“The energy I've found through meditation, I know darn well that I've had it before, but I only used it on good days when everything was going well, and I found more energy because everything was going well. ![]() ![]() These broadcasts were dedicated entirely to their recent introduction to TM, George also accompanying John on both shows. The affect that this had on John is reflected in his September 29th and October 4th appearances on The Frost Programme, hosted by David Frost. They had become acquainted with his teachings through George's wife Pattie in mid-1967, met him personally on August 24th of that year, and travelled to Bangor, north Wales the following day, August 25th, to spend the weekend studying Transcendental Meditation under the tutelage of the Maharishi himself. The “cosmic” direction of the song displayed the recent influence of Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi on John and the rest of The Beatles. That's always in the middle of the bloody night, when you're half awake or tired and your critical faculties are switched off.” It won't let you sleep, so you have to get up, make it into something, and then you're allowed to sleep. I was just slightly irritable and I couldn't go to sleep.It's like being possessed, like a psychic or a medium. She'd gone to sleep and I kept hearing, 'Words are flowing out like endless streams.' I was a bit irritated and I went downstairs and it turned into a sort of cosmic song rather than, 'Why are you always mouthing off at me?' or whatever, right? I couldn't get to sleep until I put it on paper. It started off as a negative song and she must have been going on and on about something. John continues: “I was lying next to my first wife ( Cynthia) in bed and I was thinking. I don't know where it came from, what meter it's in, and I've sat down and looked at it and said, 'Can I write another one with this meter?' So it's interesting.Such an extraordinary metre and I can never repeat it! It's not a matter of craftsmanship it wrote itself.” They were purely inspirational and were given to me as 'Boom!' I don't own it, you know, it came through like that. “But the words stand, luckily, by themselves. “The words are purely inspirational and were given to me – except for maybe one or two where I had to resolve a line or something like that,” Lennon explained about "Across The Universe" in 1980. Paul wasn't the only Beatle to receive a song subconciously or in a dream, as he has related concerning “ Yesterday.” John claimed subconcious inspiration as the source for several of his songs, but his description of the inspiration for "Across The Universe" makes it sound possibly divine. “That was usually the case with things like ' In My Life' and 'Across The Universe' and some of the ones that stand out a bit.” “I wrote the lyrics first and then sang it,” John stated in 1970. However, critical personal assessments are what have been proven to drive an artist on to achieve the perfection of his or her craft. You can read them like a poem.” While he wasn't satisfied with The Beatles' recording of the song, referring to it in 1980 as “a lousy track of a great song,” “Across The Universe” is counted among a small handful of his compositions that he's proud of, this list also including “ Strawberry Fields Forever,” “ Come Together” and “ Help!”īeatles fans around the world are dumbfounded by Lennon's inability to recognize his own genius, citing his dismissal of their favorite songs. The ones I like are the ones that stand as words without melody. It's good poetry, or whatever you call it, without chewin' it. Such was never the case, however, when it came to “Across The Universe.” “It's one of the best lyrics I've written,” he proudly stated in 1970, adding, “in fact it could be the best. Expressions like “a piece of garbage, “another piece of garbage,” “just a throwaway song,” “pure commercial writing,” “it doesn't mean a damn thing” and “I always hated it” were predominantly heard whenever John was asked about his songwriting contributions to The Beatles. Being one of the most prolific, well-respected and highly acclaimed composers of the rock 'n' roll era, Lennon is known for publicly downplaying and/or showing outright disgust for his compositions. John Lennon definitely falls into this category. ![]() It has been said that, in many cases, we can be our own worst critic.
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