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Emily Saxe @ the Allen Room/Jazz at Lincoln Center - April 5, 2008
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InterMedia Arts Center 2/2/08
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The Beatles
Charted: #12 in September 1968
John Lennon’s politics bear some careful reflection on “Revolution.” All too often, the song is interpreted to be an anarchic plea for tearing down walls. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is a plea for change, but it demands thought and caution before destroying what is familiar. Of course, Lennon couldn’t win on that front, either, and leftists considered him to be anathema and noncommittal to “the cause.” At least he was true to himself. Just as he wouldn’t blindly follow an officer into a war zone, neither was he going to throw stones at authority figures. He really believed in “hair peace” and “bed peace.” Naïve or not, if we listened to him (fat chance), we’d all be lounging in bed with greasy hair, having nothing to fight but our own apathy.
The first version of “Revolution” was recorded at a somnambulist’s pace and betrayed no sense of conviction or passion. Lennon sounds as though he won’t fight simply because he doesn’t have the energy to get up. He furthered the ambiguity of the lyric by singing the key phrase “count me out” as “count me out, in.” This version later saw the light of day on side four of The Beatles (the “white” album). It was the energized second version that made the B-side of “Hey Jude,” and it suits the lyrics far better than the original. Here, Lennon is impassioned and very political; it isn’t the politics of Jerry Rubin or Abbie Hoffman, but he isn’t taking sides with Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, either. In 1965, Dylan had sung “Don’t follow leaders,” and Lennon explicitly makes it plain that he has no intention of following anybody. The harsh, distorted toughness of the sound makes his statement that much more impassioned and provocative. In retrospect, I think it can honestly be said that he was right, too. Ask whyyou support something, and ask why before you tear something down. It isn’t a plea for compromise so much as a plea for ruminative, nonviolent thought and individuality.
Lennon’s singularity was all over his music, but he was not careless enough to let it influence his politics. His experimental albums with his wife, Yoko Ono, and the haphazard tape-loop constructions on the white album’s “Revolution #9” were usually so formless that they were impenetrable, but that was art, not real life. Safe art is usually inferior art, but safe politics…well, let’s just say that nobody ever died from a bad painting (although some people may have experienced pain when they saw the photograph of the uncircumcised Lennon and Ono’s pendulous breasts on their Two Virgins album cover).
Considering the horrific events at the Democratic National Convention and later at Kent State University, the younger generation had every reason to be self-righteous, reactive, and angry. But the violent extremism of the Black Panthers and the Weather Underground was something else entirely and demanded a different, more dangerous, commitment. For now, Lennon drew the line and stated that he would not cross it. The Beatles were always seen as leaders. On “Revolution,” Lennon makes it plain not only that he will not lead, but also that he will not follow.
 
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