You Tell Me That It's Evolution- The Beatles Revolutions 1-9

Chapter One - I'm So Tired

Here he was, miles from home and away from his hedonistic lifestyle. Here, he'd found his creativity returning to him. Firstly, he'd almost tossed off semi psychedelic fantasy nursery rhyme songs with titles like "Mean Mr. Mustard" or "Cry Baby Cry". Over time however John had consciously tried to write about his surroundings, a lecture by the Maharishi might inspire him to write a song like "Child of Nature" but it was his character studies that proved more fruitful. "Bungalow Bill" was his response to some of the party taking leave from the peace and love vibes of the Ashram to go tiger hunting, "Dear Prudence" was a gift to a disciple who took her studies far too seriously. Newer songs still were a result of his introspection, seeking to come to terms with his mother's death he wrote a song about her seemingly as an apparition. He imagined being on the beach with her as one of his fondest memories, staring at the ocean and seeking approval from her to be with this ocean child woman he was infatuated with.

"Don't you know it's gonna BE... ALRIGHT" a new slogan like "All You Need is Love" or "Have you heard the word is love", a philosophical maxim "Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream", a message to counter-culture and straight society at once. Where a few months ago he had written "Nothing's gonna change my world" his thoughts now crystalised into "We all wanna change the world". What the counter-culture wanted more that anything at this moment was to "smash the system", they wanted Revolution.

Everything in the news so far in 1968 indicated that the Beatles' generation were inheriting a rotten, stinking world, but they were fighting back. The draft in the US had sent countless young men to slaughter Vietnamese villagers in places like My Lai. There was outrage at the worldwide TV broadcasts of the summary execution of a Viet-Cong prisoner and the reports of over 500 young US soldiers killed in action in one week. Resistance to the draft was gaining momentum. In Czechoslovakia the Prague Spring saw citizens attempting to gain rights to freedom of speech and democracy in resistance to the tyranny of the Soviet Union. Martin Luther King's civil rights speeches resonated deeply with the outsider mentality of America's youth, his utopian dream of an integrated future divided the generations, but his actions changed America forever. Even in Britain riots had erupted during a protest against the Vietnam war outside the U.S embassy in Grosvenor Square. The news on this day was filled with stories of the riots across America following the assasination of Dr. King. John had devoured every story, even though Newspapers were hard to come by and when they did arrive they were several days out of date. From all that he read John sensed Revolution was inevitable.

But, John didn't see violent Revolution as the answer. He still believed that all you need is love, and that was the message he was going to spread again with this new song. "Don't you know it's gonna BE...ALRIGHT" strumming the guitar he settled on a repetitve two chord riff with a shuffling rhythm A to D. Adding a boogie hammered on note to each chord the hook of the song began to take shape. A little bit Chuck Berry via the Beach Boys, repetitive like the hook to his last attempt at scoring a Beatles "A side" Across the Universe. That song hadn't come out as he'd hoped and he blamed the indifference of the rest of the group especially Paul for not realising its potential. This time he was writing something upbeat and pleasing, this time he was going to be out front again singing his song and selling his message. John cursed himself for getting so strung out that he'd almost lost control of his own band. Things were going to change from now on, he was back and they weren't going to like it one bit.

The opening words to a verse started to emerge, "You say you want a revolution, we all want to change the world" John kept up the same two chord backing looking for way to fit the words to the chords. Borrowing a line from the chorus he extended the phrase "Don't you know we all want to change the world" the meter of the verse was awkward and lopsided, after two bars of 4 beats the song lurched for one 2 beat bar before continuing. John liked the effect although he didn't fully understand what was causing it. John often referred to his sense of rhythm as a bit wild. Ringo complained during sessions that he was having to drum in different time signatures in the same song. They always found a way to make it work though. "We Can Work it Out", "She Said, She Said", "Good Morning, Good Morning" all jumbled up rhythms in 3/4, 2/4 and 4/4 time so effortlessly that few people noticed. So it was with this new song, to John's mind he was fitting the tune to the words he wanted to say, the fact that this made the song instantly memorable was just a result of his craftsmanship. The first two lines came easily. The obvious rhyme to revolution was evolution and this lead to a restatement of the phrase "we all want to change the world" this time ending the line on an E chord to give to song a sense of motion.

With a chorus complete and a verse with a clear theme now established John looked for a way to join the two together. His go to chords C#m and Bm didnt lead anywhere satisfactory but another favourite F#m sounded like it had potential. He knew the lyrics needed a link between the sentiments of the verse and the reassurance of the chorus. Head bowed over the guitar he lighly strummed the F#m chord savouring each note, oscilating back to the E chord searching for the missing link listening to the notes decaying against the sounds of the nocturnal creatures outside.