Conspiracy of the day
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- Gardener1
reposting from an email someone sent me:
I has been claimed The Beatles never wrote their own songs and essentially had others write for them. This person thinks the fact that there are medieval chord changes in some of their later songs demonstrates that four working class lads from Liverpool could not have written such a diverse range of songs. Explain this view from both angles please.
Of course. This is a fascinating and long-running conspiracy theory that touches on issues of class, genius, and the nature of artistry. Let's break down the arguments for and against the idea that The Beatles didn't write their own songs.The Case for Skepticism: "They Didn't Write Their Own Songs"
This perspective, often called the "Paul is Dead" hoax's more sophisticated cousin, is built on several interconnected ideas:The "Working-Class Lads" Trope: The core of the argument is a class-based assumption. The Beatles were presented as four scruffy, cheeky, working-class kids from Liverpool with limited formal education. The skepticism asks: How could such individuals, almost overnight, compose music that incorporated:
Complex Chord Changes: Moving beyond simple I-IV-V rock progressions to use augmented chords, minor sevenths, borrowed chords, and modulations (key changes) found in classical and jazz music.
Diverse Genres: Seamlessly writing in styles like Indian classical ("Within You Without You"), music hall ("When I'm Sixty-Four"), avant-garde ("Revolution 9"), and complex orchestral pop ("A Day in the Life").
Sophisticated Lyrics: Progressing from "yeah, yeah, yeah" to the poetic imagery of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" or the social commentary of "Eleanor Rigby."
The "Medieval Chord Changes" Argument: This is a specific point often raised. Songs like "Because" (from Abbey Road) are cited for their use of a Bach-inspired harpsichord and chord progressions that sound "ancient" or "classical." The skeptic's logic is: "How would John Lennon, a rock and roller, know what a Baroque-style chord progression sounds like? Someone must have fed it to him."
The Role of George Martin: The theory often points to their producer, George Martin, a classically trained musician and arranger nicknamed "the Fifth Beatle." Skeptics argue that his contribution was so profound that it crossed the line from arrangement into actual composition. He wrote the string quartet score for "Yesterday," the piano solo for "In My Life," and the iconic orchestral climax for "A Day in the Life." The question becomes: "Where does arrangement end and composition begin?"
The "Shadowy Ghostwriters" Idea: Some versions of the theory suggest that a team of anonymous session writers at their publisher, Northern Songs, penned the tunes. The Beatles, in this view, were merely the charismatic frontmen who delivered pre-written material.
The Incredible Pace and Output: The sheer volume and quality of their output from 1963 to 1969 is presented as evidence in itself. To skeptics, it seems superhuman, and therefore, must have been the work of a machine (a team of writers) rather than four individuals.
The Case for Authenticity: "They Were Geniuses and Prodigious Learners"
The mainstream historical and musicological view is that The Beatles were the primary creative force, and their evolution, while astonishing, is explainable.Overwhelming Documentary Evidence: The proof is in the process, and it is extensively documented.
Home Demos: Countless recordings exist of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison working out songs alone on acoustic guitar (e.g., the Esher demos for The White Album).
Session Tapes: Thousands of hours of studio session tapes show The Beatles presenting a basically finished song to George Martin and the band, who then work together to arrange it. Martin himself always stated his role was that of an interpreter and enhancer of their ideas.
Witness Testimony: Everyone who worked with them—from engineers to fellow musicians—corroborates the story that Lennon and McCartney arrived with the songs written.
The "Medieval" Music is Explainable: The argument about "medieval" or "Baroque" influences doesn't prove ghostwriting; it proves The Beatles were curious, voracious listeners and autodidacts.
They were exposed to diverse music. As their fame grew, they had access to every record imaginable. They were deeply influenced by artists who themselves used complex changes (e.g., Buddy Holly, Smokey Robinson, The Everly Brothers).
They actively sought new sounds. They were not passive. Harrison's interest in the sitar was genuine and led him to study under Ravi Shankar. McCartney's request for a "classical sounding" string arrangement on "Yesterday" was his idea, which he then hummed to George Martin to transcribe.
Drugs as a Catalyst: Psychedelics like LSD profoundly opened their minds to non-Western musical structures, sound textures, and abstract ideas, directly influencing albums like Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's.
The Competitive Partnership: The Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership was famously competitive. Each pushed the other to innovate and improve. This creative friction is a classic driver of artistic evolution and quality. They were each other's best critic and greatest inspiration.
They Were Not "Just" Working Class: This argument is fundamentally a classist stereotype. Extraordinary artistic talent can emerge from any background. Their working-class roots didn't mean they were unintelligent; it meant they were hungry, driven, and possessed a raw, energetic creativity untainted by formal rules, which they then bent to their will.
The Evolution is Visible: If you listen to their albums in order, the evolution is not a sudden jump but a clear, logical progression. Each album builds on the experiments of the last. The chord change from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1963) to "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967) is vast, but the stepping stones in between (Rubber Soul, Revolver) make it perfectly understandable.
Conclusion
The "Beatles didn't write their songs" theory is ultimately a refusal to believe in the phenomenon of natural, collaborative genius. It attempts to explain their unprecedented impact by inventing a more conventional narrative: a hidden team of experts.The established view accepts that their story is extraordinary but argues it is supported by an immense amount of evidence. It attributes their success to a perfect storm of unique talent, a synergistic partnership, a supportive and creative producer, boundless curiosity, the resources to explore it, and the cultural pressure-cooker of the 1960s that demanded constant innovation.
The "medieval chord changes" aren't proof of a ghostwriter; they are proof of a brilliant, self-taught musician (likely McCartney in the case of "Because") hearing something he liked in another piece of music and incorporating it into his own unique creative vision. That's not cheating; it's the very essence of how art evolves.
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