The Cosmic Beatles Lyric That Emerged From a Spousal Argument

We know Yoko Ono inspired plenty of John Lennon’s songs, both with The Beatles and when he went solo. Although she doesn’t get mentioned as often when discussing the Fab Four, Lennon’s first wife Cynthia also set some songs in motion.

Videos by American Songwriter

In one case, her words that annoyed Lennon provided the impetus for one of his most cosmically beautiful songs. We’re talking about “Across the Universe,” a song so lovely that it survived some haphazard attempts to record it.

Getting the Point “Across”

The Beatles usually did a bang-up job getting the best possible recording of their finest songs. Alas, that wasn’t the case for “Across the Universe.” John Lennon, who wrote the track, often lamented in later years they didn’t quite get it right.

They first attempted to record the song in 1968, but they made strange decisions. First, they sped up the vocal. They also invited backing vocals from a pair of female fans who weren’t professional singers, but instead simply hung out near the Apple Corps offices. Unhappy with that version, Lennon didn’t want it released, although it would get exposure on a 1969 album for a wildlife charity organization. (Hence, the bird noises at the start of the song).

The Beatles dusted it off for Let it Be, their final album release. This version was slowed down by producer Phil Spector and ladled with strings, horns, and even a choir. If you’re looking for the best take of the song, the version found on Let it Be… Naked, stripped-down and mixed at the proper speed, is the best bet. Lennon explained to interviewer David Sheff how Cynthia’s words ringing in his ears practically forced him into writing “Across the Universe”:

“I was lying next to my first wife in bed, you know, and I was irritated. She must have been going on and on about something and she’d gone to sleep and I’d kept hearing these words over and over, flowing like an endless stream. I went downstairs and it turned into sort of a cosmic song rather than an irritated song; rather than a ‘Why are you always mouthing off at me?’ or whatever, right?”

Examining the Lyrics of “Across the Universe”

Lennon took the frustrations with these words he couldn’t get out of his head and flipped them into the springboard for a positive, enlightening spiritual experience. You can definitely sense the effect of meditation, which he had recently begun learning from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi prior to writing the song, on the lyrics.

Instead of worrying about keeping the meter of the song tight, Lennon lets the lyrics spill forth freely. The first lines of the song illustrate this: Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup / They slither wildly as they make their way across the universe.

Lennon details the full spectrum of emotions enveloping him: Pools of sorrow, waves of joy ate drifting through my opened mind / Possessing and caressing me. His similes veer from the dreamlike to the earthbound, as we go from Images of broken light that dance before me like a million eyes to Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box.

He is practically overwhelmed by it all in the final verse: Limitless undying love which shines before me like a million suns. Perhaps hearkening back to the incident that inspired the lyrics, Lennon insists he won’t let anything affect this benevolent reverie: Nothing’s gonna change my world.

The rough translation of the mantra Lennon chants throughout the song is “divine victory.” That’s quite fitting, because “Across the Universe” is a testament to the triumph of positive thoughts over the pettiness of a spousal quarrel.

Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images