The first two songs on “The Beatles” (1968, aka “The White Album”)

The double album "The Beatles" (1968), or "The White Album", as fans immediately dubbed it, has so many songs I'll just comment on the first two's lyrics. Paul McCartney's "Back in the USSR" lives from its specificity, such as the BOAC flight from Miami Beach to the Soviet Union, and its humor, which peaks in the verse alluding to The Beach Boys song "California Girls": "Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out." John Lennon's "Dear Prudence" is much simpler in its address to Prudence, but it spins out variations on a theme, from "Won't you come out to play?" to "Open up your eyes" and "Let me see you smile." (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 3 July 2024)

The vividness of Paul McCartney’s “Penny Lane” and other songs on the US version of “Magical Mystery Tour”, by The Beatles (1967)

My posts on Beatles lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney have focused on the song lists on their UK releases. But the US version of "Magical Mystery Tour" supplements the six songs on the British EP with five extraordinary singles, including the brilliant pair of Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever" and McCartney's "Penny Lane". Those two are not only grounded in the songwriters' lives but also overflow with imagery, something completely absent from songs on the band's early albums. "Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes", McCartney sings – and the vivid descriptions of the barber, banker, fireman, and nurse make it live for our ears and eyes, too. (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 2 July 2024)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor summarizes the nonsensical implications of “Trump v. United States"

In her dissent in the aptly named "Trump v. United States" decision today, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotamayor explains the majority's ruling: "The majority makes three moves that, in effect, completely insulate Presidents from criminal liability. First, the majority creates absolute immunity for the President’s exercise of 'core constitutional powers.' [...] the second move [...] is to create expansive immunity for all 'official act[s].' [...] Finally, [...] evidence concerning acts for which the President is immune can play no role in any criminal prosecution against him. [...] That holding, which will prevent the Government from using a President’s official acts to prove knowledge or intent in prosecuting private offenses, is nonsensical." (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 1 July 2024)

 

The complete opinion is here.