I Don't Want to Be a Beatle Anymore

YouTube is a time capsule of amazing conversations from by gone days. Today I saw an interview with George Harrison (lead guitarist for the Beatles) on the Dick Cavett show from years ago. George still had the long hair and a beard so it wasn’t long after his time with the Fab Four. Dick asked George questions like “Why did the Beatles break up?” and “Are you sad that the band is no more?” George said without restraint that there were a lot of problems with the band and he was glad that season of his life was over as it was time to move on.

I found myself pondering George’s answers. It’s easy to look into the lives of others and see only what we want to see. In this instance, I’ve always imagined that all of the Beatles had it all simply because they were a Beatle. They reached pinnacle status as young men and could basically ride this wave for the rest of their lives. In my mind they had it made, the underlying phrase here “in my mind.” I was amazed to hear George utter his words of relief that the band was no more. He rhetorically asked Dick, “What would we do for the rest of our lives if we were still together but just play the same old songs over and over again?” This was not the future George imagined for himself. I could just see a 2018 tour with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, everyone in their 70’s and 80’s singing their golden oldies with Jagger and Lennon joining together for the big finale compilation “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction/All You Need is Love”!

At the end of the day, the Beatles are still just people with struggles and problems. Apparently, George’s problem was that he was in a band that he thought had run its course. Today I also heard an interview with Emilio Estevez where he said the worst thing you can do is type your name in Google. He said it was very hurtful the things people say about you. Emilio even agreed with some of the statements that said some of his movies were not good but also added that he wished people would remember that he too was a person that had to provide for his family, and sometimes this meant taking the work that came along. It’s so easy to judge those that are in the limelight and forget that underneath it all they too have feelings and emotions like us. As Shakespeare said, “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” In this case we might reword this and ask, “If you post it, will they not read?” We should be mindful that perception is not always reality. The real lives of others are just as fragile and vulnerable as our own and we should exercise care before we share our opinions. As some wise sage once said, “Opinions are like armpits (revised for all audiences), everybody has them and they all stink.”