At around 5 a.m. on April 19, 1775, approximately 700 British troops marched toward Lexington, Massachusetts. Their plan was to seize weapons and Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
As the soldiers approached Lexington, they encountered 77 minutemen with arms. During the encounter, “the shot heard ’round the world” was fired by an unidentified musket, and the Patriots were routed. Eight Colonists died from the battle. Ten more were wounded, with one British solder injured.
But that as not the end of the fight. Due to warnings by Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes, the British encountered more Patriots on their journey through Lexington and Concord. The result was 300 British casualties by the time they returned to Boston. The American Revolution had begun, and the world would never be the same.
The Beatles’ “Revolution”
Another revolution with both American and British connections is the song, “Revolution,” written by John Lennon and performed by the Beatles. The song was a reaction to political protests occurring in early 1968.
The Beatles released the rock version of the song that you usually hear as a B-side to “Hey Jude” on August 26, 1968. That version, which Rolling Stone ranks as the thirteenth greatest Beatles song, appears at the end of this post.
The Beatles recorded another slower version of the song first. They called this slower version “Revolution 1.” That version appeared on the 1968 double album The Beatles (aka “The White Album
The White Album also included the experimental “Revolution 9.” The Beatles created this song out of parts of what was originally in “Revolution 1.”
Although the rock “Revolution” did not have quite the same impact as the American Revolution, it did cause some controversy. Many focused on the line, “But when you talk about destruction / Don’t you know that you can count me out.” Some on the far left saw the “out” as a betrayal. And those on the other end questioned the ambiguity of the “Revolution 1” version which stated the line as “count me out . . . in.”
Most agree though that “Revolution” preached a different kind of revolution than the violent American Revolution. The song was still causing controversy in 1987. That year, many Beatles fans hated to see the music they loved being commercialized when “Revolution become the first Beatles song licensed for a commercial (for Nike).
But the legacy of the song is that it will come up anytime someone talks about a revolution. It is the first song you think of when you think about revolutionary changes.
The opening scream of “Revolution” is the revolution heard round the world.
BONUS TRIVIA: The live television performance above appears to be from The Smothers Brothers Show in 1968. Although you see Paul McCartney doing the scream at the beginning of the performance above, on the record Lennon’s voice does the scream. McCartney does the scream in the live video because Lennon could not do the scream and be ready to sing the first line. Finally, do you know how many times does the word “revolution” appear in “Revolution”? Answer will appear in the comments.
What do you think of “Revolution”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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