Finally, by the end of the decade, they had become much more experimental. They were by turns whimsical (Yellow Submarine, Savoy Truffle) and sentimental (Julia, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Good Night), satirical (Back in the U.S.S.R.) and scathing (Sexy Sadie, Piggies).
The Beatles always seemed to be on the cutting edge of social enlightenment. They moved from youthful rebellion (Roll Over Beethoven) to experimenting with LSD, then moved on to transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. And John Lennon was in the vanguard of the peace movement.
But as socially liberal as they were, one thing they never evolved into was Marxists. The Rolls Royce that John Lennon bought (and had painted with Day Glo designs), the Aston Martins that Paul McCartney favored, and the collection of Ferraris amassed by George Harrison would have brought a blush to the most shameless Wall Streeter. And all four Beatles bought country estates that fairly screamed "landed gentry."
They certainly weren't into redistribution, which they expressed their opinion about in Taxman:
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
Taxman!
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for (Aahh Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (Aahh Mr. Heath)
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me
Taxman!
By 1968 they had also acquired a jaundiced view of advocates of leftist violence, which they sang about in Revolution 1:
You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know you can count me out in
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright
Alright
You say you got a real solution
Well you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well you know
We're all doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright
Alright
You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright
Alright
Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright
Well you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know you can count me out in
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright
Alright
You say you got a real solution
Well you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well you know
We're all doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright
Alright
You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright
Alright
Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright
"But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow"?
(A pretty accurate assessment of how not to get laid.)
"But if you want money for people with minds that hate, All I can tell you is brother you have to wait?"
They correctly identified the true haters of their day. (Today it's the most hateful, spiteful, unpleasant, and rude people who constantly accuse the other side of being haters.)
Would that there were a group as influential as the Beatles today to steer young people the right way.
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8 comments:
I liked this post.I never really got into the lyrics of the beatles. Although I'm not sure if I totally get you.
Are you saying that the left who accuse the right of hate are more hateful?
I have a femnist type friend who I tease with my misogynistic view of the world..
She told me one day I'm going to end up alone eating fucking McDonalds. I was a little shocked by her comment for second and thought later that she's more of hater than I will ever be.
When I first read the title of your post, I immediately thought, 'That's ridiculous!' But as I read the actual words to some of their songs, it got me thinking that you might be right.
Now, personally, I've never been that fond of the Beatles. They were just too much hippy for me, although a few of their songs are quite beautiful. It's amazing how many times I've heard their songs, but never paid much attention to the actual lyrics and their meaning.
You're more informed than me in this area, but I think the Beatles were very liberal socially and would likely see most things in life from a liberal worldview. At the same time, it seems like they were very much capitalist in their thinking and had no shame in either making money and spending it lavishly. If I'm right, it also seems they would not have supported any liberal group that attempted to support its cause with violence or destruction of property.
I'm not so sure that each member of the Beatles had carefully thought through the social and political implications of their own lyrics. Sometimes people instinctively say things that are good and true, but when you later press them to explain what they mean, they're unable to do so. They'll often contradict themselves.
In the same way, it's possible that the Beatles said things in their songs that didn't quite comport with liberalism. Yet, if questioned, I wouldn't be surprised if they agreed with all sorts of liberal ideas. We humans are fraught with personal contradictions, and none of us is as intellectually consistent as we might wish.
W O D --
Absolutely, my general impression of the left is that they are much more hateful. Think of all the jeering, sneering leftist protesters and the way they talked about "Dubya," and contrast that to the Tea Party demonstrations where they always cleaned up after themselves and protested policies as opposed to personalities (though they did some of that, too). Or think of all the liberal you know and how absolutely intolerant they are of conservatives, and contrast that to the conservatives you know who are much more willing to put up with the liberals in their midst. (This has been my experience, at least, though there are certainly exceptions in both camps.) On a personal level, I've always found conservatives to be much more polite, respectful, and well-mannered as a group.
Ambrose --
I wasn't being entirely serious when I described the Beatles as "conservative," but the lyrics to those two songs certainly were. They were certainly very liberal socially. But most people assume that because they were liberal socially and were so emblematic of the 60's in so many ways (dropping acid, practicing free love, advocating for peace, etc) that they must have been liberal in every way. I was just pointing out that they seemed to be fiscally conservative, at least as far as the lyrics to those two songs went.
I agree with you completely that they probably didn't put a lot of deep political thought into their lyrics, they probably just wrote whatever they felt at the moment. And we probably have to give them some leeway because they were only in their 20's during the Beatles' heyday (Lennon was born in 1940, McCartney in 1942), and I doubt they were spending their spare time studying political theory. At the same time, they were obviously very intelligent (at least john and Paul were) and it's sort of reassuring to see that they saw through the rhetoric of all the self-proclaimed revolutionaries of the time.
I actually was a Beatles fan. I like their music (though I like the Beach Boys better) and their social liberalism doesn't bother me (I'm guessing I'm more socially liberal than you).
And don't forget, liberalism meant something different back then than it does now. Back then it was about more freedom, pre-marital sex, a new style of music, and a general anti-Vietnam War stance (as well as drugs). I have nothing against pre-marital sex (as long as it doesn't result in babies on welfare), I like rock and roll, and I think our getting involved in Viet Nam was a huge mistake.
Today liberalism is all about political correctness and obfuscating the facts, it's a whole different thing. Look at the way the civil rights movement has been turned on its head. Back then it was about ending government-enforced segregation and the right to vote. Today it's all about affirmative action and pretending that there are no differences between the races and sexes. i don't support government-enforced segregation and I certainly support everybody's right to vote. You know how I feel about today's liberalism. Night and day. (Not that the Beatles were ever involved with civil rights.)
So, I don't look back at the Beatles and think, yecch. I think in a lot of ways they actually represented the best of the 60's.
Maybe the most crucial difference was that back then, liberals supported free speech; today, they try to suppress it.
Ha Yes Craig!
Or conservatives trashing vegan restaurants!
I saw an interview on YouTube with an ex Whitehouse employee/security guard. He said that Republicans were friendly while the Democrats were cold. He mentioned Barbara Bush would bring out hot food to them on cold days (this was the general gist can't find the clip).
I recently read a story where animal liberationists destroyed 10 year’s worth of scientific work by freeing immunosuppressed rats from an Italian research laboratory. The problem being the rats would live only a short period time. The liberals seem to be misdirected, angry and confused as well
W O D --
Exactly. And on a personal level, they tend to be much more hypocritical as well. (Hence all the prominent environmentalists who take private airplanes, have huge carbon footprints at their own houses, etc.)
Good article.
Thank you Steven.
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