Anyone notice the the media is currently overflowing with reminiscences, analyses, etc. about two very different milestones that are marking their forty year anniversary this month? I’m referring, of course, to the Six Day War (June 5, 1967) and the release of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (June 1, 1967). Indeed, it’s been hard to avoid the ever-increasing perspectives on these oddly juxtaposed, yet undeniably world-changing moments: Israel’s euphoric, if Pyrrhic military victory and the Beatles’ iconic masterpiece that may or may not be their best album.
Still, amidst the plethora of recent articles, I’ve yet to see anyone attempt to somehow find a connection between these two auspicious moments in history. So here’s a try: a sampling of “Sgt. Pepper’s” lyrics that might well be read as commentary on a six-day Mideast war that has since stretched into a tragic forty-year occupation:
“I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time. (It can’t get much worse…)” (Getting Better)
“And it really doesn’t matter, if I’m wrong, I’m right, where I belong, I’m right, where I belong…” (Fixing a Hole)
“We were talking, about the space between us all, and the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion, never glimpse the truth, then it’s far too late…” (Within You, Without You)
OK, so that was pretty glib, even for me. Here are two more interesting pieces: a recent article from the Jewish Forward and a lovely childhood Pepper-memory by singer/songwriter Aimee Mann.
Brant, Brant…I can’t believe you missed the most obvious Israel reference in Sgt Pepper: “I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends”.
Hi,
Maybe we can offer to help our neighbor put in a new tree. While we may not be able to have the lush view we had dreamed of, our children will.
Peace
I’ve been sexually assaulted by cicadas for weeks. WIth their big red eyes, if THEY can’t tell the dif between their species and me, why should biblical spies on Canaan be expected to know a grasshopper from a Jew?!