Of days gone by..

I have ( as did most of my generation and probably one before and after as well) loved the Fab 4. The Beatles truly changed a whole lot of people and what they thought and expected of music. The hysteria ( Beatlemania) that they could generate worldwide has been unequalled. Everyone was cutting the hair the same way and dressing up like them, every kid with or without a guitar would strum and/or/hum their songs. Bands and singers made a living singing and replicating just Beatles covers. It was quite the norm to slip in one of your own between a clutch of Beatles numbers. Amazingly the band continues to attract new fans to this day, despite half of the band not even being physically present on the planet. Every creative person achieves immortality through their creations. Even an apparently zany genius like Dali or our own ( carefully cultivated image of eccentricity) Kishoreda.
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The Beatles gave us so many countless memorable numbers that are permanently etched on our DNA, I choose one song almost at random. This one was in sync with the serene solitude of the picture and poem that I posted earlier today. “In My Life” is a song by the Beatles written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon-McCartney in keeping with the agreement reached between the two very early on in their teaming up). The song originated with Lennon, and while Paul McCartney contributed to the final version, the extent of his contribution is in dispute (such stuff is raked up by self styled historians -better referred to as distorians- who have nothing better to do than distort to raise a controversy. How does it even matter now talking about such “disputes” when John was killed 4 decades ago and Paul is happily carrying on forever). George Martin contributed the instrumental bridge. Released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul, it is ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” as well as fifth on their list of the Beatles’ 100 Greatest Songs. Mojo magazine named it the best song of all time in 2000. A wonderful, introspective melody for all time. Check it out. https://youtu.be/ZqpysaAo4BQ?si=BoOprZYO_QZO46V2

The lyrics are just sublime. The rendition is even better….
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In My Life
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Release date: 03 December 1965
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There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better;
Some have gone and some remain.
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All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I’ve loved them all.
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But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you.
And these mem’ries lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.
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Tho’ I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I’ll often stop and think about them,
In my life I love you more.
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Tho’ I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I’ll often stop and think about them,
In my life I love you more.
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In my life I love you more.

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In My Life (I Love You More) is arguably one of the most beautifully written Beatles songs, it’s a kind of an autobiographical look into John Lennon’s life, and the loss of his friends and family.
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“But of all these friends and lovers / There is no one compares with you
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And these memories lose their meaning / When I think of love as something new
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Though I know I’ll never lose affection / For people and things that went before
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I know I’ll often stop and think about them / In my life, I’ll love you more”
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According to John Lennon himself, the song’s origins can be traced to English journalist Kenneth Allsop’s remark that Lennon should write songs about his childhood. Afterwards, Lennon wrote a song in the form of a long poem reminiscing on those years. The original lyrics were based on a bus route he used to take in Liverpool, naming various sites seen along the way, including Penny Lane and Strawberry Field (both of these figure in other Beatles songs). According to John Lennon, “In My Life” was his “first real major piece of work” because it was the first time he wrote about his own life.
John Lennon later actually thought the original lyrics were “ridiculous”, calling it “the most boring sort of ‘What I Did on My Holidays Bus Trip’ song”. He then reworked the words and replaced the specific memories with a generalised meditation on his past to its more popular version that we know now. Few lines of the original version nevertheless remained in the finished song. According to John’s friend and biographer Peter Shotton, the lines “Some [friends] are dead and some are living/In my life I’ve loved them all” referred to himself and Stuart Sutcliffe (who died in 1962).
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60 years on, we can discuss on these aspects till kingdom come and they will undoubtedly be both interesting and futile, at the same time.
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As for myself, I will just listen to the song and get immersed in its sublime sounds…..
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Have a great day ahead, folks. Stay healthy and happy