"And I Will Lose My Mind...

" Images of Mental Illness in the Songs of the Beatles

Author(s): Annette Hames and Ian Inglis
Source: International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Dec.,
1999), pp. 173-188
Published by: Croatian Musicological Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3108444 .
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A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2,173-188 173

>AND I WILLLOSEMY MIND...o

IMAGESOF MENTALILLNESSIN
THESONGSOF THEBEATLES

ANNETTEHAMES UDC:78.071.5:78.06

NewcastleCityHealthNHS Trust, OriginalScientificPaper

Izvorniznanstveni61anak
SandersonCentre, Received:October12,1998
NorthAvenue,Gosforth, Primljeno:12. listopada1998.
Accepted:April 15, 1999
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNENE3 4DT, U. K. PrihvaCeno:15. travnja1999.

IAN INGLIS
Schoolof Social,Political,& Economic
Sciences,UniversityofNorthumbria,
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNENE1 8ST, U. K.

Abstract - Resume

Referencesto the mentaldistressconven- and psychotic mental disorders recognised by

tionally associatedwith an unhappy love affair
or tragiclife-event are to be found in the lyrics
of many songs in popular music. Implicitlyor
explicitly, such lyrics remind the listener that
failure or frustrationin personal relationships
can have traumatic, even dangerous conse-
quences. We have located our investigationof
one well-known set of songs - those written and
performed by the Beatles - within the context
of the clinically observed categories of neurotic
psychologists. In so doing, we hope to system-
atically analyse the ways in which various types
of mental illness have been depicted in the
group's songs, search for patterns in their pres-
entation, and offer explanations for their com-
position. While such an examination may reveal
much about the specific songwriting develop-
ment of the Beatles, it might also help to illumi-
nate more general contemporary attitudes to-
wards the nature of mental illnesses.

Introduction

Mentalillness, its particularformulations,and its dramaticconsequenceshave

long been common subjectswithin the principal genres of the creative and per-
forming arts.In the theatre,the existenceand effectsof mentalillness have invited
criticalinterpretationfromWilliamShakespeare'sHamletthroughto PeterShaffer's
Equusand Alan Ayckbourn'sWomanIn Mind.The cinema has made spectacular

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174 A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2,173-188

use of its various manifestationsin films as diverse as Psycho(Alfred Hitchcock

1960), Repulsion(Roman Polanski 1965), One Flew OverTheCuckoo'sNest (Milos
Forman1975),TheLacemaker (ClaudeGoretta1977)and Paris,Texas(WimWenders
1984).Novels such as Herman Melville'sMobyDick,MalcolmLowry's UnderThe
Volcanoand Doris Lessing's TheGoldenNotebook have consideredand examinedits
configurations. It is a perennial pre-occupationof poetry, as in Samuel Taylor
Coleridge's TheAncientMariner,JohnKeats'sIsabellaand Walt Whitman'sPrayer
Of Columbus.And opera has persistentlyand purposivelyutilised mentalillnesses
of many majorcharactersin works such as Bizet'sCarmen,RichardStrauss'sSalome,
Verdi's MacBeth and - from operetta - Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore.
Such a tendency is not unexpected.Although the theme of mental illness may
- as the above examples demonstrate- be approachedand exploredin different
ways and with differentemphases, there is a clearand consistentrecognitionthat
its emotional and dramaturgicalpossibilitiesallow for extensive and effective ex-
ploitation.
In the same way, the lyrics of popularmusic routinelyreferto statesor condi-
tions associated with forms of mental illness. They accomplishthis in three ways.
In many instances,the song titles themselvesare sufficientto draw attentionto the
messages they contain.Forexample,PatsyCline's>>Crazy<< (Nelson),JoniMitchell's
>>Twisted< (Ross-Grey),the Rolling Stones' >>19th Nervous Breakdown<< (Jagger-
Richards),Little Anthony & The Imperials'>>Going Out Of My Head< (Randazzo-
Weinstein), Tom Paxton's>>Crazy John< (Paxton)and allegedcomedy/novelty songs
such as Napoleon XIV's>>They're ComingToTakeMe Away< (Bonaparte) areamong
the very large number in which explicitreferenceis made to the currentor immi-
nent mental ill-healthof (usually) the singer.Secondly,thereare songs whose lyr-
ics are specifically concerned with experiencesof mental illness, in ways which
cannotbe predictedfromtheirapparentlyinnocuoustitles.ExamplesincludeJames
Taylor's >>FireAnd Rain< (Taylor),Helen Reddy's >>Angie Baby< (O'Day),Gilbert
O'Sullivan's>>Alone Again, Naturally<< (O'Sullivan),JanisIan's >>TeaAnd Sympa-
thy<< (Ian)and the Cars' >>Drive<< (Ocasek).Thirdly,and most commonly, there is a
huge number of popular songs which, while not about mental illness perse, typi-
cally contain casual or implicit referencesto the mental distress facing the singer,
often as a result of his or her lover's absenceor infidelity.
Somewhat surprisingly,this facetof popularmusic has been rarelyremarked
on. The preponderanceof romanceas the principaltheme of popularmusic lyrics
- the celebration of mutual and/or genuine love, the lament for lost or unre-
quited love, or the commentaboutthe natureof love - has been well documented
and its implications noted (FRITH1988; FRIEDLANDER1996). However, the
prominence given to warnings or assertions of forms of mental illness (usually
provoked by the pain of lost love, occasionallyby the euphoria of mutual love)
that accompanythese articulationshas been overlooked.The adoptionby INGLIS
(1997) of the constructivetypology of lovestyles developed by LEE(1973, 1977)
suggests that as with other fictional/literaryconceptionsof love, six forms or cat-
egories arecommon in popularmusic:eros (romantic),ludus (recreational),storge
(friendship),pragma (logical),mania (obsessive) and agape (altruistic).While po-

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A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2, 173--188 175

tentiallyhelpful (we might expectto find referencesto mentalillness principallyin

the category of mania, and possibly in those of eros and ludus), it too fails to spe-
cifically address the significanceof mental illness generally.
There is thus a place for a study which systematicallyanalyses those refer-
ences to mental illness to be found within the lyrics of popular music, and that is
what this paper seeks to provide. By limiting the analysisto a concentrationon the
music of the Beatles,we hope to successfully examine one component of the spe-
cific output of popular music's most celebratedand influentialperformersand, at
the same time, to illuminatebroaderlyricalpatternsand practices.Such an exami-
nation may provide a measure of the role(s) that depictions of mental illness per-
form within the songs of the Beatles, and an indication of the contributionthat
these representationsmay make to the assumed knowledge of mental illnesses in
contemporarypopular culture.Forif, as FRITHsuggests, pop songs >>givepeople
the... terms in which to articulateand so experience their emotions< (1988:123),
the clues these referencesprovide may well be incorporatedinto the evidence of
their own lives.

Mental Illness

While the common publicperceptionof mentalillness may be centredaround

recognisableenactmentsof differencein individualbehaviour,which demand su-
pervision and possibly hospitalisation,it may be more usefully approachedas a
broad concept whose definition remains elusive. It is true that psychologists use
the term in a general way to refer to abnormalbehaviour,but such a usage sug-
gests that it is possible to separatethe normal and the abnormal;this in itself is a
contentious assumption. What may be less contentious,but equally important,is
the implicit assumptionthatsuch behaviouris seen as undesirable;it is maladaptive
in that it interfereswith normalfunctioning,until eventuallyhelp is sought, either
by the individual or those around him/her.
Agreement on the status of abnormalityis prevented by a numberof factors
which become significantwhen behaviouris assessed. Firstamong these is the age
or, more accurately,the developmentalstage of the individual;for example,while
it is perfectly normal for the two-year-oldto throw herself on the floor (and stay
there despite threats,appeals and bribes) when her wishes are denied, the same
behaviour in the same individual twenty years on would be regardedas far from
normal.
Similarly,the location in which behaviourtakes place influences our evalua-
tion of it. Walking naked around one's house behind closed curtainsattractsno
adverse comments - as Bob Dylan famously observed, even the Presidentof the
United States sometimes must have to stand naked - whereas visiting the local
shopping centrein the same state of undress would certainlybe seen as abnormal,
even criminal,behaviour.On the otherhand, nakednessmay not be seen as inap-
propriatein some third world countries.The complexities of cross-culturalcom-
parisonsof behaviourareexemplifiedat theirclearestby the esteemin which Hindu

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176 A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2, 173--188

devotees in India are held by their communitiesfor behaviour (including rolling

for miles in the dust, standing on one leg for many months, refusing to speak)
which in most other countrieswould be regardedas proofof mental distress.Even
in less extreme cases, the variationsbetween two apparentlysimilar cultures are
indicative of the levels of disagreementthat exist. Psychiatristsin the U.S. have
traditionallybeen much more likely to diagnose persons as schizophrenic than
have psychiatristsin the U.K.when confrontedwith the samebehaviour(COOPER
et al 1972).
The political axis of mental illness is best demonstratedin the postwar policy
of the Soviet Union whereby many hundredsof politicaldissidents were routinely
classified as schizophrenicand placed in mental institutions where their 'illness'
could be 'treated'(FARAONE1982).Under Gorbachev'sleadership in the 1980s,
responsibilityfor the mental health system was transferredfrom the Department
of InternalSecurityto the Departmentof Health,signallinga fundamentalchange
in that country's definition of mental illness. Such shifts are not unknown in the
West. For 23 years up to 1974,homosexualitywas classified as a mental illness in
the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual; as social attitudes
changed in the 1960sand 1970s,homosexualitywas admittedto the 'normal'range
of behaviours. The most controversialexpose of such inconsistenciesin attitudes
to mental illness was the projectled by ROSENHAN(1973),in which he and sev-
eral confederates presented themselves to twelve psychiatricinstitutions across
the U.S., claiming to be hearing voices. Once admitted, these 'pseudo-patients'
reverted to their normal behaviour- a change noticed by other patients but not
by staff!When their findings were published,one of the hospitals,fearingsimilar
deceptions, rediagnosed 41 of 193 genuine patientsas 'pseudo-patients'.
Not surprisingly,such contradictions,coupledwith the historical,culturaland
political dimensions that surroundthe utilisationand operationof the concept of
mental illness, have led many to question its validity. SZASZ(1962, 1971, 1973)
was among the first to challenge its existence, arguing that the label of mental
illness today functions in the same way as the labels of witch or warlock given to
those who exhibited abnormalbehaviour in the past; for him, mental illness is
more an outcome of the problematicsof relationshipsthan a disease or disorderof
the nervous system. LAING (1960, 1964) and COOPER(1971)have persistently
sought to redefine mental illness, through their assertionthat individuals so stig-
matised are simply those who do not conformto dominantexpectations,and that
their 'treatment'is often an attemptto coercethem into conformity.
Despite the complexity of these debates, psychologists have continued their
attempts to describe and classify differenttypes of mental illness in order to sys-
tematise their treatment.In the U.K.,the categorisationcurrentlyused is from the
Mental Disorders section of the Ninth Revision of the InternationalClassification
of Diseases (ICD-9);in the U.S., it is that provided in the Diagnosticand Statistical
Manualof MentalDisorder (DSM-IV).However, these listings have the disadvan-
tage of a complexity which makes them too unwieldy for practicalpurposes in a
non-clinical setting; for example, DSM-IVlists 17 principaldisorders, each con-
taining numerous categoriesand sub-categories,all of which are to be rankedon a
scale of mild-moderate-severe.

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A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
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Consequently,some psychologistshave collapsed the categoriescontainedin

DSM-IVin order to presentthe informationin a more accessiblemanner.KAGAN
& SEGAL(1992)for example, have pointed to five majorgroupings of mental ill-
ness:schizophrenia,mood disorders,anxietydisorders,personalitydisorders,and
addiction. Of course, it is likely that whatever typology is thus presented will be
incomplete, over-simplified, and quickly outdated. The classificationwhich we
propose to use, adapted from the discussion in GROSS(1987),no doubt suffers
from the same deficiencies,but has the advantageof being rational(in that it relies
on well established divisions) and clear (in that it concentrateson the more com-
mon conditions).
At the most basic level, mentalillnesses canbe termedeitherfunctional(where
there is no identifiablephysical disorder)or organic(where thereis a physical dis-
order, such as brain damage or a tumour).We will concentrateon the functional,
which can be furtherdivided into neurosesand psychoses.Neurotic behavioursare
generally an exaggerationof normalbehaviours;they are often precipitatedby a
stressfullife event. Typically,contactwith realityis maintained,and the individual
has insight - he/she recognisesthat thereis a problem.Psychoticbehavioursare
qualitativelydifferentfromnormalbehaviour.Oftenthereis no precipitatingevent,
contact with reality is lost, and the individual has no insight; treatmentis gener-
ally against the patient's will, and is more likely to involve hospitalisation and
medical treatment over substantialperiods of time. Psychoses are generally re-
garded as more serious than neuroses.
There are six major forms of neurosis. Depressionis seen to exist when the
dejectionthat follows a life event continues despite the best efforts of self, family
and friendsto resolve it. Oftena reactionto some formof loss, it is characterisedby
prolonged sadness, lack of energy, a lack of concentration,sleeplessness, and an
inability to make decisions. Obsessionsare recurring,irrationalthoughts, and are
often associated with compulsions, which are actions the individual feels com-
pelled to repeat.While many of us experiencerelief and satisfactionfrom the or-
ganisationof thoughts and the completionof actions,thereis no end to the pattern
for the obsessive-compulsive patient,for whom such behaviourquicklybecomes
ineffective. Anxietymay take the form of 'free-floatinganxiety', when, in the ab-
sence of any real threat,the individual suffers persistentirritability,sleeplessness
and a lack of concentration,or 'panicattacks'when there is a sudden overwhelm-
ing terror,without apparentcause, but with real physical reactionssuch as chest
pains, heart palpitationsand breathingdifficulties.Phobiasare extreme and irra-
tional fears of specific objects or situations, the most common of which is
agorophobia,or fear of open places. While sensible fears work to protect us, the
phobic patient avoids the fearedobjectat all costs;in doing so, normalfunctioning
is often impaired.Hystericalneurosesproduce physical symptoms for which there
is no physical cause. These may include sensory reactions,such as blindness or
deafness;motor reactions,such as paralysis;or visceralreactions, such as cough-
ing fits or pregnancy.Psychosomatic disordersare,unlike the previous category,real
in their consequences. Often stress-related,they may lead to ulcers, high blood
pressure,migraine,or asthma.

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There are three major types of psychosis. Schizophrenia is diagnosed by the

presence of one or more of the three 'first rank symptoms':thought disturbances,
which occur when the individual feels himself/herself to be externallycontrolled;
auditoryhallucinations,which involve not justhearingvoices at random,but hear-
ing a 'running commentary'on one's actions;primarydelusions, which are false
beliefs in the face of contradictoryevidence. Paranoiddisordersare typified by a
persistentand systematicpatternof delusionswhich develops gradually,and even-
tually results in feelings of suspicion, mistrust and persecution.Manicdepression
describes the condition in which periods of intense euphoria and elation (mania)
alternatewith unbearablesadness (depression);the energy, increasedsexual ap-
petite, constanttalkingand restlessnessof the manicperiods contrastsharplywith
the uninterruptedmisery of periods of depression.

The Songs Of The Beatles

During their official recordingcareerwith E.M.I.,the Beatles recorded and

released more than 200 separatetracks,fromthe debut single >>Love Me Do</ >>P.S.
I Love You<<(October1962)to the final album LetIt Be(May 1970).Around 90 per
cent of these were composed by group members(usually Lennon-McCartney,oc-
casionally Harrison).As in numerous examples acrossvarious genres of popular
music, many of their compositions refer incidentallyor in passing to feelings of
being 'sad' or 'blue';but 28 songs go beyond mere protestationsof unhappinessto
reveal feelings symptomaticof the signs of those mentalillnesses discussed above.
It is to these 28 songs that we will directour analysis.
At this point, we should make it clear that we do not intend to attempt to
distinguish each individual song as the unique product of eitherJohn Lennon or
Paul McCartneyor George Harrison;instead,we shall regardthem as group com-
positions. Of course,it is true that some songs were written- wholly or mainly-
by one individual. But as has been previously discussed (INGLIS1997),the lack of
definitiveproof of authorship,Lennon'sand McCartney'sown verificationsof their
joint songwriting activities (SHEFF& GOLSON1981:117;MILES1978:71), and
the obvious fact of the Beatles' (personal and professional) group identity
(O'GRADY1983:172-173)seriously undermine attempts to exclusively link spe-
cific songs with an individual author.
Although a close examinationof each song's lyrics may be the most suitable
strategy by which its particularreferenceto mental illness can be determined, it
does not necessarilysupply an infallible- or, indeed, the only - set of classifica-
tions. As has been shown above, one type of mental illness may evolve into an-
other, may co-exist with related conditions,or may be differentlydiagnosed. The
category to which we assign each song is that which we feel most accuratelyre-
flects the intent of its lyrics, but this by no means excludes other interpretations
and classifications.Justas thereis a lackof agreementamong psychologists about
the validity of a term like 'mental illness', so too there is considerableuncertainty
about the connections between symptoms and diagnosis. Our analysis of lyrics
must, therefore,be subjectto the same caveat.

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A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
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Neuroses
1. Depression:As might be anticipated,songs which refer to depression form
the largestsingle group.Elevensongs were identified:>>Misery<, >ItWon'tBe Long<<,
>Don't BotherMe<, 4I CallYourName<<,>>TellMe Why<<,>>I'llCryInstead, >>I'mA
Loser<, >>TicketTo Ride<<, I Need You<,>Yesterday< and >For No Ones. They are
all conventionallove songs in which the singer (or in the case of >For No One<,the
person to whom the song is addressed) tells of the dejectioncaused by the recent
or imminent loss of a partner.Of course, any individual to whom a relationship
has been importantwill experienceregretand discontentat its end;these are songs,
however, in which natural sadness is exaggeratedinto the inertia, hopelessness
and fatigue of depression.They typify the familiardespondency of the depressive:
'Everynight, the tearscome down frommy eyes/Every day I've done nothing but
cry' (>>ItWon't Be Long<<);'All I do is hang my head and moan' (>>Tell Me Why<<).
They reflectthe decelerationof everyday life and the retreat
from the routine:'Since
she's been gone, I want no-one to talk to me/.../So go away, leave me alone, don't
bother me' (>>Don'tBotherMe<);'I can't talk to people that I meet/.../I'm gonna
hide myself away' (>>I'llCry Instead<). And they referto the awful, bleak futureto
which the singer feels he must resign himself:'Well, don't you know I can't take
it?/I don't know who can/I'm not going to make it/I'm not that kind of man' (>>I
Call Your Name<<);'Yesterday,all my troublesseemed so far away/Now it looks
as though they're here to stay' (>>Yesterday0).
2. Obsession:Six songs indicate obsessive traits in the singer; they are >You
Can'tDo That",>You Won'tSee Me",>What Goes Ono, >Run ForYourLife",>Oh!
Darlingo and >I Want You". All are constructedaround recurringthoughts and
ideas over which the individual has little or no control.Oftenthereis a specificand
unfounded fear that a partneris about to leave, which may lead to threatsor an
ultimatum:'If I catchyou talkingto thatboy again/I'm gonna let you down/And
leave you flat' (>You Can'tDo That");'I'd rathersee you dead, little girl/Than to
be with another man' (>Run For Your Life").Interestingly,both of these songs
containan implicitrecognitionthatthatsinger'sallegationsmay well be false,again
adding to the evidence thathis thoughtsarebeyond his immediatecontrol:'I can't
help my feelings, I'll go out of my mind' (>You Can'tDo That<);'Well,you know
that I'm a wicked guy/And I was bornwith a jealousmind' (>Run ForYourLife<).
At other times, the obsession producesa pervasivebewildermentand a conviction
that somethingmust be wrong, although its exact nature is unknown: 'What goes
on in your heart?/Whatgoes on in your mind?/You are tearingme apart'(nWhat
Goes On<);'When I call you up, your line's engaged/I have had enough, so act
your age' (>YouWon't See Me<). And on one occasion, the singer seems to be
observing and commenting on his obsession: 'I want you/I want you so bad/I
want you/I want you so bad/It's driving me mad, it's driving me mad' (>IWant
You<).
3. Anxiety: Referencesto a generalised and diffuse state of anxiety are to be
found in two songs - >Help!<and >NowhereMan<.Both point to general irrita-
tion and dissatisfactionwith the singer's currentcondition:'I never needed any-

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180 A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
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body's help in any way/But now these days are gone, I'm not so self-assured/.../
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down/And I do appreciate you being around'
(>>Help!<);'Doesn't have a point of view/Knows not where he's going to/Isn't he
a bit like you and me?' (>>NowhereMan<).
No lyrical examples were found for any of the remaining three types of neu-
rosis: phobias, hysterical neuroses and psychosomatic disorders.

Psychoses
1. Schizophrenia: Representations of schizophrenia occur in five songs: >I'm
Only Sleeping<, >She Said She Said<<,>The Fool On The Hill<<,>I'm So Tired< and
>Mean Mr Mustard<<.Three are narratives, which tell of a third party, whose be-
haviour is typified by the perceptual difficulties, thought disorders and emotional
disturbances associated with the illness. One person reports hallucinatory experi-
ences: 'She said I know what it's like to be dead' (>>SheSaid She Said<). Another is
characterised by his remoteness and indifference towards life: 'Day after day, alone
on a hill/The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still' (>>TheFool On
The Hill<<).A third repeatedly exhibits bizarre and inappropriate behaviour: 'Mean
Mr Mustard sleeps in the park/Shaves in the dark/.../Sleeps in a hole in the road /
.../Keeps a ten bob note up his nose' (>>MeanMr Mustard<<).Of the remaining two
songs, one reveals the lack of volition within a disintegrating personality: 'Keep-
ing an eye on the world going by my window/Taking my time, lying there and
staring at the ceiling/.../Please don't spoil my day, I'm miles away' (>>I'mOnly
Sleeping<); the other its severe sensory disorganisation: 'You know, I can't sleep, I
can't stop my brain/You know, it's three weeks, I'm going insane/You know, I'd
give you everything I've got/For a little peace of mind' (>>I'mSo Tired<<).
2. ParanoidDisorders: Three songs - >I'm Down, >>You'veGot To Hide Your
Love Away? and >The Ballad Of John And Yoko< - present the symptoms of
paranoia, particularly in the singer's mistrust of others and feelings of persecu-
tion. Two report his belief that he is an object of scorn and ridicule: 'You tell lies
thinking I can't see/You can't cry cos you're laughing at me' (>>I'mDown<); 'Eve-
rywhere people stare/Each and every day/I can see them laugh at me' (>>You've
Got To Hide Your Love Away<). In the other example, the singer (John Lennon)
gives an account of his relationship with Yoko Ono, couched almost entirely in
defensive terms, in which the actions of others are perceived with suspicion and
hostility: 'You know they 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 going to
crucify me' (>>TheBallad Of John And Yoko<). One might also speculate whether
the implicit comparison with Jesus Christ indicates associated delusions of gran-
deur.
3. Manic Depression: >>YerBlues< is the only song to chronicle the agonies of
deep melancholy and utter worthlessness which characterise the manic depres-
sive: 'I'm lonely, wanna die/.../The eagle picks my eye/The worm he licks my
bone/I feel so suicidal' (>>Yer Blues<<).As the one song of the Beatles which explic-

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A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2,173-188 181

itly considerssuicide, it demonstratesan exactcorrespondencewith the feelings of

those afflicted with the condition, to whom it can be so painful that suicide does
appear to be the only means of escape.

Responses And Innovations

Perhapsthe most distinctive facet of the Beatles'achievementsas composers

is their ability to write about an ever-expandingvariety of topics, hitherto unfa-
miliar within the conventions of popular music. The five songs (there is also an
instrumentaltrack,>>Flying<<) on theirMagicalMysteryTourE.P. (December1967)
a
provide telling example. One song is about the excitement of a charabanctrip
(>>Magical Mystery Tour<<); anothera surrealisticattackon the state of contempo-
rary Britishculturalvalues (>>I Am The Walrus<<); anothertells of friends lost in a
Californiafog (>>Blue JayWay<<); there is a song about a schizophrenicor, possibly,
an idiotsavant(>>The Fool On The Hill<<); and one song is about other songs (>>Your
MotherShould Know<).
Theseand other'clever,thought-provokinglyrics'(HERTSGAARD 1995:176),
variously attributedto influences as diverse as Dylan, Balzac,Edward Lear and
GeorgeFormby,have clearlyplayed a majorpartin informingmany criticalevalu-
ations of the group, such as that containedin O'GRADY'sinsight into 'the deter-
mination of surprises and deviations within the conventions of a musical style'
(1983:185).
Thus it may be possible to consider the depiction of mental illnesses in the
songs of the Beatles as just one example among many of lyrical surprisesand de-
viations practised by the group: put simply, they were prepared to write about
things which most other songwriterswere not. In this way, the choice of mental
illness as a theme would seem no less remarkablethan, for example, their evoca-
tion of nostalgia (>>When I'm Sixty Four<<, >>Honey Pie<<,>>Maxwell's Silver Ham-
mer<<); their specific use of female names >>Michelle<<,
(>>Julia<<, >>Eleanor Rigby<<,
>>Polythene Pam<,>>Dear Prudence<<); or theirsongs aboutLiverpool(>>Penny Lane<<,
,,StrawberryFields Forever<<, >>Maggie Mae<).
While such an analysis would not, in itself, be inaccurate,it would be incom-
plete. Only by positioning the songs within the dynamics of the group's careeras
a whole does it become possible to discoverfactorswhich might impactupon their
origins. The significanceof this increaseswhen the years in which the songs were
recorded and released are examined. Of the 19 songs which refer to neuroses, 17
(90 per cent) were written and recordedfrom 1962to 1966.Of the nine songs refer-
ring to psychoses, all were written and releasedbetween 1965and 1969.
Overall,the contrastbetween the characterof the songs in the earlierand later
parts of their recordingcareerhas been explainedin a numberof ways, including
the group's rejectionof the love song from 1965onwards and the possibilitiesthis
allowed for the explorationof unfamiliarsubjects(INGLIS1997);the systematic
patterns of change in the use of language that characterisedthe group's musical
evolution through the 1960s (COOK& MERCER1999);and the repercussionsof

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182 A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30(1999)2, 173--188

theirregressionas composersfromconceptualthoughtto the primordialconscious-

ness typically associatedwith the creativeprocess (WEST& MARTINDALE1996).
Crucially,the arguments contained in all of the above explanationsrefer to
and, it has been suggested (BROWN& GAINES1983:134;TAYLOR1987: 92),
stem from the group's abrupttransitionfrom consumersof alcohol to consumers
of cannabis(and later,LSD)which was encouragedby Bob Dylan on the occasion
of their first meeting with the singer in August 1964.Theirsubsequentpublic ac-
knowledgement of him as a lyricist and composer whose example was to deci-
sively shape their own future musicaloutput was endorsed in equal measure by
each of the group's songwriters. 'It was Paul...who was the most profoundly
affected...hewas thinking, he declared, reallythinking for the very first time...he
would neverbe the same again'(SALEWICZ 1986:170).'ToGeorgeHarrison,Dylan
was a revelation.Never in his short life had he met anyone so persuasively hip'
(GIULIANO1989:54). 'McCartneyand especially Harrisonalso became admirers
of Dylan at this time, but it was Lennonwhose work was most obviously affected'
(HERTSGAARD1995:127).
While these are importantobservationsabout general developments in their
composing activities,the signal shiftfromdepictionsof (generally)less severe neu-
rotic tendencies to more disabling psychotic states is so abruptas to justify par-
ticular consideration.More specifically,their lyricalaccounts of depression came
to an end in 1966,while their accountsof schizophreniaonly began in 1966.Is this
coincidental or deliberate?The attempt to move towards an answer requiresan
awareness of two perspectives from which the Beatles'songwriting at this point
can be appraised:as a response to change and as an impetus for innovation.

TheResponseToChange

The importanceof changes of placeis crucial,given the Beatles'origins in Liv-

erpool - a Northern industrial city whose distance (culturaland geographical)
from London in the early 1960swas one of the main reasonswhy the Britishpopu-
lar music industry had shown little interestin its performers.
SaraCOHENhas writtenof 'a view of musicand placenot as fixedandbounded
texts or entities, but as social practiceinvolving relationsbetween people, sounds,
images, artifactsand the materialenvironment'(1995:438). Across all of these re-
lations, there are strong associationsbetween the locations in which the Beatles'
songs were constructedand the subjectsto which they referred.Manyof theirearly
(Liverpool)songs arecharacterisedby a condensedspatialand lyricalconcernwhich
mirrorsthe immediacy of a specific,localised, personalrelationshipor condition.
By contrast,songs from 1966onwards (afterthe group and its managementhad re-
located to Londonand effectivelysevered routineconnectionswith Liverpool)use
their sense of location as a point of departurefrom which to elaborateon other,
non-localisedthemes - of nostalgia,consciousnessand history.
In addition, it has been suggested that the change of environment - from
Liverpoolto Londonand beyond - had a very specificoutcome;theirsongwriting

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A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2,173--188 183

became 'a lens through which to scrutinisequietly and accuratelythe characterof

the strange new life...in Swinging London' (GOLDMAN1988:219). If 'music re-
flectssocial,economic,politicaland materialaspectsof the particularplacein which
it is created' (COHEN1995:444) the disruption of place (with all its challenges,
discoveries, temptationsand dangers) was an obvious and inevitable force in in-
fluencing the Beatles'lyrics.
No less importantis the conceptof person,which we use to referto the imme-
diate emotional and personal circumstancesof the songwriter(s)at the time the
songs were written. While there has been no shortage of allegation and specula-
tion about the origins of particularsongs, what is of greatersignificanceis the way
in which the growing wealth and fame of the Beatles,and theirheightened aware-
ness of the complexityof personalrelationships- via marriage,fatherhood,sepa-
ration,divorce - were reflectedin theirchanginglyricalcompositions. 'The four
who stopped running,who stood still at last in 1966,looking curiouslyaboutthem'
(NORMAN1981:264) were very differentpersons from the four young men who
had signed an initial recording contractwith Parlophone in August 1962. It is
unsurprisingthat their experiencesof a wide range of emotional and intellectual
realities,and the musical form in which they communicatedtheirunderstandings
of those realities,should have changedfromthe earlieryears of theircareer.'Their
songs were simpler in those days. The Beatleswere simpler lads' (DAVIES1968:
282).
The third and final factoris self,by which we mean the explorationof spiritual
awareness and the search for self-knowledge which claimed increasingamounts
of the group's attention after 1966.Often naive, incomplete, and regretted after-
wards, the routes they chose included L.S.D.,TranscendentalMeditation,primal
therapy and Krishnaconsciousness.Thatthey should feel the requirementto en-
gage in such a search is not unexpected, given the nature of the adulation and
vilificationto which they were regularlyexposed. TimothyLeary'sdescriptionof
them as 'mutants...prototypesof evolutionaryagents sent by God with a mysteri-
ous power to createa new species' (NORMAN1981:287) and REICH'sannounce-
ment that they possessed the 'abilityto penetrateto the essence of what is wrong
with society and a power to speak to man >>inhis condition<<that is perhaps the
deepest source of its power' (1970:208) attributedto the group benevolent,super-
naturalpowers. On the otherhand, NOEBEL'swarningthat'the Beatles'abilityto
make teenagerstake off theirclothes and riot is laboratorytested and approved...it
is scientificallylabelled mass hypnosis and artificialneurosis' (1965:10) and the
view of them in the ChinesePeople'sDailyas 'monsters...[whomake]...anunpleas-
ant noise to satisfy the Western world's need for crazy and rotten music'
(MARTIN& SEGRAVE1988:155) identified them as both communist conspira-
tors and emblems of capitalistdecadence. In the face of such wild and persistent
exaggerations,there is no doubt that the characteristicsthey were attributedand
the pathsthey began to follow, individuallyand collectively,introducedthe Beatles
to previously unknown perceptionsof the relationshipbetween self and others,
which found their way into the group's music.

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184 A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2, 173--188

Place, person and self thus offer a context within which 'the enormous diffi-
culties that a public artisthas in finding a harmoniousbalancebetween public and
private forces in his life' (ROOS& O'MEARA1987:35) can be illuminated, and a
partial explanation through which the nature and transformationof their lyrical
references to mental illness might be comprehended. For the other part of that
explanation,however, it is importantto go beyond analyses of the ways in which
the group's music passivelyreflected externalchanges to a considerationof how
the Beatlesactivelyused their music as a vehicle of change and innovation.

TheImpetusForInnovation
From 1966 onwards, the Beatlesbegan to assume increasingcontrol of, and
responsibilityfor, theirown activities.Whilethey had insisted,rightfrom the start
of their careeras Parlophonerecordingartists,that the songs on all of theirsingles
and the majority of their album tracks were to be self-compositions, after 1965
(with the exceptionof the traditionalLiverpoolsong >>MaggieMae<) no new songs
which were not written by group membersappearedon any of theirreleases.The
definitive indication of the move from one careerphase to the next was the deci-
sion by the Beatles in August 1966to abandon touring, which immediately gave
the group greateropportunitiesto devote time and energy to composing and re-
cording.'Now thatthey had some time and space,they were spreadingtheirwings.
They were showing us what they could really do' (MARTIN 1994: 24). The
flexibilitiesand freedomsinto which the Beatleswere releasedby theirwithdrawal
from live performancesled to otherdemonstrationsof autonomy:theirdecision to
carryon without a manager,after the death of BrianEpstein in August 1967;the
creationand production of their TV film MagicalMysteryTourin December 1967;
the establishmentof Apple in 1968;and theirincreasinginvolvementin individual
projects(INGLIS1995).
But it is the fundamental shift in the nature of their music that remains the
most compelling evidence of change. The Beatles have acknowledged that, like
many popular songwriters, much of their early work was frankly syntheticand
driven by a commercialprofessional strategy in which themes, melodies, verbal
phrases and instrumentalsolos were assembled and reassembledin order to sat-
isfy contractualor commercialobligations. By contrast,songs from the later pe-
riod tend to be organic,embodying a perception of each new composition as a
fresh statement, a unique creation,an opportunityfor communication,which is
organised and constructedfor reasons other than commercialappeal alone.
A useful typology of the ways in which songwritersthemselves understand
and express the communicative- as opposed to the commercial- propertiesof
theirmusic has been provided by DENSKI(1992).He distinguishesbetween magi-
cal communication(music as a mysteriousforce),social communication(musicas
a politicaltool), personal communication(musicas the considerationand analysis
of private emotions), formal communication(music as technology, sound or tex-
ture) and adult communication(music as a commentaryon the realities of adult
life).

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A. HAMES- I. INGLIS,MENTALILLNESSIN BEATLES
SONGS,IRASM30 (1999)2,173--188 185

In various first-handaccounts of the writing of their later songs, the Beatles

have confirmed the validity of each of these categories.>>Yesterday<< is explained
by Paul McCartney as an of
example magical communication: 'I woke up with a
lovely tune in my head...Ithought,No, I've never writtenlike this before.ButI had
the tune, which was the most magic thing. And you have to ask yourself, where
did it come from?Butyou don't ask yourselftoo much or it might go away' (MILES
1997:201-202).Socialcommunicationis typifiedinJohnLennon'saccountof >>Revo-
lution<<as 'a statement of the Beatles'position on Vietnam and the Beatles'posi-
tion on revolution...Iabsolutelywanted the Beatlesto say somethingabout the war'
(SHEFF& GOLSON1981:158).The characteristicsof personalcommunicationare
demonstratedin >>InMy Life<<, seen by Lennon as 'a remembranceof friends and
lovers of the past. And it was, I think,my firstrealmajorpiece of work. Up till then
it had all been sort of glib and throwaway'(SHEFF& GOLSON1981:151). >>Revo-
lution 9<< is Lennon'sattemptat formalcommunication:'All those differentbits of
sound and noises are all compiled...Ifed them all in and mixed them live. I did a
few mixes until I got one I liked. Once I heard her [Yoko's] stuff - not just the
screechingand the howling but her sort of word pieces and talking and breathing
and all this strangestuff...Iwanted to do one' (SHEFF& GOLSON1981:159).And
>>Hey Jude<<, writtenby McCartneyfor six-years-oldJulianLennonafterhis parents'
divorce,is an exampleof adultcommunication:'Idecidedto pay thema visit and say
>>Howare you doing? What's happening?<< [...] I started with the idea >>Hey
Jules<<...don'tmakeit bad,takea sad song and makeit better...Iknew it was not going
to be easy for him. I always feel sorryfor kids in divorces'(MILES1997:465).
The Beatles'ability to successfullyoperatewithin and acrossthese categories
confirmedtheir transitionfrom commercialto communicativesongwriters.But it
has to be seen within the context of the assertions of professional independence
that defined theircareerfrom1966.Theirsongwriting,like theirfilm-making,their
entrepreneurialactivities and their increasingemphasis on individual autonomy,
became a vehicle for radicaland innovative developments.
By employing the words of theirsongs to approachentirelynew subjects(how
many other songs are thereabouta sheepdog or a trafficwarden or a submarineor
a Victoriancircus or a box of chocolates?)they were able to distance themselves
from the familiarconventionsof the pop song. Thus, the move away from writing
about the depression that (stereo)typicallyfollows unrequitedadolescent love to
exploring more debilitating and unfamiliarconditions such as schizophreniais
one more example of the lyricalexpansion that accompaniedtheir later songs. As
lyricists and composers, they can be seen to have used the opportunities those
songs gave them in relativelyunusual and innovative ways.

Conclusion

Composershave been defined as 'the trulyinventive ingredientin pop music'

(WALE1972:20); the Beatles,in their turn, were describedin TheObserveras 'the
greatest composers since Schubert'(NORMAN1981:346);moreover, it has been

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186 A. HAMES - I. INGLIS, MENTAL ILLNESSIN BEATLESSONGS, IRASM 30 (1999) 2, 173-188

argued that 'they took control of music away from...professional songwriters and
made it the responsibility of the individual performing artists' (DOWLDING 1989:
17).
Each of these claims may be contested, but the fact that they have been re-
peated so often invites, at the very least, a consideration of their implications. In
this discussion, we have sought to engage in such considerations, using the rela-
tively unusual theme of mental illness as the specific example through which we
might be able to make more general observations.
The division between the Beatles' references to mental illness in the early and
later parts of their career can be seen in part as a response by the songwriters to
external changes which worked their way through into the music, and in part as a
deliberate display of their increased professional autonomy and control. In this
respect, the creative process within popular music may be no different from the
creative process within any other of the performing arts. After all, the balance be-
tween external constraints and individual inspiration has influenced the work of
artists and playwrights engaged by patrons for centuries. While the Beatles may
not have recognised the existence of patrons (although in other circumstances the
involvement of A and R staff, managers, and record company executives might
not be too dissimilar), there is no doubt that factors external to the production of
music per se were as important in determining the nature of their musical output
as were their own ideas and idiosyncrasies.
All this is not to suggest that the 'meaning' of a song can be discerned from its
lyrics; we have been concerned with the subject or theme as revealed through its
lyrics. Lyrics themselves remain a focal point - for discussion, for the circulation
of ideas, for adoption and utilisation. 'The impact of words must not be overlooked.
Analyses of lyrics throughout the history of popular music have consistently dem-
onstrated the pertinence of music at various periods' (LULL 1992:21). Discussions
about the interpretation or meaning given to a song are quite separate from dis-
cussions about the theme or subject of a song. The theme or subject of a song is
contained in what we hear; its meaning or interpretation is shaped by how we hear.
What we hear in these songs of the Beatles are words which 'invoke and con-
vey the joy, sorrow, struggle, laughter, wisdom, anger, love, fear, and other emo-
tions and experiences that make up the human condition' (HERTSGAARD 1995:
317). At the same time, they are indicative of the Beatles' creative synthesis (as
songwriters) of the subjective and the objective, and illustrative of their capacity to
expand the range of topical possibilities beyond the traditional confines of popu-
lar music, into which they themselves had only recently been admitted.

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 - I.INGLIS,
A. HAMES MENTAL
ILLNESS
INBEATLES IRASM
SONGS, 30(1999)2,173--188 187

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Saetak

>IIZGUBITCU PAMET...<
SLIKEDUkEVNOGOBOLJENJA U PJESMAMABEATLESA

Zajedno s drugim 2anrovima izvoditeljskih umjetnosti popularna je glazba trajno

koristilatemu duSevnog oboljenja,uglavnom kao predmetkojiilustriraemotivnu nevolju
prouzrotenu promaSajemu ijubavi.Medutim,do sada nije bilo pokuSajada se ova lirska
konvencijadovede u vezu s onim kategorijamaduSevnihsmetnjikoje priznajui kojimase
bave psiholozi. Karakteristiknose razlikujudva tipa funkcionalnogduSevnog oboljenja:
neuroze- kojese daljemogu dijelitina depresije,opsesije,tjeskobu,fobije,histeritneneuroze
i psihosomatske poremeraje - i psihoze, koje se dalje mogu dijeliti na shizofreniju,
paranoidneporemedajei manijakalnudepresiju.
Mi smo usredoto~ilinaSupozornostna pjesmekojesu napisalii izvodili Beatlesi.Otkrili
smo da medu onim njihovim kompozicijama koje se odnose eksplicitno na okolnosti
duSevnogoboljenjanajvedije dio onih kojeistraZujuneurozenapisani snimljenu ranojfazi
njihovekarijere(1962.-66.),dok su sve one kojese odnose na psihozebile napisanei snimljene
u kasnijojfazi njihove karijere(1965.-69.).Promatranou vezi s opdm razvitkomnjihovih
interesa u pisanju pjesama,takav se znakovit prijelazmoZe interpretiratikao ilustracija
natina na koji je glazba te grupe pasivno odra2avalavanjskei ambijentalnepromjene,te
kao o6itovanjenjihoveodlukeda svojuglazbuaktivnoupotrebljavaju kao sredstvoinovacije.
Dok relativno neistraZenatema duSevnog oboljenjamo2e biti tek jedan primjerza lirske
intereseBeatlesas jedne strane,s druge ona pruZajasnuindikacijunjihovesposobnosti da
proSireopseg tema kojiim je bio dostupankao kompozitorimapopularneglazbe.

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