"Hey Jude" by the Beatles was my favorite song when I was five years old (1968, do the math if you like). My middle child, a daughter, is now, as she puts it, "four and three quarters!". The other day the "classic rock" station played in the minivan...Hey Jude...and I told daughter all about my favorite song. The song played on. I looked in the rearview and she was bouncing her head to the tune, and in the mirror I caught a glimpse of my own wrinkles, you know the ones. I turned my eyes back to the road with tears in them. Life. Ya know?
There's a timelessness about that song. I remember that song is still one of my favorites but that I discovered it (and The Beatles as well) when I was not much older than your daughter.
ReplyDeleteI got into music perusing my mother's old LPs. And "Hey Jude" happened to be on one of them.
As much as I dislike Paul McCartney, the man flat out can write music, and without a doubt, "Hey Jude" is in his top three best songs. The thing I always remember about the song is that McCartney felt that John Lennon was neglecting his eldest son, Julian, and the song is basically about telling Julian (called Jude) that things aren't so bad and that he'll find his way in the world.
ReplyDeletePoignant, because the song is gorgeous, and you can see, for a little while, McCartney and Lennon less as monoliths and more as people like the rest of us, in complex and challenging relationships.
Thanks for the Beatles song and your wonderful post. Great tune and fond memories. bluthetan
ReplyDeleteI get the same effect with my kids when I crank up "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister in my pickup.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Not the same thing?