Revolution Critic

Revolution- The Beatles

This song was written at a time when there was a lot of attention surrounding the Beatles as well as the war in Vietnam.  Having a popular band singing about a controversial topic leads to a huge impact being made on listeners.  Revolution was one of the first very openly political songs that The Beatles released.  Due to this, a lot of people got caught up in the music and beat of the song instead of diving deeper into the lyrics.  Once people realized the depth of the song, I think it was able to impact the audience more.

The Beatles recorded two versions of this song, one was hard-rock and the other has a blues feel to it.  I think this shows significance of the song because listening to each version can spark different emotions.  While listening to the hard-rock version, which was released on the album "Hey Jude", listeners may want to dance and move, and maybe even start a revolution.  Opposed to the other version which was released on the "White Album".  This version has listeners think about the meaning of the lyrics a bit more and really question the society we live in and the wars we fund. This shifts the focus of the song. Having the same song recorded two ways makes it of interest to a wider scope of people.  Some listeners may not like one version, but adore the other.  This will allow the lyrics to reach more people.

 On The White album John Lennon, who wrote the song, changes it a little by adding the word "in" into the song when he sings, "But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out... in".  Where as on Hey Jude he just sings,
 "But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out". This shows how Lennon was struggling with the concepts in the song and his own personal stance on the topic of war.  This song originated from the internal tug-of-war he had about fighting.  He spoke openly about how he felt it was time they said something about what was happening in the war.  A lot of people felt obligated to support the troops in Vietnam, and it made others sick to their stomachs.  This song targeted people on both sides of the spectrum.  Lennon also spoke about being confused on his stance on the war, but writing this song helped him to sort all of that out.

Revolution not only had an impact on the general public, but also other artists.  It has been covered by many including Marilyn Manson, and has been copied in TV shows such as The Simpsons.  This is huge because The Beatles did not just impact people living at the time their song was release and those interested in their music, but also people interested only in other genres and living in other time periods.  Their music stretched from records to CDs to features in TV shows. Being picked up by others may not leave the song in its original format or style, but it gets those lyrics and that message across still, all while reaching a bigger audience.  Revolution is still played today, allowing it to reach even more people yet.  The themes from that song can be applied to more than just the Vietnam War, extending its touch further yet.  Being able to apply those words to what society is facing today, allows todays new audience to still connect deeply with the song.   

This song was a way for Lennon to express his opinions on the war and the pressures surrounding supporting the war.  It was not given as much attention for the strong messages within the song at the time of its release, however later it seemed people realized the true meaning of the song instead of getting caught up in the beat.  This song impacted young adults and teenagers from all around the world.  The Beatles were wildly popular, and their music made people think and feel in ways that other music did not.  It forced people to open their eyes about different topics, and encouraged a new point of view.