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4.45am
26 January 2017
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I’m not sure if this has been done before but I couldn’t find it in the 20/34 songs forum pages I checked. So if there is another thread, could somebody point me in the right direction?
Anyways, what Beatles songs do you find to be the most political? John and George are generally the most outspoken of the four, but for John that was mostly in his solo career (Working Class Hero , Imagine ).
The obvious ones are George’s Taxman and John’s Revolution , the former detailing 95% taxes on Beatles earnings at the time and the latter being a more general view of revolutionary attitudes.
However I think Paul’s Blackbird also has a strong message for the civil rights protests at the time, as here in Britain ‘bird’ is slang for girl, so Paul was showing his support for the struggles of black women, but in a really beautiful way: ‘take those broken wings and learn to fly.’
Anyways, I find Beatles political songs to generally be more relevant today than other artists as they’re far more general in their messages (All You Need Is Love ) and only two (Taxman , Back In The U.S.S.R) talk about specific people or places, making them dated immediately as Mr Wilson, Mr Heath and the U.S.S.R are no longer with us.
Anybody know of any other Beatles songs with social/political messages?
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SgtPeppersBulldog, Beatlebug, WeepingAtlasCedars, Martha, sir walter raleigh, penny lane, The Hippie Chick“While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I’m a naysayer and hatchet man in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I’ll gladly take another - because I choose to live my life in the company of Ghandi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. I love you, Sheriff Truman.”
12.56pm
26 January 2017
Offline Baby You’re A Rich Man has no real meaning, but can have political interpretations about socio-economic classes.
"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"
-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"
-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl
1.44pm
18 April 2013
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sir walter raleigh, WeepingAtlasCedars"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney
2.04pm
17 January 2016
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Early versions of Get Back contained a political message. “Don’t dig no Pakistanis taking all the people’s jobs” was a line that caused some furor. But it was a mockery of the whole “British jobs for British workers” anti-immigration rhetoric that the British Nationalist Party was running with.
Taxman , of course. The Beatles’ earnings made them liable for a “supertax” of 95% which was introduced by Harold Wilson’s Labour Party “there’s one for you nineteen for me…”. Mr Heath, or Edward Heath, was the leader of the Conservative Party. They are both shouted out by name in the song as well. But that one was mentioned already. LOL!
Piggies . That one was also mentioned above. George was asked what the song meant and he said, I believe, that it was about the politicians. His mum helped with the line “what they need’s a damn good whacking”. The Piggies using forks and knives to eat their bacon… I love that cannibalistic aspect, and it’s like what’s going on right now politically. I’ve always looked at the song as more a wry reflection on society in general though.
Revolution . Wasn’t this song John Lennon ‘s response to Vietnam?
I’ll come back to see what some of you come up with here, I repeated a couple, I know.
“She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.” - J.D. Salinger
2.12pm
26 January 2017
Offline Come Together was a campaign song for Timothy Leary running for Governor of Calofornia.
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The Hippie Chick"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"
-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"
-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl
3.38pm
18 April 2013
Offline sir walter raleigh said
Come Together was a campaign song for Timothy Leary running for Governor of Calofornia.
I almost included that, although there is actually nothing political in the lyrics.
"If you're ever in the shit, grab my tit.” —Paul McCartney
4.05pm
27 February 2017
Offline Think For Yourself can also be interpreted as a political message especially the parts ‘And you’ve got time to rectify all the things that you should’ and ‘You’re telling all those lies about the good things that we can have if we close our eyes ‘
It may not have been intended as a political message towards rationality and honesty but George himself said it could have been inspired by the government (according to the main article on Joe’s page) therefore it’s a valid interpretation I suppose.
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Expert Textpert, SgtPeppersBulldogNot once does the diversity seem forced -- the genius of the record is how the vaudevillian "When I'm 64" seems like a logical extension of "Within You Without You" and how it provides a gateway to the chiming guitars of "Lovely Rita. - Stephen T. Erlewine on Sgt Pepper's
6.20pm
3 February 2017
Offline Well, if we consider Gimme Some Truth (they played it in the Get Back sessions, and George plays on the released John song) fair game, it’s their most political by a mile
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Necko, Ahhh Girl, Martha9.42pm
15 March 2017
Offline Going through the list of songs in my head and the ones that come to mind are Taxman , All You Need Is Love , Revolution , Piggies , Come Together .
I was going to include Get Back because of Paul’s spoken word part at the end of the Anthology version but the album and single versions don’t include it so I don’t think it is very political otherwise.
Some other songs may have political references but I think the songs mentioned above are the most obvious ones.
And in the end the lunch you take is equal to the lunch you bake.
11.20pm
27 April 2021
Offline Mine is Harrison’s “Taxman ” which is talking of The Beatles’ earnings.
1.09am
14 June 2016
Offline yaireismailov said
Mine is Harrison’s “Taxman ” which is talking of The Beatles’ earnings.
I’d agree. Revolution also comes to mind.
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1.27am
25 February 2020
Offline Revolution was my first thought obviously
gotta give a shout out to Piggies too
