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Beatles forums => The Beatles => Topic started by: on September 07, 2004, 03:16:33 PM

Title: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: on September 07, 2004, 03:16:33 PM
Hi,

My name is Caimh McDonnell and I'm a long time Beatles fan although this is my first post on this fantastic site. I'm looking for help from the Beatles fan community with a problem I have.

I'm a writer/performer and I'm bringing a show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005 called "A brief history of the future". It's basically a light hearted look at mankinds obsession with the future and predicting it. Part of it will deal with the predictions of Nostradamus. Now, while everyone has heard of him not everyone realises that Nostradamus gave all his predictions in the form of four line poems. These have then been enterpreted by many different peoples in many different ways.

So what's all that got to do with the Beatles you ask? Well, personally I'm not a great believer in Nostradamus, although obviously I respect anyone's right to believe in whatever they like. I've made the bet though that I'm sure I could find some of Beatles lyrics that could be seen to "predict the future". Just to be clear, I'm clearly not suggesting that's what they tried to do, I'm merely using The Beatles to illustrate the point on how easy it is to interpret things after the fact.

So, essentially what I'm looking for is any lyrics, either from the Beatles as a group or from solo work,  that were written before any significant event occured that could be interpreted as a prediction after the fact. If anyone has any ideas I'd really appreciate hearing from you. Obviously I've no intention of in any way poking fun at The Beatles through this.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, I hope you can help.

Cheers,

Caimh
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: HFleen on September 07, 2004, 06:03:46 PM
I've always felt that "A day in the life" referred to more than a simple set of lyrics...

Read the words...and imagine what you will....

;-)

HFleen
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: Sadie4 on September 07, 2004, 06:43:34 PM
 I have some good ones. I've read somewhere that in "I am the walrus" JOHN predicted the massacre of the 11-S when he sang: "see how they fly like Lucy in the sky I'm crying" and then later naming the "Stupid Bloody Tuesday".
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: Soft_Guitar60 on September 08, 2004, 02:41:14 PM
What about revolution 9? John said it was the music of the future!
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: on September 08, 2004, 07:30:13 PM
Then there's always the repeated "Shoot me" in Come Together.  Freaky.
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: Rowdy on September 08, 2004, 08:56:36 PM
[quote by=Soft_Guitar60 link=Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1094570193,s=3 date=1094654474]What about revolution 9? John said it was the music of the future![/quote]

The future? Who knows.....but it definitely wasn't music.
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: on September 11, 2004, 05:20:54 AM
[quote by=misterchaz link=Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1094570193,s=4 date=1094671813]Then there's always the repeated "Shoot me" in Come Together.
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: on September 11, 2004, 07:13:51 AM
[quote by=colleen link=Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1094570193,s=6 date=1094880054]

I never even noticed that until someone here mentioned it (might have been you.) Now that's what I hear when I listen to that song.[/quote]

I know, huh?

Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: The End on September 11, 2004, 01:28:58 PM
How about Tomorrow Never Knows - because tomorrow doesn't know, does it?

WTF! ;D
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: Sadie4 on September 11, 2004, 03:18:35 PM
 I also read somewhere that somewhere in the cover of MMT there's hidden this MDV, which, according to "experts", stands for Mark David Chapman. Unfortunately, I don't have that record, someone recorded it for me and I have it on tape. has anyone noticed this?
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: on September 11, 2004, 03:51:30 PM
[quote by=Sadie4 link=Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1094570193,s=9 date=1094915915] I also read somewhere that somewhere in the cover of MMT there's hidden this MDV, which, according to "experts", stands for Mark David Chapman. Unfortunately, I don't have that record, someone recorded it for me and I have it on tape. has anyone noticed this?[/quote]

No.

However The White Album front cover has a picture of...nothing.  How much clearer does it have to be, people??!!

 ::)

Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: NGM on September 11, 2004, 05:48:51 PM
The meaning of within is being.

Being you without you.

Yeah, The Beatles are prophets!
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: NGM on September 11, 2004, 05:55:14 PM
Haha. It goes from I Saw Her Standing There to The End to Get Back.

Interesting, eh?
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: Soft_Guitar60 on September 11, 2004, 05:58:31 PM
You mean "Within You, Without You"? I like that song...
I think that the Magical Mystery Tour is something that takes you 'somewhere else' when you're dead. (Let's not talk about the PID thing)
Here's a song about the future: "When I'm Sixty-Four"  ;)
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: NGM on September 11, 2004, 06:03:07 PM
[quote by=Soft_Guitar60 link=Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1094570193,s=13 date=1094925511]You mean "Within You, Without You"? I like that song...
[/quote]

In Tomorrow Never Knows, John asks if you know the meaning of within. Then, he says it is being.

Also, George talks about in Within You, Without You about how our love can save the world. The apocolypse is coming!  :'(
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: NGM on September 11, 2004, 06:06:21 PM
[quote by=Soft_Guitar60 link=Blah.pl?b=cc,m=1094570193,s=3 date=1094654474]What about revolution 9? John said it was the music of the future![/quote]

Maybe he meant we wouldn't want to listen to it right now, but later in the future, we will listen to it for clues.
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: Sondra on September 12, 2004, 04:21:17 AM
I don't think their songs really lend themselves to that sort of thing. But good luck anyway.
Title: Re: Do Beatles lyrics predict the future?
Post by: SieLiebtDich on September 12, 2004, 05:01:45 AM
yeah I think so too, but you never know :-)