Thursday, July 30, 2015

Here Comes the Sun: Why Weather Influenced the Music of the '60s


Over 900 songwriters or singers have written or sung about weather, the most common being Bob Dylan, followed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, according to British researchers, writing in the journal Weather. Sixteen percent, or 48, of The Beatles' 308 songs are weather-related.  Weather plays a powerful role in our lives so it should be no surprise that the theme is played out in the music songwriters and singers produce, researchers said. "I think they simply wrote about aspects of the world that they enjoyed or inspired them. They have lots of good catchy music tunes, so that helps too," Dr. Sally Brown of the University of Southampton, which is part of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research said. Brown and other Tyndall researchers uncovered 759 popular songs with a weather connection, with about 7 percent of the top 500 songs being weather-related. The group has developed a database of the songs and is looking for any additions it may have missed. As songwriters, The Beatles made deep connections with their audience about the nature of the human condition, according to Beatles' expert Dr. Kenneth Womack, dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth University in New Jersey. "Not surprisingly, we often find ourselves speculating about the weather and its role in our lives," Womack said. "For The Beatles, the weather acts as a touchstone for understanding our humanity. Witness such classic numbers as 'Here Comes the Sun, 'Rain' and 'I'll Follow the Sun' -- tracks that connect the external world with our internal experiences." "We were also really surprised on how much weather was mentioned just in passing in songs," she said. "Good examples of this are in the Beach Boys' 'Sunlight Plays Upon Her Hair' and in 'Good Vibrations.' Many songwriters just write about their environment, and weather is just part of that." For example, George Harrison wrote "Here Comes the Sun" on the day of the first sunshine of the year in April 1969, Brown explained. "George Harrison stated, 'It was such a great release for me simply being out in the sun... The song just came to me,'" Brown said...more

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