Roz Warren
It’s been 50 years since the Beatles first came to America, but even if you’re 64, their songs are probably as fresh in your mind as they were when you first heard them. Don’t believe me? Just take this test.
Help! I need ____
l) a groupie
2) Instant Karma
3) somebody
All you need is ___
1) love
2) royalties
3) Yoko Ono
Picture yourself in a boat on a river with
1) Desmond and Molly Jones
2) Mr. Kite
3) tangerine trees and marmalade skies
She’s a woman who ___
l) follows my tour bus
2) screams through my concerts
3) understands
Her majesty’s a pretty nice girl but ___
1) the monarchy should be abolished
2) she owns too many Corgis
3) she doesn’t have a lot to say.
If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be
1) blue
2) true
3) a Jew
You know I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little piece of
1) cake
2) honey pie
3) mind
Let’s all get up and dance to a song that was a hit before
1) Beyonce was born
2) auto-tune
3) your mother was born
Everybody’s got something to hide except me and
1) the Walrus
2) my monkey
3) Rocky Raccoon
I’ll get by with a little help from
1) Bungalow Bill
2) LSD
3) my friends
Why don’t we do it in ____
1) a yellow submarine
2) an octopus’s garden
3) the road
Here comes the sun and I say ____
1) it’s all right
2) it’s uptight
3) where’s the sunblock?
Is there anybody going to listen to my story all about ___
1) Sexy Sadie, Eleanor Rigby and Polythene Pam
2) the girl who came to stay
3) the Beatlemaniac under my bed
The Magical Mystery Tour is coming to
1) take you away
2) teach you to pray
3) call it a day
And in the end, the love you make is equal to ____
1) the enjoyment you get from taking nostalgic pop quizzes
2) the great memories you have of a lifetime of enjoying Beatles songs
3) the love you take
Today’s music-lovers have a lot that we didn’t have back then. Digital downloads! Music videos! Illegal music sharing! But they’ll never know the joy of hearing “If I Fell” on a transistor radio or a just-purchased 45 for the very first time.
Those were the days, my friend.
(This piece first appeared on www.Zestnow.com.)