The Beatles and Stones were just hit with a new British tax (90% of all earnings over 250,000 pounds) The Stones moved to the South of France, and Lennon tried to escape to NY a couple years later.
After Rubber Soul, the Beatles recorded what some regard as their best album. Listening to the entire record, it is astonishing how diverse the songs are from one another.
George gets the opening track on an LP! The opening line "Let me tell you how it will be" really lays out their future path - no longer being a commodity for the record companies/contracts but being artists true to their Muse.
This song was so ahead of its time when it came out. It's very intense and also has a psychedelic side that had only made an appearance in a few bands at that time (The Yardbirds, for one). You hear Indian influences in the guitar solos. They are really showing off here--showing what accomplished musicians and singers they are.
Such a great opening song by George Harrison! The entire album Revolver is considered one of their best albums and really started off the whole Psychedelic Era that led to Sgt. Pepper's and Magical Mystery Tour. It's my favorite time period in their career 1965-1967. Listen to Strawberry Fields Forever and I Am the Walrus for two of their great John songs!
what a lot of people overlook in this song is the percussion sounding like coins being dropped in a can-the little details that the Beatles put into their music that make them stand above all others.
I really like that you listen to the entire song, before discussing it! Thanks! Isn't "Taxman" a fantastic mix of instruments, vocals, and great lyrics?
"There's one for you, nineteen for me...". In pre decimal days there were 20 shillings in the Pound, The Beatles were being taxed at the highest rate, which meant they only kept one shilling (12 pence) for every Pound they earned.
F.Y.I, the pennies on the eyes refers to an ancient burial custom whereby coins were placed on the eyes of the deceased in order to pay Charon, the ferryman who carried you across the river Styx into the underworld of the afterlife. It's a way of saying you will be taxed even after you die.
You did a great recap of the lyrics after just listening & enjoying and reacting to the music. Some reaction / reviewers spend too much time analyzing the lyrics and miss the whole "feel of the music". I can't remember how many times over the years I loved a song for the feel of it, the pulse, and the musicality and then realized later, "oh yeah", the lyrics are really good too! Ha! Good job.
Too many solos ? Maybe it's because it's the same solo. Maybe that's why you made the comment,. The solos in the song were hooks. They fit perfectly, The song would fade out too much if they were taken out, They are suppose to be loud so they climax for the bridge.
In 1966, the top rate of income tax was 90% - and that's a marginal tax rate that kicks in only when your income reaches £500K (today's spending power). If that top marginal rate became close to their effective tax rate would indicate how much income they were receiving - enough to make the £500K below that rate negligible. There were higher tax rates on non-income, I believe - share dividends, capital gains &c and I think this song follows them have received really poor financial advice about some of their investments resulting in an unnecessarily high tax burden.
