I am too young to remember The Beatles. I can barely remember the day John Lennon was shot. I was not really exposed to their music growing up. I do know a few of their commercially successful songs that have appeared in movies, etc. since then. I recently watched a documentary “The U.S. vs. John Lennon” that I loved.
After watching the movie, I remember a CD mix titled “The Beatles Mix” I got from the cabin in the summer of 2007 that I had never listened to. I didn’t know the music, so I had to search the Internet with the lyrics to find the song titles. I spent a few hours listening to lyrics, reading the back stories to the songs, and reading about the history.
It not only dawned on me how brilliant John Lennon and The Beatles were, I also realized that each of the songs in this mix could be interpreted through a spiritual perspective. I suspect that some one equally or even more brilliant chose the songs and placed them in this particular order.
The entire mix is 23 songs. All songs are the version are performed by The Beatles. I also attempted to list the album which I believe the track came from. Here are the first 8 songs with some excerpts from Wikipedia:
Dear Prudence, The Beatles [the White Album]
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Prudence
The song is about actress Mia Farrow’s sister, Prudence, who was present when the Beatles visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. Prudence, focused on meditation, stayed in her room for the majority of their stay. Lennon, who was worried that she was depressed, wrote this song for her, inviting her to “come out to play“. While the Beatles left the course, Mia, Prudence, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, and others, stayed and became Transcendental Meditation teachers. Prudence now teaches elementary school along with her husband, and they both still practice TM and advanced versions of it.
The Fool on the Hill, Magical Mystery Tour
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fool_on_the_Hill
McCartney said of the song:
‘Fool on the Hill’ was mine and I think I was writing about someone like Maharishi. His detractors called him a fool. Because of his giggle he wasn’t taken too seriously … I was sitting at the piano at my father’s house in Liverpool hitting a D 6th chord, and I made up ‘Fool on the Hill.’
Alistair Taylor, in the book Yesterday, reports a mysterious incident involving a man who inexplicably appeared near him and McCartney during a walk on Primrose Hill and then disappeared again, soon after McCartney and Taylor had conversed about the existence of God; this allegedly prompted the writing of the song.
With a Little Help from My Friends, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
You Never Give Me Your Money, Abbey Road
Polythene Pam, Abbey Road
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Abbey Road
Happiness is a Warm Gun, The Beatles [the White Album]
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_is_a_Warm_Gun
According to Lennon, the title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed him: “I think he showed me a cover of a magazine that said ‘Happiness Is a Warm Gun.’ It was a gun magazine. I just thought it was a fantastic, insane thing to say. A warm gun means you just shot something.”
Martha My Dear, The Beatles [the White Album]
Coming Soon: Part II
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