These 5 Beatles Tracks That Aren’t “Revolution” Proved the Fab Four Weren’t Afraid To Get Political

The debate over whether it’s appropriate for musicians to voice political opinions as entertainers often calls back to mainstream bands of yesteryear as if to say, “See? They didn’t have to do it! It was all about the music back then.” The Beatles inevitably fall into this argument time and time again, thanks to a plethora of songs that seem more generically neutral than blatantly political, like “All You Need Is Love”, “Come Together”, and “With A Little Help From My Friends”.

Even Beatles songs that sound political, like “Revolution”, have ambiguous lines like, “When you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out.” However, to say that The Beatles avoided political songs would be to ignore these five tracks, some of which are more overtly socioeconomically inspired than others.

“Blackbird”

One of The Beatles’ most beautiful, tender guitar ballads was actually a civil rights anthem hiding in plain sight. Paul McCartney wrote “Blackbird” based on the plight of Black men and women in the United States, which shines a whole new light on this heartfelt song.

“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.”

“Taxman”

The Beatles were one of the biggest rock bands of all time in the 1960s. And while that might seem like it has no potential downsides, George Harrison learned the hard way that the bigger your celebrity is, the bigger your tax bill will be. He expressed his frustrations in the 1966 Revolver track, “Taxman”.

“If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street / If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat / If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat / If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.”

“Back In The USSR”

Once again, Paul McCartney displayed his expert ability to pose political arguments in a subversive way. “Back In The USSR” is a tongue-in-cheek parody that not-so-subtly compares the Soviet Union to the United States, using Chuck Berry’s “Back In The USA” as a template. 

“Take me to your daddy’s farm / let me hear your balalaikas ringing out / Come and keep your comrade warm.”

“Piggies”

George Harrison offered another blatantly political song in the form of “Piggies” from the White Album. Based on Animal Farm, the George Orwell novel in which pigs become dictators, the song expresses Harrison’s frustrations with capitalism and the politics it promotes.

“Everywhere, there’s lots of piggies living piggy lives / You can see them out for dinner with their piggy wives / Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.”

“The Ballad Of John And Yoko”

“The Ballad Of John And Yoko” was, first and foremost, an autobiographical song by Lennon about his marriage and bed-in with his second wife, Yoko Ono. While there aren’t explicit references to politics in this song, elements of racism, xenophobia, and misogyny cannot be understated when discussing how the world turned against the young couple. This Beatles song was less a political statement than a political lament.

“Christ, you know it ain’t easy / You know how hard it can be / The way things are going, they’re gonna crucify me.”

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