Is there a controversial, dark song by The Beatles? I don’t think so…
But they say that «Run For Your Life» is such a song. But why? Well it’s obvious, isn’t it? Not to me. Well, John Lennon does sing about killing his girlfriend if he catches her with another man…
So now what? Are «they» going to ban the song like they’ve banned so many books, videos, movies et cetera? They bloody well better not! I like the song! And besides, how many man-hating songs are out there that female singers from pop, to rock to country constantly sing? And besides John didn’t really mean it. Is it going to influence your young lads? Good grief! Teach your children well and listen to the song, enjoy it and get over it!
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¿Existe alguna canción polémica y oscura de The Beatles? No creo que así sea…
Pero dicen que «Run For Your Life» es una canción así. ¿Pero por qué? Bueno, es obvio, ¿no? No para mí. Bueno, John Lennon canta sobre matar a su novia si la encuentra con otro hombre…
¿Y ahora qué? ¿»Ellos» van a prohibir la canción como han prohibido tantos libros, videos, películas, etcétera? ¡Mejor que no lo hagan! ¡Me gusta la canción! Y además, ¿cuántas canciones de odio hacia los hombres hay por ahí que las cantantes femeninas de pop, rock y country siempre entonan? Y si me dices que va a influir sobre el comportamiento de tus chavales, tía, ensénales bien y no te quejes tanto que los Beatles no estaban ahí para ser modelos para tus críos. Además, John no lo dijo en serio. Escucha la canción, disfrútala y supéralo.
Gracias…
Cheers…
JaZzArt en València 
The Beatles do go a step further
than the Rolling Stones with
their testosterone fueled song,
‘Under My Thumb’. But I think
Jimi Hendrix went the extreme
with ‘Hey Joe’.
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To me songs are songs and songwriters can …and should…be able to write about anything. It’s art. It’s not real. Art is contrived, created, sort of an enhanced, polished, choreographed and directed version of reality. Thank you, and all the best! Love “Hey Joe” and Hendrix! 🌞
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Yes … art becomes a hollow
counterfeit without freedom
of expression ✊😎👍
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Absolutely! Now it seems that everything has to be «Instagram» friendly! We’ve gone back to the days of the Puritans! Art is confused with pornography and opinions are censured, history is erased. What happened to the freedom we had prior to the new millennium?
Thank you David! All the best!
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💜🎶🎶
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🙏🏻🌹🙏🏻🌹🙏🏻🌹
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I’m all for artistic freedom of expression
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Absolutely!
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Bravo por esta entrada, Francisco.
Me encanta.
Un abrazo 🌷
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Gracias Ivonne, un abrazo igual. Buen día.
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A good songwriter is telling a story, but not all songwriters are good, nor do they tell a good story. We find this song’s expression of the misogynistic attitude of control and the threat of violence in Rap music. But I think Lennon is pointing to the problem of misogyny in what, in poetry, would be classified as invective. This is a personal, often abusive denunciation. I could be wrong. Today, we have too much invective writing. Lennon was flipping the love songs the Beatles and others were writing on its head to make a point. No more «Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.» Put in context, «Rubber Soul» is a break from the mold they were put in. Is the song controversial? Yes. The issue it raises should be understood as more controversial. Regretfully, it isn’t. Let’s keep in mind that Lennon, as he acknowledged, «I used to be cruel to my woman and beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved.» But he worked hard to change his attitude and behavior.
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I quite agree Charles. The attitude and behaviour is reprehensible but we are no one to judge. Even though not so far away, those were other times. The song is important and should never be banned or cast aside. And you are right, Rubber Soul marked a change for Lennon/McCartney going from hit makers to artists. In my opinion art is art and art is not a role model nor an educational text. People should just relax a bit. Thanks Charles I appreciate the participation and your insights.
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I am not judging Lennon. I respect that he was aware of his anger and behavior and made the effort to change, to have more self-control. He dealt with a lot of deep personal pain and anger. I respect that he was «getting better all the time.»
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I agree. And I think he probably did overcome his anger and changed his behaviour. What I see lately, especially in my country (Spain) is a willingness to judge and to condemn people from other times especially Pablo Picasso. The ultra-feminists do not know where to stop. I agree, as a student of Picasso and an artist quite familiar with his biography, that Picasso abused women, probably, but he was also very generous with them, and the only woman who survived him, Francois Gilot, never said that we should condemn him. And those same people try to do the same with others like Lennon. I think people should mind their own business. No one is perfect and we are all trying to better ourselves, at least most of us are. We have no right to judge, especially those from other years. Thank you so much for such an interesting and lively exchange Charles, and all the best to you.
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