Beatles: Revolution #9 Meaning

Song Released: 1968

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Revolution #9 Lyrics

[Bottle of Claret for you if I had realised…

Well, do it next time.

I forgot about it, George, I'm sorry.
Will you forgive me?

Yes.]

Number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9,...

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   anonymous

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   Apr 10th 2010, 18:52 report

   
   

   I heard somewhere it was all just Subliminal messages....

   
   
   
   

2.  

   anonymous

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   Feb 20th 2010, 14:44 report

   
   

   Take this brother, and may it serve you well. LSD ANYONE? Its obvious!!

   
   
   
   

3.  

   anonymous

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   Feb 17th 2010, 18:28 report

   
   

   Pauls dead
   
   turn me on dead man
   
   -__-
   scary shit right there
   
   i'm scared

   
   
   
   

4.  

   anonymous

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   Feb 14th 2010, 14:47 report

   
   

   Its simply a dead on interpretation of an acid trip,just like the Mighty Zeps' Dazed and confused,and whole lotta love.

   
   
   
   

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   anonymous

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   Nov 29th 2009, 14:47 report

   
   

   I thought it was John being fed up with Paul's Ob-la-di-type songs, so he made this weird thing..

   
   
   
   

6.  

   sisterpaul

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   Nov 18th 2008, 00:05 report

   
   

   The song starts out "Can you take me back where I came from can you take me back?" And there is Yoko saying "When you become naked", and also there is a heat beat somewhere in there. Maybe by "being naked" they meant stripped of all the belief systems and brainwashing one has through life. My interpretation is that if one strips away their entire belief system, it is a chaotic and crazy journey. John was always into finding out the reality of himself. I saw this song as the journey back to the core self. Although it may be the very hard to listen to, knowing John and Yoko, it wasn't just junk to them. And the above #9 interpretations of birthdates may fit along with my interpretation.

   
   
   
   

7.  

   marinus

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   Nov 13th 2008, 18:27 report

   
   

   Only John & Yoko are responsible for this joke of a song, how they managed to persuade the others to include it...probably only because it was a double album. But the funy thing is it works somewhat, it's intriguing, though not enjoyable. It's a bit like an lsd trip or something, and it definitely has contributed to the album's status over the years though arguably for the wrong reasons. But I find somehow it fits perfectly onto the white album, plus it's followed by Goodnight which brings everything back to normal and kind of wakes you up from the nightmare

   
   
   
   

8.  

   anonymous

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   Sep 24th 2008, 17:08 report

   
   

   Just throwing this out but the reason number 9 appears in many of these different Beatles songs and later in john's solo albums (#9Dream) etc. Is because the number nine has impacted John Lennon in so many ways like he was born on the ninth, Sean was born on the ninth, he married Yoko on the ninth and many others also each song referring to nine in one way or another opens up John's direct emotions at that time...in my opinion

   
   
   
   

9.  

   anonymous

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   Jun 16th 2008, 16:01 report

   
   

   Okay. This isn't real music, people. I've never met a Beatles song I didn't like, but this one's my least favorite, you know? It's artistic, but it's also really disturbing.
   
   John and Yoko were into a fantastically bizarre style of art that quite frankly, I don't understand. Personally, I think this song is a way to express many ideas at the same time and perhaps just to make a statement about music and poetry. Although, quite honestly, I can't hear what's going on with the dialog. I never knew it said all of what it does until I read the lyrics. Go figure. Better luck next time, all you crazy artists out there.
   
   -Ashleigh

   
   
   
   

10.  

    dangatsby

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    Jan 15th 2008, 01:16 report

    
    

    Let's be clear that Paul's death was metaphorical of growing up. Dieing to yourself. On SNL, Chris Farley asked, "Remember when you put all those hidden messages that you died... well...was. That real?" And Paul says, "No, I didn't REALLY die." Getting over your own heart aches for the billions of others in this world.
    
    It is randomness though, and that's appropriate. John said that it was a sound collage of a revolution boiling. It may be an emotional and experiential depiction of the frightening terrors of being alone and growing up. Facing just yourself for eternity is hell.
    
    If you've ever had a bad trip, and remember what you felt while you feel the textoral effects of the sound in this piece, it will be more clear.
    
    Unadulterated fear!
    
    -Danny

    
    
    
    

11.  

    anonymous

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    Jan 13th 2008, 19:16 report

    
    

    I wish I could believe there was some really cool meaning behind this song...but it's not. Originally a piece of avant-garde music created by John and Yoko which the other 3 didn't want to be included. John comments "the whole thing was made with loops. I had classical tapes, going upstairs and chopping them up, make it backwards and things like that, to get the sound effects.
    
    One thing was an engineers testing tape and it would come up with a voice saying "this is EMI Test series number 9" Paul is heard playing piano and John was born on Oct 9. 9 is his favorite number. Thats what JOHN quoted to the public. why would the Beatles add to the Paul is dead rumor? that was created by the public. not them.
    
    For those who don't know, some idiot American DJ Russ Gibbs from a Detroit FM station, stated that Paul and the others got in an argument at abbey road studio 9 and Paul stormed out and got decapitated in a crash. In the Abbey road cover there are "signs" like Paul being barefoot which is a mafia (Grecian) sign of death. also Paul holds a cig in his right hand when everyone knows Paul is a lefty. That is apparently a clue of an impostor with an incredible plastic surgeon to fill in for Paul. Also the registration number 28IF on the Volkswagen car in the background indicated Paul would have been 28 IF he lived. Paul actually was 27 at the time.
    
    Paul told another DJ Paul Gambaccini "I just turned up at the photo session. It was a really nice hot day and I think I wore sandals. I had me sandals off and on for the session....turns out to be some old mafia sign of death or something." I think everything about this rumor was the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

    
    
    
    

12.  

    anonymous

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    Sep 26th 2007, 23:27 report

    
    

    The song is seriously disturbing. Backwards it not only has "turn me on dead man." It has Yoko Ono say, "Satan look at me, Satan. Look at me Satan." At the very end (the beginning when played backwards) is Paul singing "take me back" and he's screaming through out the whole thing. Among all the hidden stuff in this song, I think, for the most part it is about Paul's death.

    
    
    
    

13.  

    anonymous

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    Jul 21st 2007, 13:23 report

    
    

    Miss him is on I'm so tired, actually

    
    
    
    

14.  

    anonymous

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    Jul 18th 2007, 14:47 report

    
    

    The "miss him" part is the end of I'm only sleeping...I think.....revolution 9 backwords says "turn me on, dead man. Turn me on, dead man."

    
    
    
    

15.  

    anonymous

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    Jul 18th 2007, 04:47 report

    
    

    Personally I think it just a song they made so tripping people would listen to it and be like "whoa that's weird, we should look really deep into this." It's a song to make you trip harder by putting in ambient noises and weird gibberish. They pump so much arbitrary nonsense into this song that it can't have a meaning. None of the things are the song are even loosely connected. I think it was just an idea that the Beatles had when they were stoned or tripping and decided that it was weird enough for the white album and that it would make a bunch of trippin hippies do a double take, listen to it again, and then trip a little harder because they mind is going a million miles a second trying to follow and interpret everything they are hearing.
    
    -the almighty bob

    
    
    
    

16.  

    anonymous

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    May 1st 2007, 19:35 report

    
    

    Backwards it says John is gone, MISS HIM MISS HIM.. The site is Jeffmilner.com/backmasking.
    I think it was before he died...

    
    
    
    

17.  

    anonymous

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    Apr 22nd 2007, 12:51 report

    
    

    Pure randomness.... no, no joke

    
    
    
    

18.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 11th 2007, 22:51 report

    
    

    I think that this song talks about the dead of Paul mc cartney its suposstly that Paul die in a car accident and the Paul that we see today its a double like in the movies!!! and in the song if you ask for the lyrics you can see that it said metaphoric that something big its going down and in this time the beatles said that they were bigger than god so I think they will loose all the fame and all that so they contract in secret a double and that`s it that`s my theory n.n good luck

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

19.  

    messiah_says

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    Oct 10th 2006, 23:45 report

    
    

    Charles Manson's interpretation was that it represented "revelation" chapter 9 in the bible. In it he draws connections between the Beatles, and their hippies through the symbolism in the bible. The Beatles, and this song, then became a indicator of the end times.