Nobody this side of 1965 can ever really know what it was like to be what the Beatles were. That said, the irony of this song is almost painful, in retrospect. Here we have John, in his self described "fat Elvis" period, singing about how is he is lost in the world...forgetting the lyrics of his own song, no less--but he crowd still cheers. "The Beatles" became something that John, Paul, George and Ringo could never be. They were just four guys from Liverpool that liked rock and blues and had a great talent for playing, singing, and writing songs...but they became such a cultural icon that it was more than any single person (at least anyone who really thought about it) could endure to be.
This is still a great song, and typical Lennon. In fact, I would classify "Help" as the first song in the John Lennon cannon, fitting in beside his other masterworks such as "In My Life," "Strawberry Fields," "God," and "Nobody Loves You." Taken all in context, all these songs together present a strikingly poignant view of John Lennon as a men who knew exactly what his short comings were, experienced fame beyond all explanation, but also knew that all the supposed "power" he was attributed was in the hands of a very fickle and sometimes misinformed public and there was very l8ttle could do to be himself among the melee that surrounded his life.
Nobody this side of 1965 can ever really know what it was like to be what the Beatles were. That said, the irony of this song is almost painful, in retrospect. Here we have John, in his self described "fat Elvis" period, singing about how is he is lost in the world...forgetting the lyrics of his own song, no less--but he crowd still cheers. "The Beatles" became something that John, Paul, George and Ringo could never be. They were just four guys from Liverpool that liked rock and blues and had a great talent for playing, singing, and writing songs...but they became such a cultural icon that it was more than any single person (at least anyone who really thought about it) could endure to be.
This is still a great song, and typical Lennon. In fact, I would classify "Help" as the first song in the John Lennon cannon, fitting in beside his other masterworks such as "In My Life," "Strawberry Fields," "God," and "Nobody Loves You." Taken all in context, all these songs together present a strikingly poignant view of John Lennon as a men who knew exactly what his short comings were, experienced fame beyond all explanation, but also knew that all the supposed "power" he was attributed was in the hands of a very fickle and sometimes misinformed public and there was very l8ttle could do to be himself among the melee that surrounded his life.