Julia (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Julia" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| from the album The Beatles | ||
| Released | 22 November 1968 | |
| Recorded | 13 October 1968 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2:54 | |
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon-McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| The Beatles track listing | ||
| I Will (16 of disc 1) |
"Julia" (17 of disc 1) |
Birthday (1 of disc 2) |
"Julia" is a song by The Beatles. It is the final song on side two (or disc one, in the CD era) of the band's 1968 album, The Beatles (often called the "White Album").
[edit] Origins
"Julia" was written by John Lennon, and features Lennon on vocals and acoustic guitar. It was written during The Beatles' 1968 visit to India, where they were studying under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was here Lennon learned the song's finger picking guitar style from the Scottish musician Donovan.
"Julia" was written for John's mother Julia Lennon, who was struck by a car driven by a drunk policeman in 1958. It was also written for his wife Yoko Ono, whose first name, which literally means "child of the sea" in Japanese (洋子), is echoed in lyrics such as "Oceanchild, calls me."
The first two lines of the song – "Half of what I say is meaningless/ But I say it just to reach you, Julia" – were adapted from the poem "Sand and Foam," by the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran. The original line is: "Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you." The line, "When I cannot sing my heart/I can only speak my mind" is taken from the line, "When Life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind," from the same work.
[edit] Cover interpretations
"Julia" has been covered by Ramsey Lewis, Bongwater, Chocolate Genius, Jean-Louis Trotignon, Medeski Martin & Wood, and John's and Yoko's son, Sean Lennon. Sean performed the song live on October 2, 2001 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, as part of the Come Together – A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music concert special.
According to record producer Butch Vig, "Julia" was sometimes played by Kurt Cobain at Nirvana recording sessions in 1991[1]. Dave Grohl, ex-Nirvana drummer and singer/guitarist of the Foo Fighters, has said that his life would be complete if he could write a song like "Julia."[2]
[edit] Cultural legacy
It is believed that the character Julia on the anime series Cowboy Bebop takes her name from this song. This is one of many references to classic rock songs in the series.
