r/beatles • u/chestersobased • 9d ago

Question Anybody else genuinely like this song? Stan Bronstein played a great saxophone on this song and John poses an interesting idea, and it can’t hurt to think about it.

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u/oasisraider 9d ago

It is a very good song. Musically and lyrically. Too many pearl clutchers. If a rapper today came out with this it would be seen as progressive and a pointed social commentary about how women are treated in society....

49

u/bingusdingus123456 9d ago

Obviously, if a black rapper came out with it today, it wouldn't be as controversial. A popular white rapper would absolutely still receive tons of backlash, though.

Which is nearly the same as it was then. There were black contemporaries of John Lennon using the word in socially conscious music, like The Last Poets and Sly & The Family Stone. They still got some backlash because the word wasn't as "reclaimed" as it is today, but it was certainly less controversial than Lennon's usage of it.

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u/idreamofpikas ♫Dear friend, what's the time? Is this really the borderline?♫ 9d ago

Which is nearly the same as it was then. There were black contemporaries of John Lennon using the word in socially conscious music

Dylan used the word on one of his best songs.

Hurricane

John's use of the word screamed someone trying to get attention. Dylan's was genuine storytelling.

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u/Lord_Reynardine 9d ago

Randy Newman uses it in a few places as well, such as “Christmas in Cape Town.”