Across the Universe

At this early moment in my blog’s history I should probably go ahead and confess that I am actually almost as new a fan of the Beatles as I am a novice player of the guitar.  Of course, growing up in any English speaking culture means that it’s impossible not to be at least somewhat familiar with The Beatles, but I somehow avoided the “Beatles phase” that so many people seem to go through either in high school or college.

A few years ago, I decided it was time to finally figure out what the big deal was about these mysterious Beatles I had heard so much about, so I started working my way through the catalog in somewhat chronological order.  The only problem was that when I hit Abbey Road I was so blown away that I kind of got stuck on it and never got to Let it Be.

And boy was I missing out. “Across the Universe” is a beautiful piece of music.  Lyrically, this might be one of the best songs The Beatles ever produced and a fine example of John Lennon at the peak of his powers.

The first verse establishes a contrast between the universal (“they slip away across the universe”) and the personal (“waves of joy are drifting through my open mind/ Possessing and caressing me”) that will remain a theme throughout the song.  It also uses beautiful water imagery to mirror the fluidity of Lennon’s thoughts (“Words are flowing out like endless rain”).

All of this leads to the chorus, which only consists of a simple Sanskrit phrase (“Jai Guru Deva, Om”) and a repetition of the line “Nothing’s gonna change my world”.  A quick survey of the interwebs taught me that the Sanskrit phrase loosely translates to “I give thanks to the heavenly teacher, om,” but the literal meaning seems secondary to the serenity that the phrase establishes – a serenity that makes the chorus’s second line seem like a statement of acceptance and tranquility rather than one of lament or defiance.

The second and third verses follow in this tranquil strain.  Like the first verse, they continue to explore the paradox of balancing the individual psyche and its thoughts that  “meander like a restless wind inside a letter box” with finding joy in a universal “undying love which shines around [him] like a/Million suns.”  These verses also establish an interesting paradox by expressing a kind of meta-physical one-ness with the universe through very sensual imagery: the second verse focuses on visual imagery (“Images of broken light”) while the third utilizes sound  (“Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing”).

Of course, for an English PhD. like myself, analyzing the lyrics was the easy part.  Learning the guitar part took a little more work.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad and actually ended up reaffirming the value of this process for my guitar playing.  One of the reasons that I’m doing this is to force myself to learn more difficult skills rather than just sticking to songs that I can play easily.  “Across the Universe” was just the kind of song that I would usually have avoided for the simple reason that it contains my nemesis: barre-chords.

The barre chords in “Across the Universe,” though, aren’t too bad.  There are only a few of them and they are usually based on the “Em” shape, which is probably the easiest one to learn.  So, I spent the last few days forcing my hands to do something that’s contrary to everything the human hand has evolved to do and, eventually, getting them to cooperate.  I still don’t hit those chords perfectly each and every time but I get to them often enough (and fast enough) now that I actually look forward to the challenge they present in the song rather than dreading the moment when the music would previously have come to a crashing halt.

Other than the barre-chords, though, this song is relatively simple – after a brief introduction (which to me sounds a lot like the beginning of “Nowhere Man”, and that wasn’t too hard to learn with the help of a metronome) the song is really just strumming chords.

Despite (or perhaps because of) this simplicity, though, the music works with the lyrics beautifully.  Most of the chord changes happen in the verses and, from time to time, these verses briefly change time signatures, which took some getting used to (try counting the beat when he sings the line “across the universe” the first time and you’ll hear what I’m talking about).  The many chords and changing time signatures combine to reflect the paradoxes that are so important to the verses’ lyrical themes since the resulting rhythm feels simultaneously steady and unsettled.  It also helps to establish a contrast with the chorus, which consists of a steady rhythm and only a couple of very basic chord changes – thus musically reflecting the simple tranquility of the chorus’s lyrics.

All in all, this is a beautiful song and one that I’m glad to have added to my repertoire.

Now, I’m off to start practicing “Act Naturally”…

Lyrics to “Across the Universe”

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
Jai guru de va om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
That call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box they
Tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe
Jai guru de va om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing
Through my open views inviting and inciting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a
Million suns, it calls me on and on
Across the universe
Jai guru de va om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.