The Beatles, one of the worlds most popular artists, constantly pushed boundaries of songwriting, arranging, and production of music. Their songs have been analyzed for several different reasons. Not only did they introduce novel chord progressions and complex harmonies, but their words captivated their audience because of their possible duel meaning.
The notoriety of their double meanings was so prevalent that it led to the formation of a class at Quarry Bank High School, solely dedicated to the true interpretation of Beatles songs.
John Lennon famously wrote "I Am the Walrus" to give this class something to think about. (And later wrote "Glass Onion" as an answer key).
One famous and often surprising example of dual meanings in Beatles music, is associated with the song "Blackbird." On it's surface, the song appears to focus on a bird needing to fly. That is the obvious meaning. What is being communicated rhetorically, is best said by Paul McCartney. He shared that the meaning of this song was to offer up words to Black women in America, words that "encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith, there is hope.”
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly
Blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark, black night
Blackbird fly
Blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark, black night
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
This goes to show, that an audience connects not only with the overt, readily understood, lyrics of the song, but indeed also enjoys and resonates with their deeper meaning.
Even though an audience might not understand or ever know the duplicitous meaning behind the lyrics, why is it important that an artist has rhetorical meaning? Does this add more value to the song?
Interesting thoughts, Emily. I never knew that Blackbird was written for black women and their struggles--I just thought it was a pretty, contemplative song. It makes me wonder what other meanings in Beatles songs I'm missing the rhetorial meanings of. I think learning about the rhetorical meanings helps me to appreciate the songs more and take a deeper look into them. Similarly, learning more about the context of when and why a song was written helps me to appreciate it more. For example, the story behind Let It Be. I wonder if Paul McCartney had a friend who was a black woman who inspired this song? What was her story? I think songs with rhetorical meanings are more likely to be remembered because there are deeper meanings and stories linked to them that resonate with listeners, long after the entertainment value of other non-rhetorical songs has faded away.
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