Why didnt the Beatles write more political songs?
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Political and social issue songs are very hard to pull off well. A few people have managed it: The late Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Dylan in his younger years, John Prine. But most of them -- even the ones done by John and Paul in their post-Beatle years -- tend to come across as preachy or heavy handed. I'm glad the Beatles kept if pretty subtle for the most part.
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The late Brian Epstein always said that Politics and Rock n' Roll was just like Politics and Religion, they both don't mix. Of course, years have gone by since then and all three seem to mix now!
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Politics are Rubbish. We know what we want and we strive to do it ourselves, or defend against those who oppose our liberties. The moment you make a political statement, you've got weasels pouring out of the woodwork claiming that 'they are your long-lost family', that 'they're Beatles', that 'they are Hip'. Or worse, how certain self-appointed third-party detractors despise you for your stances while burning your works in a public bonfire, and that did happen. It happened all the time with those who want to oppress us in order to dominate what they cannot justify. It becomes so disingenuous that any degree of sincerity offered by such statements swiftly become a battle of words and you only end up fighting off the leaches bleeding and clinging all over you. When you argue the argument, you enforce the argument. Forget that. You should know that The 60's belonged to Us. We didn't need bullshit politicians when we were the generation who owned ourselves. And we took care of our own. It was our responsibility to enjoy our Rights without infringing against anyone else. The Beatles were not our leaders. They were one of us, and we agreed with them as peer, not as sheep.
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Bruce M.:
Political and social issue songs are very hard to pull off well. A few people have managed it: The late Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Dylan in his younger years, John Prine. But most of them -- even the ones done by John and Paul in their post-Beatle years -- tend to come across as preachy or heavy handed. I'm glad the Beatles kept if pretty subtle for the most part.
Great examples, Bruce. One of my favorite "political" lines from Paul is one he nimbly inserted into the simply lovely "Calico Skies" -- "Long live all of us crazy soldiers, Who were born under calico skies, May we never be called to handle, All the weapons of war we despise." I'm not sure he meant it in a political sense, and others here can probably educate me as to what he's singing about. I always thought he was referring to the "flower children" of the '60s generation.
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Soft-Hearted Hana:
Bruce M.:
Political and social issue songs are very hard to pull off well. A few people have managed it: The late Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Dylan in his younger years, John Prine. But most of them -- even the ones done by John and Paul in their post-Beatle years -- tend to come across as preachy or heavy handed. I'm glad the Beatles kept if pretty subtle for the most part.
Great examples, Bruce. One of my favorite "political" lines from Paul is one he nimbly inserted into the simply lovely "Calico Skies" -- "Long live all of us crazy soldiers, Who were born under calico skies, May we never be called to handle, All the weapons of war we despise." I'm not sure he meant it in a political sense, and others here can probably educate me as to what he's singing about. I always thought he was referring to the "flower children" of the '60s generation.
I don't think he was talking about any particular war or even a particular generation, but a general hope that they'll stop happening. Needless to say, it hasn't quite worked out that way