain insane people were made to wear egg caps. In the video to this song John wears one of those caps. Hear John is admitting to the world that he is insane. "they are the eggman " In the matter of seconds John has flipped this on its head. He now says that he is not insane just because he see's the world in a different way to everyone else. He says the people who live supressed lives in straight society are really the insane ones. "Oh I am The Walrus" John concludes that no one is insane. Instead John is an original and he might be insane, he might be a genius, he dosnt know, and he dosnt care, he is what he is. "Mr. City policeman sitting pretty little policeman in a row, See how they fly Like Lucy in the sky See how they run. I’m crying - I’m crying I’m crying." More sinister surreal images of societies authority. "Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye." This suggests tiredness, defeat, resignation. The feelings of John perhaps, or the feelings of everyone in straight society maybe? surreal imagery, he never expressed himself obviously. "pornographic Priestess" A dig at religion, another authority in society. John has a dig at religion in a school boy way. He was not an intelectual and distrusted the middle class intelectual way of looking at the world. John was a naughty scouse schoolboy at heart, poking fun at authority. "boy you been a naughty girl, You let your knickers down." This challanges concepts of gender. In the sixties every taboo was being challanged and John was a true rebel who loved the idea of outraging straight normal people. He was at the fore front of the challanging ideas of the sixties. "Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun," John spemt alot of the mid sixtes sitting in the garden of his English mansion. He would usually be on acid. Whilst sitting he would make up songs, get weird ideas, do weird drawings, read, watch tv. His life was aimless and he was unsatisfied. He was unsatidfied with fame, unsatisfied with his marrige, unsatisfied with LSD and crushed by feelings of rejection from his childhood. "If the sun don’t come, you get a tan from Standing in the English rain." This shows how strung out John was. The weather meant nothing to him. He didnt mind just standing in the rain. This also explores similar ideas to "Rain." written a year earlier. "Expert texpert " John expressing his distrust at middle class intellectuals who theorises the sixties youth movement. Again he expresses himself in a school boy like way. "choking smokers Don’t you think the joker laughs at you?" John looking at mainstream society again. People working nine to five, on there way to work. "See how they smile, Like pigs in a sty, See how they snied." The smugness and self satisfaction of these people angers John. "Im Crying" And his frustration with the world boils over again. The tears flood down his cheeks. "Semoline pilchards climbing up the Eiffel Tower." Something bad is slowly creeping over society, but no one can see it but John. We are heading for disaster. "Elementary penguin singing Hare Khrishna Man you should have seen them Kicking Edgar Allen Poe." A final dig at middle class intelectual hippies jumping on the bandwagon. They claim to be enlightened but dont understand the genuis of Edgar Allen Poe. If this song is about anything it is frustration at the world expressed through a alienated school boys eyes. It is Lennon looking back to his own childhood in which he was misunderstood and labelled a trouble maker by teachers and other authority figures. In this way it can be seen as an English counter point to JD Sallingers "Catcher In the Rye" filtered through copius amounts of acid. |
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| The Beatles – Hey Jude Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This is one of Pauls most beautiful songs. For me its directed at all hetrosexual males. When a man falls in love he is uncertain whether or not to truly throw himself into the relationship because he is afraid he will get hurt. Hear Paul writes a soothing song for the male psyche telling men to go for it and it will all be alright. That is true compassion and true genius on the part of Paul. I like the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder." To me this suggests that you must look to your past to help you with your future. Or it could suggest you always have to keep moving forward, never stand still. | |
| The Beatles – Hey Bulldog Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Yes i often hear this song as being directed at Paul. Mccartney had been controling the Beatles whilst Lennon was strung out on acid. But hear Lennon seems to be taking a dig at Mccartney from deep inside his drug haze. "You dont know what its like to listen to your fears" and "you think you know me but you havnt got a clue" i think are directed at Mccartney. This is Lennon wanting to step away from the beatles as he had become tired with the band. But at the same time he recognises that he and Mccartney will always be close and share strong feelings for each other. This is shown in the desperate way Lennon howls "You can talk to me". He cannot decide whether or not he wants to abandon The Beatles. The song ends with Lennon and Mccartney mucking about together making dog noices. They are still friends for now, but as the song fades you are left asking "Will the friendship last?" | |
| The Beatles – Happiness Is a Warm Gun Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| i dont think this song has much meaning. it is more just twisted surreal images a la William Burroughs. John was detached from normal life and in his own world, but often little snippits of the obsurd would seep into his mind. An example of this is the advertisement "happiness is a warm gun" its to do with sex and heroin i guess. | |
| The Beatles – Good Morning Good Morning Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| yes this song seems to look out at the straight world world with a sneering sarcastic eye. John is detached, leading a reclusive life, just catching glimpses of the world through his television set (kellogs ad, meet the wife). These glimpses set his original mind onto surreal trains of thought. However, this could also be about John himself. Perhaps his life in the Beatles is not so far away from the 9-5 office workers life after all. This song shows John to slowly begin to get tired of The Beatles and tired of Mccartneys work ethic about recording. John wants to lead an undiciplined artistic life. He always was lazy. | |
| The Beatles – Don't Let Me Down Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| yes this is a love song. its about an all consuming life affirming love. and unfortunately, yoko haters, its John singing about her. John had been let down so much in his life by both his parents. He also lost cynthia, stuart sutclife, and by 69 the beatles had gone sour. this is John saying he is is in love again but he is scared because he dosnt think he can take being let down again and it would push him over the edge. as such the emotion in this song is 100% genuin and intense. | |
| The Beatles – Come Together Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| this song is a sketch of some kind of tramp/wanderer/misfit preacher man. perhaps Lennon if he wasnt famous. this man rejects straight society and spouts wisdom to unintrested Nixon America. Lennons language was wild and original in describing this character. not necersarily drug induced, as Lennon had been writing this sort of stuff since childhood. "come together right now over me" is undoubtedly a sexual reference. possibly a suggestion to make love not war. Lennon was in tune with the most cutting edge youth politics during the late sixties. | |
| The Beatles – Because Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song seems to suggest a wonderment of nature and an incabability to understand its beauty. Lennon must have been very confused. He was on heroin at the time. | |
| The Beatles – Baby You're a Rich Man Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is Lennon at his most sarcastic and sneering. He could do sarcastic and sneering better than anyone, except possibly Dylan. Its cos he was a sarcastic working class scouser at his heart. This song could be about a number of things. I definately think Lennon could be sneering at himself. He's rich and successfull by 1967, but he's also dissatisfied with his life and unhappy. This is because he had personel issues to do with an unhappy childhood, a failing marrige, and excessive LSD use. So Lennon is definately making fun of himself. But at the same time i think Lennon could be making fun of the whole hippie genration. Whilst he was anti mainstream society, i think Lennon was also anti alot of the clueless middle class hippies, who had rich parents and would go on to have successfull carrears. In expressing this he had similar views to Frank Zappa and Lou Reed, and it is the polar opposite to All You Need Is Love. Its this diveristy that really makes the beatles the best band of the sixties. | |
| The Beatles – And Your Bird Can Sing Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I believe this song to be anti materialistic. Its about how material goods will never provide true spiritual enlightenment. Lennon believes himself to be on a higher plain than straight materialistic society and is not taken in by materialisms promices of happiness "you dont get me." He wishes he could enlighten straight society "you may be awoken" "I'l be round." This is a similar case in A Day In The Life "I'd love to turn you on" and Rain "I can show you." These ideas were very current amongst the rebellious youth in the sixties of which Lennon saw himself as a spokesperson, because he was a natural rebel since his school days. Also because he was a truly original artist, the denouncement of materialism is expressed in a much more interesting and surreal way than the likes of Joan Baez and the USA folk music set could manage. | |
| The Beatles – Across the Universe Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| this song is a moment of clarity. sunshine though the trees, re birth, a wave of happiness, the realisation of nature taking care of you, realisation of God. When Lennon wrote this he was a mess. His sanity was fragile due to excessive LSD use, his marrige was collapsing, the beatles lacked direction as Epstein had just died, and he had just met yoko who turned his world upside down. This song is a moment of peace amid the turmoil. Ultimately Lennon was a peacefull soul. But what has produced this moment of peace? Is it the teachings of eastern religion that Lennon was experimenting with at the time? Is it simply an artificial drug rush. My feelings are that for a song to be this great, Lennon must have had a spiritual realisation, an awareness that all would be ok so long as he dosnt let anything change his world | |
| The Beatles – A Day in the Life Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| this song is about daring to be different and rejecting normal society. Lennon was a genius, he had been too far out all his life, from school were he was always in trouble, to an adult, where he was leader of the greatest band of all time. In the sixties there was a feelign amongst the youth that they were going to create a big change in society. Lennon was at the fore front of this, and as a result the authorites came down heavily on him. This song details Lennons feelings about normal society. He laughs at the "sad" news " in the first verse. He looks when the crowd turns away in the second verse. In the final verse a piece of boring news about holes in the road in blackburn sets Lennons mind on a surreal flight of fancy. Lennons perception is different and more original than the rest of straight society and Lennon would love to turn on the rest of straight society to his perception. Mccartneys section again suggets that normal life is not satisfactory as he slips into a dream when he should be concentrating on getting to work on time. This is very relvant to what was going on with the youth in the sixties and makes the beatles as vital to the youth movement as dylan, the stones, the byrds etc etc. | |
| The Beatles – What's the New Mary Jane Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| its just lennon messing about with words. his imagination was wild and original and had such a capasity for writing weird nonsence. its quite a talent. | |
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