12 research outputs found
âCome Togetherâ: Dialogue and (Dis)Connection in the Beatlesâ Lyrics
<p>The article analyzes the Beatlesâ 183 original recorded lyrics as a body of work, highlighting the lyricsâ thematic diversification and increasing narrative complexity as of 1965â66. Dialogical elements characterizing many Beatles lyrics extended to audiences the sense of collective intimacy that formed the core of the bandâs identity and appeal. Group vocal arrangements on <i>Sergeant Pepperâs Lonely Hearts Club Band</i> permitted âheteroglossic dialogâ through which the writers expressed and sought to reconcile the cultural and social tensions they perceived in their own lives and in the wider world. Lyrical innovations enabled the authors to respond to social and cultural currentsâparticularly how electronic media, drugs, and spiritual practices could bridge social, political, and interpersonal divisions and distances, yet also foster isolation and self-absorption. Lyrics on <i>Pepper</i> articulate this dialectic of connection and atomization.</p