The Journal of Culture and Society. 
July/August 1994, Vol 94, No. 2  pp 1-32.

POPULAR MUSIC AND THE AMERICAN MIND: ALLAN BLOOM... MEET THE BEATLES

Jill Stein
Jerome Rabow
Darryl El Mouchi
University of California, Los Angeles

Issues of culture, social values, and education continue to occupy our national concern. This paper seeks to address the ongoing question regarding the significance of popular culture by examining two impor­tant social figures who exemplify either side of the culture debate: Allan Bloom, and the Beatles. First we review the argument of social critic Allan Bloom (1987) who regards popular music as a detriment to the moral and educational development of students. Then through several sociological counter-arguments and the analysis of the Beatles as a case study, we suggest how assessments like Bloom's fail on four major grounds. These assessments misunderstand the social construction and permeability of high and popular culture. They overlook the uses and recognition given to important musicians like the Beatles by other significant artists, intellectuals, and scholars. They dismiss the positive impact that popular music can have in the development and self-actualization of young people. They ignore the ways in which lyrics serve as open texts that are actively interpreted by listeners to find, reflect, and express their individual and collective voices, and thereby contribute to the principles of the democratic process. The last part of the essay uses a textual analysis of four Beatles songs to support these contentions. We conclude that popular music can play a positive role in the lives of young people, that along with the classics, rock and roll can contribute to a deep and meaningful relationship to art, society, and themselves.

The debate about the significance of popular culture is being played out in some of the most powerful arenas of American public life. Former vice-president Dan Quayle attacked the morality of television sitcom character Murphy Brown, for example, whereas President Bill Clinton selected Fleetwood Mac's rock hit, "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" as his 1992 campaign theme song. These actions, like many others before and since, seem to integrate popular culture with current affairs, and articulate the interests of different sides of the political spectrum. One: side attempts to portray popular culture as a negative influence leading citizens away from morality. This tends to portray it as an inspirational force leading toward a new conception of society. Events like these underscore the extent to which issues of culture, values, and education continue to occupy the forefront of American concern. This paper is an attempt to address criticisms aimed at popular music, by posing two models as representatives of either side of the contemporary culture debate: Allan Bloom and the Beatles.

Bloom (1987) is one of several figures who have addressed what some describe as America's "cultural war." Since its publication, his 1987 best-selling book, The Closing of the American Mind (How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished The Souls of Today's Students), has frequently been invoked in numerous rounds of argument (Buckley & Seaton 1991; Hunter 1991). Bloom seems to have articulated for many a frustration with popular culture and its link to a perceived decline in both social values and educational achievement. Bloom proposed the traditional works of Western civilization as the singular particular body of knowledge necessary to form the American student, and portrayed popular music as a primary threat to the heart and mind of young people. Using a metaphor of drugs and disease, Bloom launched his attack, "Nothing is more singular about this generation than its addiction to music" (1987, p. 22). His claim was that the young generation's interest in popular music results in students who are incapable of higher thinking, without powers of reason, and lacking the social perspective which all "good" citizens must possess.

The Beatles, like Bloom, are also widely recognized, highly regarded modern social figures who embody some of the best work in their field. In this paper, we seek to further the discussion on the role of popular music in the lives of students and the larger society, by engaging Bloom and challenging his arguments directly by using the Beatles as exemplars of popular culture. They are also artists who have been the particular target of Bloom and others. We will show how the Beatles--in word and song, communicate a sophisticated understanding of human development, social relations, and global affairs. The Beatles' work reveals a perspective that is neither shallow, base, nor trivial. Instead, we maintain, they have left a repository of cultural heritage and understanding that is as rich as many of the classics invoked by Bloom and other proponents of his traditional views.

In challenging the arguments against popular music, we also contend with issues concerning democracy. We address how popular music is an often unrecognized force which contributes to and encourages the development and ex­pression of multiple voices. While Bloom justified his opinions as a restorative for higher education and the future of American society, his work tends to be antithetical to the modern university and to a democratic society. Whereas Bloom and others sought to impose a voice upon students, we contend that citizens have a right to search for, develop, and select their own voices which speak to their lives, and address their interests and concerns.

We challenge Bloom's arguments against popular music according to the following contentions: that distinctions between "high" and "popular" culture are spurious; that the value and constructive use that many important others have found in popular music has been overlooked. We also maintain that popular music can have a positive impact upon the development of young people, and that it can serve as a type of open text which permits listeners to express their individual interpretations and participate in a multi-voiced democracy. We argue that popular music can be a positive personal, cultural, and social link for young people, and we use the Beatles as one possible illustration of this process.

Arguments Against' Popular Music

Bloom's work in The Closing of the American Mind fits into a well-recited history of claims against popular music. His attack on popular music is akin to the total condemnation that has often emanated from the political right in this regard (Denisoff, 1975; Chapple & Garofalo, 1977). Objections to popular music have often been passionate and moral in tone, and frequently rooted in religious, political, and racist rhetoric. Gray (1989) posited that opposition to popular music typically occurs during; periods of general debate in the larger social context over moral and political issues.

Bloom charted a selective history of those social forces that he claims have led to popular music's undesirably power­ful position in the lives of today's youths. Fifty years ago, stu­dents swung to Benny Goodman but also listened to Brahms. Exposure to the classics was the "inoculation" that insured that they would not be overcome by the dangerous popular trends of the day. Those students who were not exposed to the classics, and who identified with new kinds of music, could not fit into mainstream society. As rock music later became popular and more widespread, most students' knowledge and identification with classical music dissipated and diminished; even the "good" youths began losing their resistance. Their new susceptibility, to folk and popular art, posed a threat to Western education.

Bloom invoked the Greeks to buttress his metaphor of disease and pathology. He used Plato's theory of music from The Republic to critique rock and roll, and concluded that popular music has a particularly negative and virulent influ­ence on individuals and society. Bloom quotes Plato: "Rhythm and melody accompanied by dance, are the barbarous expression of the soul" (Bloom 1987, p. 71). When listening to music, "the medium of the human soul in its most ecstatic condition of wonder and terror" (1987, p. 71), he argued that one's mind is hostile to reason. Therefore music and poetry demand a delicate balance between passion and reason. Bloom claimed that only classical music "uses the passions and satisfies them while sublimating them and giving them an artistic unity' (1987, p. 72).

In sharp contrast, he contended, rock music has as its exclusive aim, "a barbaric appeal, to sexual desire--not love.. ." (Bloom 1987, p. 73). Bloom heard the beat of rock music and imagined that youth receive from it only the suggestion of the undulating rhythm of sexual intercourse. He conceived of popular music as a sexual feast that "gives children, on a silver platter, with all the public authority of the entertainment industry, everything their parents always used to tell them they had to wait for until they grew up and would understand later" (1987, p. 73). He continued his argument, "the inevitable corollary of such sexual interest is rebellion against the parental authority that represses it" (1987, p. 74). But the rebellion of youth, he thought, had even more serious consequences.

Bloom warned that society was in dangerous denial of the effect of their children's exposure to popular music. He saw students, with their new appetites and disposable incomes, as easy victims of music industry manipulation. Bloom took a sarcastic swipe at one of the Beatles' wives, "Yoko Ono is among America's small group of billionaires, along with oil and computer magnates, her late husband having produced and sold a commodity of worth comparable to theirs" (1987, p. 77). He claimed that listening to rock music leads students to em­brace the three great lyrical themes of rock, "sex, hate, and a smarmy, hypocritical version of brotherly love" (1987, p. 74). Bloom concluded that these young listeners suffer an "emptiness of values" (1987, p. 77).

The perception of popular music as causing a range of harmful effects on youth is hardly a new phenomenon, nor is the picture of frightened parents concerned about the exposure of children to premature sexuality and rebellious ideas (Hudson, 1983). Bloom cited a litany of the detrimental moral effects of rock music on youth that led to another agenda. Despite his lengthy condemnation, Bloom was not primarily troubled with the moral effects of rock music (sex, violence, or drugs), but rather with its effects on students' attitudes toward traditional higher education.

Bloom's concern was aimed toward selective university students; he would probably be content letting the rest of America's young people rock straight into oblivion. He was primarily concerned about what rock and roll has done to "good" students' motivation for learning, and the subjects in which they are interested. He saw a link between their passion for popular music and their newly-found interest in multicultural and other non-mainstream curricula. Bloom blamed popular music for having stolen, then squandered, their attention.

Despite Bloom's impressive credentials, the work in his chapter on popular music lacks scholarly depth and tends to be simplistic--particularly in regard to the blanket indictment of rock and roll as a mono-causal threat to Western values. Bloom was just one in a line of recognizable opponents of popular music whose targets span the decades--Sinatra in the 1940s, Presley in the 1950s, the Beatles in the 1960s, and onward through heavy metal and the rap artists in the 1990s. Concern over youth and popular culture seems to be constant in each generation. These attacks, however, frequently distort and underestimate the real artistic accomplishments and social contributions of numerous modern artists--and more importantly the positive impact popular music can have on youth, culture, and citizens in a democratic society.

These arguments misconceive the distinction in high and popular culture, they misjudge the value of popular music in the realms of art and academia, and they misunderstand both listeners and modern popular songs.

Sociological Perspectives on Popular Culture

"High" and "Popular" Culture

Resistance and opposition to popular culture by elite groups are part of a continuous and ongoing class battle. Much of Bloom's argument against popular music relies on his con­ception of high culture, and what he believed to be its corre­sponding societal value.

The distiuction between "high" and "popular" culture, however, tends to be absent of logic and limited on a number of counts. The categories of "high" and "popular" are 20th-century terms (Levine, 1981). Dimaggio (1982a,b) documented how the creation of high and popular constructs was contingent upon the development of different types of organizational bases. The terms 'high" culture, "popular" culture become comprehensible only as ritualistic classifications given meaning only through organizations capable of supporting those distinctions.

Not only are these terms socially constructed, but the art forms themselves may shift and the categories are permeable (Gnus, 1974). Levine (1986) documented how art forms that at one time were not considered "high" culture may over time come to be classified as such. He cited his own personal struggle with this issue.

How could a playwright whom I had been taught to consider so formidable a talent as to be almost sacred, and whose plays were demanding even for educated readers in the 20th century, have been accessible to the broad and far less well educated public a century earlier? It took a great deal of evidence to allow me to transcend my own cultural assumptions and accept the fact that Shakespeare actually was popular entertainment in 19th-century America(Levine 1986, 4). 

Just as the work of William Shakespeare has been uplifted to "high" culture, a similar shift has also occurred in America with jazz music. Peterson (1972) noted that the ideological interpretation of jazz in the media parallels the official attitudes toward African-Americans. Whereas an earlier generation of critics defined jazz as demoralizing, low-life "nigger" music, it is now called, "the only original American-bred art form" and "the great contribution of Blacks to American culture~ (Peterson, 1972, p. 141-147). Obviously, cultural forms and the societal climate in which they are created evolve. Because Bloom ignored this process, he overlooked the fact that creative jazz musicians today are trained and work in "a context much like that of other fine artists" (Peterson 1972, p. 146).

Shifts in evaluation do not require great passages of time. Within a period of 25 years, Alfred Hitchcock's reputation shifted from that of a "popular entertainer" to a "distinguished auteur." The reclassification of his work was based not solely on the art itself, but on a complex combination of social processes in the film world, which included Hitchcock's own efforts (Kapsis, 1989). By ignoring shifts of judgment in evaluation, and the permeability of artistic endeavors, Bloom never really approached the question of the construction of "high" and "popular" art. In sum, Bloom subscribed to a thesis suggesting that the evaluation or reputation of any particular artistic endeavor rests upon the work itself. The reputations of artists and their works result not from some idealized or inherent superiority, but from the various collective activities of those who surround the art (Becker, 1982,360). Cultural hierarchy, furthermore, is a dynamic, ongoing struggle over values and as such is socially constructed.

Popular Music in the Arts and Academia

Given the kind of flux between categories of "high" and "popular" culture and the problem of who defines them, it seems remiss to consider only the classics as worthy of attention. From the tenor of such arguments, one would assume that no serious individual in the arts or academia could consider works of popular culture important. This is not the case, however. Many within the arts and academic communities have particularly embraced popular music as an art form which has made great artistic and social contributions.

While we use the Beatles here as an example of pop­ular music, it is important to note that many other artists could have been chosen to illustrate our argument. It would be equally worthy and sound to develop a case on artists like Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, U2, Michael Jackson, Madonna, or others. Subsequent generations may listen to many more contemporary artists, but the enduring popularity of the Beatles attests to the quality, meaning, and value of their work. In a 1991 radio station poll, the Beatles had 51 titles among the top 700 rock songs. They have celebrated and challenged the paradigms of art and society in ways similar to other important cultural leaders, and they have secured a distinguished and powerful voice in the unfolding of popular art, and Western civilization itself.

Many modern greats of classical music have also con­curred on the considerable and lasting talents of the Beatles. Leonard Bernstein compared them to Schumann; Copland lauded them as composers; others insisted their music is as melancholic and melodic as Chopin's. They are often copied by string orchestras and jazz musicians. The British music critic Sheed said that the Beatles' music is the best thing to come out of England since Handel. Belz (1967) demonstrated how the Beatles tapped into the deep roots of Country, Rhythm and Blues, and traditional Folk music, as well as the great standards. Within popular genres, the Beatles are widely heralded as incomparable composers and musical innovators. These are not just isolated or idiosyncratic voices. Serious consideration has also been given to the lyrical content of Beatles' songs. Belz (1967) described the Beatles' lyrics as dealing with the primal and fundamental in humanity, and has declared that theirs is the music of the people. Dotter (1987) analyzed the Beatles as "cultural heroes" who reinforce social dramas and values, who can suggest deviant modes of expres­sion and develop new cultural forms.

Having overlooked the Beatles' place in the arts, critics like Bloom also ignored their place in the intellectual and academic communities as well. Popular music is an inspi­ration, worthy resource, and serious subject for many intel­lectuals and professionals, and has been considered by mem­bers of the academy in practically every field (Browne, 1988). Scholarly works about the Beatles in particular have been pub­lished in cultural and intellectual forums (Kureishi, 1993), and in all the social science, humanities, and arts disciplines. There are countless books on their subject, and most of the major magazines and newspapers (The New Yorker; New Republic, London Times; New York Times), and a variety of prestigious scholarly journals have also published articles about them. The Beatles are cited in major studies from a variety of perspectives and concerning numerous different topics (Santiago, 1969; Denisoff & Levine, 1972; Semmel, 1980). Educators have even used the Beatles to teach a variety of skills and disciplines (Carter, 1969; McLaughlin, 1969; Egan, 1977; Matthews, 1978).

Young Listeners and Popular Culture

Bloom did not see the value that these artists, intellectuals, and educators found in popular music. Instead, he attempted to use John Dewey (1938) to bolster his argument about the deleterious effect of music on students. Even so, he mis­interpreted Dewey. While concurring that education should provide a natural continuity between what students feel and what they can and should be, Bloom saw young people's pre­occupation with their music as the primary reason for their failure as students and as future citizens. Dewey argued, however, that in order for education to accomplish its ends for the individual learner and society, it must be based on the actual life experience of those same individuals.

Bloom assumed that rock encourages passions and provides models that have no (positive) relation to any type of life college students can or should lead. We assert, however, that popular music is a relevant extension of their education. It is an important part of the experience of young people; which speaks to and addresses what they feel and think. Through music, they are exposed to values and concerns which they often cannot find in other social institutions such as education, religion, or family. We believe that listening to popular music plays a part in a young person's efforts to find meaning and gives expression to the forces in their lives. Music supports them in their search for identity and authenticity, meeting some of their most basic psychological and develop­mental needs (Rabow, 1994).

Bloom purported that only classical music could properly channel human passion and intellect. Although this discussion is concerned primarily at lyrical content, we have also found that listeners appreciate other aesthetic qualities in popular songs, having a refined attunement to various dimensions in the music. Rhythm, beat, and emotion are all important aspects in rock music, but the meaning of these transcends the merely sensual, and touches many levels of the listener's experiences and appreciation. We argue that rock music, like classical music, can provide listeners a significant and profound experience with art, as well as lead them to reflect on important social and moral concerns. Had Bloom considered more closely the songs he maligned, he might have found in them sophisticated and contemporary treatments of themes which resonate throughout the history of Western civilization. Popular music may be just as significant to one's education as exposure to the classics.

When Bloom and others choose to dismiss popular mu­sic as a whole, they also underestimate the youth who listen to it. Bloom assumed he knew music and his students, which is a large part of his failure. It is evident that he spent little time in substantive evaluation of rock music. In fact, he seemed to have avoided dealing with its lyrical content. While some researchers find that the beat of the music is often more im­portant to listeners than the words (Lull, 1987), the significance of lyrics cannot be overlooked. Bloom claimed that youth are intent listeners, but at the same time he maintained that popular music ruins the imaginations of students; that it somehow atrophies their capacity to think, reason, and analyze. Bloom and other critics dismissed popular music before ever having any acquaintance with it. While some songs do give voice to sexual fantasy, drug use, or rebellion, and others are merely entertaining, popular music is capable of accomplishing more than these.

Music in a Democratic Society

Bloom's argument demonstrates a basic misunderstanding of popular music as a communicative force. Bloom would have us believe that students are brainwashed by rock messages, but he is unfamiliar with their content. He would assert that recording industry moguls and artists collude to promote their versions of reality--full of sex, drugs, and consumerism; but they in fact have no such unified power. Given the kind of concentration of ownership now prevalent in the industry, one might expect some kind of hegemony in the messages being broadcast. Media owners, however, are not always able to control the messages. Gamson (1992) called media discourse underdetermined. Despite the preferences of producers, there is always enough openness in texts for audiences to negotiate their own inflections of meaning. The media remains a primary site of struggle, wherein producers defend with varying success what they might prefer be taken for granted by audiences.

Gamson stated, "messages provide a many-voiced, open text that can often be read oppositionally, at least in part" (1992, p. 373). According to Eco (1979), media texts are considered open when they afford a richness and complexity of readings. Texts allow room for competing constructions of re­ality and for readers to find support for them from their daily lives. We are reminded that listeners are not "cultural dopes" (Hall 1982). Members actively "read" texts; they are agents in constructing meaning, interpreting, and making sense of the messages they hear. Fiske (1987) asserted that audiences are not a mass who receive messages, meanings, and ideologies from the media in an uniformed and passive way. He instead showed that the inclusion of certain symbolic devices in texts--irony, metaphor, jokes, contradiction, and hyperbole--allows for clashes in meaning which further work to keep them open in definition. These rhetorical practices are present in many popular songs. Meaning can never be totally controlled by the text and forced into a unified sense.

Gamson's (1992) view of the media, which can be ex­tended to include popular music, is contrary to Bloom's. Gamson stated, "ideally, a media suitable for a democracy ought to provide its readers with some coherent sense of the broader forces that affect the conditions of their everyday life" (1992, p. 373). The openness of definition in popular music makes these listening texts rich in representation, creating opportunities for deep and complex interpretation. Popular music thus provides listeners with occasions for identification, re­flection, and debate. The final section of this paper illustrates the previous sociological arguments through the analysis of particular Beatles' songs.

The Beatles' Songs

It is appropriately in the listening of these songs that their depth, beauty, and power is, conveyed. We bring to this project our professional and personal selves as listeners of The Beatles' music. Although we have gathered a lot of information about the Beatles and their songs, we have done so in the way that other fan:~ might, so that what we offer are essentially lay analyses. We found that many agreed with us on our analyses, but we acknowledge that other, perhaps different, competing, or more correct, interpretations also likely exist. If students or others read these songs differently, it only serves to underscore our assertion that these texts have the quality of open interpretation. People have been trying to understand The Beatles' songs ever since they were written (Lewishon, 1988; Riley, 1988). Final consensus on what these and other Beatles' songs mean will never be reached. Sometimes songs can invoke meanings beyond even what the composers intended.

This project began with a large sample of Beatles' songs. In analyzing these songs, we found that the complete works of The Beatles represented an impressive catalog of im­portant features of human life. Their songs cover a range of issues including: love ("All You Need is Love"), jealousy ("I'm Looking Through You"), sexuality ("Something"), fidelity ("I'm A Loser"), mourning ("Baby's in Black"), remorse ("Yesterday"), freedom ("Ticket to Ride"), optimism ("Good Day Sunshine"), personal development ("Hey Jude"), class identity ("Taxman"), aging ("When I'm 64"), community ("With a Little Help From My Friends"), and spirituality ("Let it Be"). Indeed their songs seem to span the transformation from adolescent and personal concerns, to a more mature societal out­look.

The examination and study of the entire corpus of works led us to conclude that the Beatles could be studied de­velopmentally. They started by writing simplistic music and words, but they evolved into musicians who were able to achieve high levels of artistic integrity and creativity. With in­creasing commercial success later in their careers, they had the artistic independence to explore and develop deeper and more sophisticated themes and presentations.

We chose four songs to analyze in depth for this paper. While any number of other songs might have been selected for this purpose, we feel these are representative of their later work. These songs reveal a deepening vision of the world, and a mature understanding of the human experience. The songs as presented were written over the last years of The Beatles' career.

"She's Leaving Home" (1967) describes generational conflict and the autonomy of a young girl coming of age. "Eleanor Rigby" (1966) describes the breakdown of traditional roles and the failure of institutions to save people from feel­ings of alienation. 'The Ballad of John and Yoko" (1969) de­scribes the trials of an adult man who breaks away from boy­hood reality to marriage and career, and grapples with the strains of being a public figure. "Revolution" (1968) depicts the political upheaval of the sixties, offering a philosophy of social and personal change, and of the requirements of world citizenship. Together, these songs provide a developmental look into the themes the Beatles pursued and the personal voice with which they spoke.

"She's Leaving Home"  

Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more  

She goes downstairs to the kitchen clutching her handkerchief
Quietly turning the backdoor key
Stepping outside she is free
She (We gave her most of our lives)
ls leaving (Sacrificed most of our lives}
Home (We gave her everything money can buy)
She's leaving home after living alone for so many years
Bye, bye
Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Picks up the letter that's lying there
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
She breaks down and cries to her husband
Daddy our baby's gone
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly
How could she do this to me
She (We never thought of ourselves)
Is leaving (Never a thought for ourselves)
Home (We struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She's leaving home after living alone for so many years
Bye, bye

Friday morning at nine o'clock she is far away
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
Meeting a man from the motor trade  

She (What did we do that was wrong)
Is having (We didn't know it was wrong)
Fun (Is the one thing that money can't buy)
Something inside that was always denied for so many years
Bye, bye
She's leaving home bye, bye

"She's Leaving Home" was written by Paul McCartney with help from John Lennon on lyrics. The song is like a short story, a sentimental melodrama of generational conflict, which according to McCartney was drawn from an article he read in the Daily Mirror. The song is about a young girl who ran away from home--and is told from the perspectives of both the par­ents and the daughter. It is a song filled with sadness and hope, that evokes the mystery and elegance of the common­place through an economy of poetry.

The first verse finds the daughter sneaking out in the darkness at 5:00 a.m., while her parents are still sleeping. A great deal is conveyed by the fact that the note she leaves them says very little. It echoes later themes of the girl's silence, her inability to communicate honestly her feelings with her parents. The fact that she clutches her handkerchief shows her own mixed emotions in her teary departure. But as she quietly steps outside the house, she feels free.

The chorus blends two voices--the narrator who tells the daughter's story, and the parents. Their long weary sighs pack a sadness rich in dramatic interplay. The narrator repeats the words "She's leaving home," while the parents' words in parentheses express their bitter lament. The effect is like a Greek chorus--the daughter's truth contrasting with the par­ent's self-reassuring phrases. The two lines intermingle, bringing together the opposing worlds of the generation gap. The young girl's independence is reasserted above the parents' grieving, with perhaps each saying "bye bye."

The second verse describes the mother as she finds the daughter's note. With it, the parents' worst fears have sud­denly come to life. They seem shocked by their daughter's ac­tion, stunned by the tragic transformation in their tidy domes­tic world. They have been so self-absorbed that they have not seen this coming. While they mourn the loss of their child, they seem unable to have empathy for her. They are focused only on their own pain. These parents can't see beyond their own self-pity and self-righteousness. They cannot see how they might have neglected their daughter's real needs. Seeing only their self-sacrifice and her wrong in leaving, they seek to reassure themselves of all the good deeds they have clone in raising her.

The third verse finds the daughter two days later al­ready far from home. She is moving on--meeting a man from the motor trade. He is a stranger about whom we know little only that he must be very different from her family and her past, and that he represents a new start. Their relationship is unclear--she could be looking for a job or a lover, but she is filled with a sense of expectation. The years at home with her parents left her feeling alone, She is breaking away, searching for something that she could never find with them, something money can't buy. She seeks the fun, spontaneity, and joy that was never given or allowed in her house. She is not eager to sacrifice her life in the ways that her parents have.

This is a song about growing up and establishing inde­pendence. It is not an unfamiliar story for adolescents, espe­cially young women who are relentlessly supervised and con­trolled by parents from whom they must eventually break away. The girl departs full of muddled hope, apprehension, and fear, the parents remain in confused incomprehension. Perhaps there is failure all around, in both generations. The song is all too familiar--that it makes us laugh and cry simulta­neously is testimony to its truth of experience.

"Eleanov Rigby"

Ah, look at all the lonely people!
Ah, look at all the lonely people!
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window
Wearing the face that she keeps in ajar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie
Writing the words to a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one is saved

"Eleanor Rigby" was written primarily by Paul McCartney, along with John Lennon. This song is like another short story, a narrative ballad whose lyrics tell the desolate small drama of the lives of two old loners. The song evokes the big soot-black sandstone Catholic church and the antiquated Victorian names of the characters, much like the Beatles' boyhood Liverpool. The words reverberate through their stark plainness and manage to characterize with tragic realism the cold bleakness of their world.

The song opens jarringly, with a melancholy refrain full of dread that will echo throughout the song's choruses. The wailing chorus asks over and over where all the lonely people come from, but does not answer. The song portrays them, but only hints at how they might have come to be. Nor does the song answer where they belong. We are left with the chilling notion of their utter isolation and alienation.

The first verse introduces Eleanor Rigby, the middle-aged spinster. She is at the church picking up the rice after somebody else's wedding. It has been a celebration of union, but she is alone. She lives in a dream that never materializes in the real world. She watches life from her window, waiting for something that never happens. She wears a mask that she keeps for the outside world, so no one knows who she really is inside.

The second verse introduces Father McKenzie, the priest from the church. He is carefully preparing the next ser­mon he will deliver, but there will be no one there to receive it. He has no following. In writing the words, he is totally de­tached from the flock. Even as he preaches--nobody hears, nobody cares. At night he goes to his room alone, tediously darning his socks. Here too has he grown so accustomed to his own distance and lack of connection to life that he has ceased to care.

Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie walk through critical life passages--they are seen at weddings, in church, at funerals. These are occasions which are meant to celebrate the union of persons to each other and to God. While there should be a sense of bonding :m these times, they are alone in these moments, and the celebrations are joyless. There is no knowl­edge of the other, no joining together, no communication. These are people who are unable to have basic and intimate human connections. Modern life has left them deeply alien­ated.

The opening verses of the song have introduced the characters and described their world, in the ending verse they are sadly set in motion together for the last time. Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie are still chaste strangers, both cast off from the world by age and neglect. They have suffered the same sense of isolation and lack of purpose-- and they have lived in separate fantasy worlds. Ultimately they are joined only through Eleanor Rigby's death. Her burial is the empty ritual that no one attends. She is but a name, gone without memories or friends. As he walks away, wiping the dirt from his hand, no one is saved.

The song is a critique of modern society; it is about the loss of vital roles, the failure of institutions, such as the church and even family and friends. It is also implicitly about the gen­eration gap, and the dread of growing old and lonely. Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie may have been drawn from real characters in the Beatles' childhood, but they nonetheless rep­resent all the lonely people, including part of us. Even through its seeming bareness and despair, "Eleanor Rigby" has a tenta­tive, groping tenderness, which suggests compassion for the plight of these human figures, and it challenges us to strive to­ward solutions to the forces which alienate and divide us.  

"The Ballad of John and Yoko"

Standing in the dock at the station
Trying to get to Holland or France
A man in the mac said,
"You've got to get back"
You know he didn't even give us a chance
Christ! You know it ain't easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me
Finally made the plane in to Paris
Honeymooning down by the Seine
Brown called to say
"You can make it O.K.
You can get married in Gibraltar near Spain ~
Saving up your money for a rainy day
Giving all your clothes to charity
Last night the wife said,
"Oh boy, when you're dead
You don't take nothing with you but your soul"
Think!
Drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton
Talking in our beds for a week
The newspeople said,
"Say what're you doing in bed?"
I said, only trying to get us some peace
Made a lightning trip to Vienna,
Eating chocolate cake in a bag
The newspapers said,
"She's gone to his head
They look just like two gurus in drag"
Caught the early plane back to London
Fifty acorns tied in a sack
The men from the press said,
~We wish you success
It's good to have the both of you back"

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is one of the Beatles' most re­flective songs, written by John Lennon, almost in diary fashion.  The song encompasses several major themes both from Lennon's personal and public life. These are his own inter­pretations. The title suggests it is about his partnership with Yoko Oho, and their many adventures around the globe. It is also about their relationship with the press, their attempts to manipulate coverage, and a critique of the ensuing publicity. The song is also implicitly about the consequences of Lennon's maturing, the effect it had on his image and his relationships in the band. The first couple of verses recount the difficulties John and Yoko faced in trying to get married. A 1968 drug bust got in the way of their wedding plans. They had originally wanted to get married in Europe (Holland or France), but with the help of their assistant Brown, they found they could settle for the Rock of Gibraltar where they would have no visa problems.

The wedding ceremony may have been private, but the honeymoon was public. John and Yoko spent the week in bed in their Amsterdam hotel room promoting peace. The media was invited to cover the story, but it didn't all work out as the Lennon's might have wanted. There seems to be a play on words in Lennon just wanting some peace--for the world and perhaps himself as well. Though he is aware of the power of the press, and its usefulness in promoting his cause, there are many frustrations in being subject to its critical eye.

The chorus seems directed at the press--and maybe Beatles' fans as well. Lennon remarks how difficult it is to stand up for his beliefs in the light of a public who inevitably finds some part of his actions controversial. He talks about being crucified by them--a cynically playful reference to Lennon's scandalous "bigger than Christ" quote that resulted in death threats in 1966. He seems quite aware of his role as messenger and of his ability to use the media to promote his personal causes. Yet this relationship has a flip side, in that he is also used by the press, often misunderstood, and persecuted by it. While this song showcased an early piece of commentary on the relationship between the press and public figures, Lennon may have also been directing some part of this to his fans. It is difficult for him to have any privacy, to lead his own life. He is constantly under scrutiny. He may be asking fans to develop support and understanding for his situation. The lines of the chorus, sung along with McCartney as a Beatlesque duet, indicate that this problem is not Lennon's alone.

The bridge invites us into the private world of John and Yoko. John's earlier philosophy may be indicated in the first two lines--a typical set of maxims followed by the average de­cent citizen. But the next lines seem to show Yoko's influence on John, requiring of him a different attitude toward life, a greater commitment to what is really important. She may have been the catalyst to many of John's more daring humanistic endeavors. The only thing you take with you when you die is the knowledge (and karma) of the life you have led. The last line demands, "Think!." The chorus speaks of the private wis­dom that perhaps helps keep them sane in a world of fame and fortune.

The partnership of John and Yoko was not without its critics--both from within the Beatles and in the public eye. Their marriage symbolized much more than just another pop star coupling and they knew it. John's loyalties had broadened and now focused on a woman in a new partnership, and on his own independence. Yoko was blamed for John's puzzling transformation. There are references to his appearance--like a bearded Eastern guru, which must have echoed his new-found philosophies. Yoko is depicted as the worst stereotype of feminism--manipulative, calculating, controlling. She was the dragon lady of the interracial marriage that was blamed for the breakup of The Beatles. Yoko was seen as the intruder, the outsider who came between John and the solidarity of his working class roots with the band.

Finally though Lennon continued to pursue, with Yoko Oho, his vision for world peace. The last verse speaks of their acorns campaign--a mission to carry seeds to 50 heads of state to be planted in the name of peace. The journey was a personal endeavor, undertaken without a lot of media coverage. When they returned it is said that the press welcomed both of them back. The tone of the statement indicates that the press was positive, and perhaps even conciliatory towards Yoko. Despite the song's references to Yoko's disruptive presence, this song may also be a sign of reconciliation between Lennon and McCartney. While it was composed during a strained pe­riod for the group, they worked closely together on the project, and in good spirits. McCartney's participation shows sympa­thetic support. This collaboration, one of their last, bespeaks McCartney's ultimate understanding and acceptance of Lennon's independence.  

"Revolution"

You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out (in)
Don't you know it's gonna be
AIright, alright, alright
You know it's gonna be
Alright, alright, alright
You say you got a real solution
Well you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask roe for a contribution
Well you know
We're all doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is "Brother you have to wait"
You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow

"Revolution" was written by John Lennon. Lennon claimed that it represented the Beatles' position on the Vietnam war. It was something he could no longer ignore, and this song was his response. While the song was a social commentary concerning the protest and social movements in the 1960s, it encapsulates Lennon's general feelings about politics. The song stands as a universal statement today, transcending its historical period.

It opens with a shocking primal scream~-a call to at­tention, a warning, a protest. Then the song's three verses are organized in a point/counterpoint format. The beginning of each verse describes a political position, the ending of each de­scribes Lennon's reply to it.

The first verse depicts the charged atmosphere of the time in which the song was written. People were demanding revolution, each group bolstered by their own explanations and rationalizations. Lennon knew that rock music was perceived as a revolutionary force, and that he had become a natural leader in the eyes of many young people. While Lennon was also critical of the social climate and agreed that change was needed, he was skeptical of what these radicals on both the right and left were preaching. He questioned their methods and beliefs. Lennon was particularly critical of any group that proposed violence as a means to its goal. He would not take part in any movement that wasn't pacifist.

There is still debate about the meaning of Lennon's words in the last line of the first verse. He exclaims that where there is destruction "count me out." One version of the song has him singing "count me in" as well. It is reported that he conceded to sing both "in" and "out" as a way of toning down the steadfastness of the original version, and making it more sympathetic to the fans.

The chorus is interspersed throughout the song. It is deceptively simple. One interpretation is that it is an exclama­tion of faith in humankind and the outcome of history. If peo­ple have a positive motivation for personal change, then it fol­lows that the transformations would effect society as a whole. The word "alright" can have different meanings, and points of reference. As a reassuring mantra it is repeated over and over, until by the end of the song it builds to a literal scream--a re­lease of the tension and pressure of caring about the world.

The second verse begins by criticizing the political leaders who all proclaim to have the right ideas about social change. Lennon is skeptical of the false hope, quick fixes, and political strong-arming they offer. He questioned what would replace the systems that these people were so eager to over­throw. Lennon asked for their plan, knowing that any organi­zation was as frail as the failings of those who built it.

The same verse responds to the people who ask the Beetles for a contribution to their cause. His exclamation, "We're all doing what we can," may have various interpreta­tions. Directly, it could refer to the Beetles or Lennon himself who had been very devoted to the cause of peace. His own personal transformation may have been the ultimate expres­sion of his capacity to make a difference in the world. Indi­rectly, the phrase may be saying to the public not to depend on the Beetles to make it all happen. Many people must have been asking them for favors, to donate their names, money, and time for different causes. The Beatles could not offer themselves as false idols or saviors for all; each individual had to find their personal responsibility and contribution. Or it could be an ironic statement, reflecting the lack of conscious­ness and apathy on the part of some in the general public.

The third verse sums up the message of the song. Again the lyrics depict the voices of those demanding change, who place blame on governments, constitutions, and social institutions for the problems of the people. The last lines of the verse may be mocking those who follow leaders they idolize without really understanding. The lyrics may be a subtle poke at the youth who were taking their rallies and protests so seriously. Lennon shuns any political label or stance, and instead proposes personal transformation as the way toward social change.

Finally, Lennon offers in this song his personal philosophy--his vision of a revolution. Lennon believed that real change began with the individual, not with the system. Many good social ideals had been ruined through the faulty thoughts and actions of individuals. Lennon advocated changing your head, freeing your mind. Certainly he pleads here for an end to hatred, violence, and manipulation by leaders and organizations. But these lines may also carry other connotations. The Beatles had been experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs, mystics and gurus; all of these had been part of their search for answers. Ultimately the song asks that people change the way they think, before trying to change others. It may be hard to change society, but you can start by changing yourself.

CONCLUSION

The authors of this paper do not recommend abandoning the curriculum of Western civilization, since we agree with its merit and importance in the education of students. But neither can we support the wholesale condemnation of subjects and pursuits outside the established mainstream of higher education. The idea that one can dismiss popular culture in general, or popular music in specific, is a grandiose fantasy fueled by pride, fear, and ignorance, and funneled by the most narrow of intellectual visions. In particular, Bloom's limited view of the "classics," and his attempt to persuade us that anything outside the traditional canon is inferior, suspect, or unworthy of consideration, is not convincing. The recent 30th anniversary of The Beatles' music has engendered numerous celebrations, and the anticipated release of new archival recordings, demonstrate the continued importance of their music in the Western cultural arena. A 1994 article in the New Yorker suggests that The Beatles are the most important writers of contemporary music, and will have to be recognized alongside the greats of' any period. While McCartney's quote that, "a hundred years from now, people will listen to the music of the Beatles the same way we listen to Mozart," has yet to proven, it is clear that Bloom ignored the permeability of culture, and that his assessment of popular music was premature and incorrect.

Bloom's thesis on popular music was neither well argued nor supportable based on the empirical documents. Arguments like his, which use popular music as a causal explanation for the impoverishment of students, are far too simplistic. They are attempts to vilify popular music while ignoring its rich and varied content, and overlooking its potential for valuable and lasting contributions to culture and society. While The Beatles embraced and challenged values and ideas that could be threatening to certain elites, nonetheless their songs are cast in the classic and evolving terms of artistic tradition. The music of The Beatles continues to offer to young people philosophy, morality, and beauty.

The songs we have analyzed demonstrate that the Beatles are far from the "barbarians" of Bloom's description. Bloom paraphrased Plato, by saying that to take the "spiritual temperature" of a society, one must "mark the music" (1992, p. 72). Certainly the historical facts of the Beetles as citizens themselves belie Bloom's accusation that popular music had no positive meaning for adult life. The music of the Beetles is both suitable and positive for the people in a democracy because it illuminates some of the broader social forces in­volved in their lives, it provides an important articulation of their interests and concerns, and allows them to actively par­ticipate in creating meaning through their own interpretation.

Levine (1986) also saw little scholarly research in Bloom's book. Levine offered a sober reminder about those who, while seeking truth, dismiss an entire genre of music as worthless and harmful. He cautioned those who would define and redefine the contours of culture to remember that these are not merely abstractions. We are, "dealing with people and we owe them more than the hubris of narrow self-defense; we owe them no less than the adoption of an open search for and a careful understanding of what culture has been in our past and can become in our future" (Levine 1986, p. 256).

We cannot definitively state the value of all popular music, nor all the work of the Beatles, any more than one could for other artists, genres, or periods of art even within the clas­sics. Young people will remain involved with their culture, and this can be a positive, deep, and meaningful relationship. Bloom assumed that eventually with age, young people will lose the exclusive passion for rock and roll, but that their adult lives will be as empty and false as the youth they left behind. Along with education, rock music competes for the hearts and minds of youth. They will continue to identify with popular music.

We conclude that listening to rock music can have a positive influence on moral and intellectual dimensions that endures beyond the developmental stage of youth. The reflection of complex social issues, the descriptions of alternative meanings of modern life, and the various levels of interpretation one might bring to the listening of popular songs, makes them art works which contribute to personal development and democratic principles. The Beatles' songs speak to core human issues, connecting the aspects of personal experience to something larger and more coherent, something that Durkheim (1965) called the "collective conscience.~ Rock and roll is a presence in modern culture, and its voices will not be ignored. Perhaps when the critics begin to pay attention, the messages will not be lost in the medium.

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