So, I kinda like this band guys. They’re from like the sixties, they’re kind of corny but they can also be pretty edgy. They were innovators and artists, they were populists and stars.

You’ve probably never heard of them.

They’re called the Beatles. Get it? Like a musical beat...les?

Clever, I know.

Look you get the joke, we’ve all heard the Beatles. We all know Hey Jude, Let it Be, Revolution, Yellow Submarine, Can’t Buy Me Love, Eleanor Rigby—

these classic tunes are an everpresent shadow on the musical world. Many books, biographies, and lives have been built upon the work of the Beatles. What more could I possibly say about the Beatles that hasn’t already been said?

Well, readers, you’re about to find out. Because I’ll be doing a monthly retrospective on the band, exploring various styles and themes, starting with this one, in order to educate and rock out.

My friends, the Beatles Retrospective, or rather, JENtrospective, has begun! *guitar chord crescendos*

To begin, I would like to explore how an idea can be played with in multiple ways. And to do that, we’re going to be looking at three Beatles songs that, while on the surface have very similar themes, are each treated very differently, and as such can result in a completely different sound for each song.

What crazy idea am I talking about? Sleep, of course! Kind of an odd thing to talk about when you’re a band, sleep, and yet the Beatles talked about it on three different occasions—

I’m Only Sleeping, Blue Jay Way, and I’m So Tired, from Revolver, Magical Mystery Tour, and White Album respectively.

I’m Only Sleeping is my personal favorite of the three, with its revolutionary use of the backwards guitar, a lot of fuzz effects, and an occasional yawn from Paul McCartney for good measure. The dreamy quality of the music is emphasized by the lyrics,

Please don’t spoil my day

I’m miles away

And after all... I’m only sleeping.......

And John Lennon’s high reedy voice allowing for a very euphoric sound. The song already feels like it’s asleep, and it’s enjoying wanting to fall asleep forever.

Compare that to Blue Jay Way, the tone here is less sleepiness and more paranoia. While George Harrison puts backwards tapes on this song as well, there’s also a creepy pipe organ, a cello, and some offbeat drumming from Ringo, all to give the song a very foggy quality, very uneasy and very ominous.

Please don’t be long

Please don’t you be very looooong

Please don’t be loooong

Or I may be asleeeeeep......

The song feels like it’s been up for several hours waiting alone on a street and it’s terrified if it falls asleep something bad will happen.

Lastly, there’s I’m So Tired, a bitter little number themed less around actual sleep and more around a general sense of being tired of life.

I’m soooooo tired, I haven’t slept in weeks

I’m soooo tired, my mind is on the blink

I wonder should I go out, and fix myself a drink?

No no nooooo....

Unlike the other two songs, the instrumentals are very light, at least until the ratcheting up of anger emphasized by the guitar and drums. Also unlike the other two songs, the lyrics fall directly into the musical beat. There’s no musical dissonance—

just direct hits of anger, like taking shots at the listener and at the idea of ever sleeping soundly again.

So what’s my point in all this? As writers or musicians, there are only a few stories to be told and only a few songs to be sung out there. The ideas and themes you hear in music have been sung and played since time immemorial. It’s how you treat those themes, what music you use, what message you’re trying to convey, how the lyrics fit, that really make or break the song and the message you're really trying to send. So if you want to talk about something, make sure you also know HOW to talk about it. Take a hint from the most important band of all time. They knew what they were doing.

Well, most of the time. They were also pretty high.