Circumstances influence art; that’s why so much art is loved because of its relatability. People have something happen to them, and their art is their reaction. The Beatles were never afraid to let their music be the result of what was happening in their life. In fact, a lot of inspiration behind their music can be relayed to real-world situations.
Songs like ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ are the by-product of two separate instances in John Lennon’s life. The first is the fact that it was around this time The Beatles were experimenting with LSD, leading to a more psychedelic sound in their music. The second is that the ‘Strawberry Fields’ was a place from John Lennon’s childhood that he used as a sanctuary. Lennon called this song a “psychoanalysis set to music” because of its influences.
This can be applied to most of the music The Beatles made as a band and in their respective solo careers. They had a natural talent for turning real-world events into something extraordinary. The relatability of their music has made albums such as Revolver, The White Album, and Abbey Road stand the test of time and are still frequently listened to today.
Lennon’s acting as a reaction to his circumstances didn’t just influence his music; it influenced who he was as a person. He had a rough upbringing, raised predominantly by his mother’s older sister, Mary. It was an upbringing filled with pain, as his father was largely absent, and his mother was killed by an off-duty drunk police officer when he was 17. Lennon’s response to being exposed to tragedy at such an early age was to act out and adopt a rebel persona, one that inhabited the classic look-back-in-anger stance that many people had.
This attitude didn’t sit well in a post-war conservative Britain, but Lennon never cared. His anger, mixed with insecurities, led to his development of chauvinistic attitudes, which would eventually contribute towards The Beatle’s charm that made them irresistible to so many fans.
Cursed by his own self-awareness, his upbringing and subsequent attitude as a result of it put Lennon between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he wanted to be liked, but on the other, his rebellious side was uncompromising and honest, and he had no interest in being anything other than his authentic self.
“I always was a rebel,” he said, “But on the other hand, I wanted to be loved and accepted and not just be a loudmouth, lunatic, poet musician… But I’m not gonna change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that. I’m one of ‘those’ people.”
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Lennon seemed to talk down about himself there, but in being his authentic self, he was relatable and loveable. The music was good, no question, but the Beatles wouldn’t have been as successful as they were were it not for the band’s overall charisma, too. He may well have been a loudmouth lunatic, but that’s what we all loved about him.
