After watching Hargreaves excellent analysis of the Harrison’s song, along with his detailing of the complicated tensions that existed between the Beatles in the late 60s, it became obvious that the band was always in trouble and it was only a matter of time before the fab four would go their separate ways. Hargreaves analysis challenges the commonly held idea that the breakup of the band was solely down to Yoko entering the scene as clearly relational tensions in the Beatles were not just confined to John and Paul.

A less known version but better version (in my opinion) of the song before Lennon and McCartney fell into a possible trap set by Harrison (see Hargreaves analysis below).

Analysis of the song and its meaning by James Hargreaves

The mainstream version of the song as first published on the Yellow Submarine Album

I usually pride myself in being able to select an appropriate song for certain events but alas, for the death of Queen Elisabeth, I can only copy the most popular rock song that is being played on BBC radio 2.

It feels strange realising that the Elizabethan era of 70 years is at an end. Tonight for the first time in St Paul’s Cathedral the version of the British National Anthem, which has not been heard in my lifetime, rang out: “God save our gracious king ..” It is incredible to think that for the rest of my life I will never again hear God save the Queen. Likewise, it is highly likely that my new great nephew, who was born yesterday, the day the Queen died, (the circle of life right there) is also highly unlikely to ever hear in his lifetime “God save the Queen” because we know the next three monarchs will be kings as Prince William’s oldest child (George) is a male.

Like all things in this very broken and divided world, even the death of a woman who tirelessly served the UK up until 48 hours before her death still draws harsh criticism from some hardline republican quarters. To one particular comment about the Queen costing the writer money through her taxes I wrote the following:

Just to add a comment to stimulate thought, it is still possible to critique the concept of a monarchy without conflating that with the person of Elizabeth herself. A lot of the Queen’s so called wealth, really belongs to the state. Did she enjoy wealthy surroundings? Yes of course. Was her life anymore materially opulent than the many very wealthy multi-millionaires that inhabit this planet? I doubt it.

So here’s the critical question. If we are not complete egalitarians, and we also assume that those who contribute most to our society should receive a higher reward, can it not be argued that her contribution of over 70 years of unceasing service makes her a rightful candidate for generous financial compensation?

But someone will counter what did she contribute? The simple answer is herself. She gave relationally all her life to people and made them feel something positive in her presence. And she did this for more people than probably anyone else alive.

But surely that’s not much is it? She never started a business, was a top surgeon, scientist or politician? Yet haven’t we just left out actors, comedians, writers and musicians? Does Paul McCartney deserve his wealth? Many would say yes because of his giant contribution to rock music. But what is the utility of his work? The answer is simply it brings joy into people’s ordinary lives just as the Queen’s countless hours of meeting people from all walks of life brought joy and meaning into theirs.

I am not a strong royalist but by any measure the overall balance sheet of what the Queen gave to Britain and the world through her service far exceeds what she took from it. Most people cannot honestly say that about their own lives which therefore makes Elizabeth, the person, an exceptional woman and worthy of a nation’s grief.

RIP Queen Elizabeth II. Thanks for your 70 years of service. I am confident Jesus will welcome you with those blessed words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23)

Also from the Beatles

Now this was originally meant to be the final Covid Island Discs song as the UK was scheduled to come out of lockdown on the 21^st of June. However, due to the UK government not shutting down travel from India, as post Brexit they wanted to get a quick trade deal with this nation, we now have the Indian delta variant spreading rapidly through the UK population. This means that the government announced on the 14^th of June that they are delaying the removal of lockdown restrictions until the 19^th of July. So I will continued posting on this web page new songs for another month.

So what mega band do I open up the second year of Covid Island Discs (hopefully the UK lockdown won’t last for two years)? Well surely it has to be arguably the greatest rock and roll band of all time and that is the Beatles. I have already cited several Beatle songs last year but this one is also another classic – Penny Lane. As mentioned previously, whenever I listen to the Beatles I always wish I could go back in time to the 60s when the Beatles were actively at work producing such incredible ground breaking music.

And here is the original version from the White Album (no video included)

“Hey Jude topped the charts in Britain for two weeks and for 9 weeks in America, where it became The Beatles longest-running No.1 in the US singles chart as well as the single with the longest running time.

The Beatles did not record their promotional film until Hey Jude had been on sale in America for a week. They returned to Twickenham Film Studio, using director Michael Lindsay-Hogg who had worked with them on Paperback Writer and Rain. Earlier still, Lindsay-Hogg had directed episodes of Ready Steady Go! And a few months after the film for Hey Jude he made The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus TV special that featured John and Yoko but wouldn’t be shown until 1996.

To help with the filming an audience of around 300 local people, as well as some of the fans that gathered regularly outside Abbey Road Studios were brought in for the song’s finale. Their presence had an unlikely upside for The Beatles in their long-running saga with the Musicians’ Union in that the MU were fooled into believing the band were playing live, when in fact they were miming for the vast majority of the song. Paul, however, sang live throughout the song.

The video was first broadcast on David Frost’s Frost On Sunday show, four days after it was filmed. At that point transmission was in black and white although the promo was originally shot in colour. It was first aired in America a month later on 6 October 1968, on The Smotheres Brothers Comedy Hour.”

An amazing album cover with amazing songs to boot. This song always makes me feel a little sad, it is so melancholic. Update: The video below is a new addition that I found on Youtube in May 2021. It replaces the original one which was just the album cover and that is why in my summary video I said that there appeared to be no video that went with this iconic song. Thankfully I have now found one so enjoy!