(Picture Copyright AMC)
Last Sunday’s episode of Mad Men ended with Don Draper putting on a copy of the Beatles’ Revolver on his turntable and listening to “Tomorrow Never Knows” at the suggestion of his wife, Megan. Megan suggested that he pay specific attention to the track and that it would help him understand what The Beatles meant to the younger generation. The scene ends with Draper confused by the adventurous track, turning it off about a third of the way through.
This isn’t the first time that Draper has come into contact with The Beatles. In the previous season, he took his daughter to see them play at Shea Stadium, who screamed in delight when he told her the news over the phone. A few episodes back, he was caught humming the tune to “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, describing it as “catchy”. It should come as no surprise that business man Draper would be turned off by “Tomorrow Never Knows” with its psychedelic sound, Hindi-inspired lyrics, tape-loops, distorted vocals and thumping drums. It’s the sound of a revolution coming culturally and musically, and Draper’s decision to turn it off shows exactly which side he is on.
“Tomorrow Never Knows” is the most experimental song The Beatles would record as a band. (True, they would release “Revolution #9″ two years later, but that’s a collage of sounds, not really a song and the product of John and Yoko, not the entire band.) It’s a far cry from the bouncy pop of “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “Love Me Do”, “A Hard Day’s Night”, etc. The Existential lyrics adapted from the The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, deal with the afterlife, the Hindu concept of Nirvana, and life itself. ”Lay down all thoughts and surrender to the void,” Lennon commands, something that the workaholic Draper would never even consider.
For The Beatles to record such a track was a brave and bold move. They were the world’s biggest band, everything they did was seen as a significant cultural event. With Revolver and “Tomorrow Never Knows”, The Beatles were staking a claim that rock music was growing up and could go anywhere – even to the top of the Himalayas. Even Bob Dylan who was recording highly influential and mind-bending songs around the same time, didn’t have the same mass appeal that the Beatles did. I can’t see Megan asking Don Draper to play “Desolation Row” or Gate of Eden”.
Even today, “Tomorrow Never Knows” remains of The Beatles’ most acclaimed tracks. It may not be a casual fans favorite like “Hey Jude” or “Yesterday” but it is constantly listed as one of the greatest songs of all time in numerous publications. It’s a song that no matter how many times you hear it, it takes you somewhere unexpected. Sometimes its the lyrics, other times it’s the music. When I bought The Beatles’ remasters in 2009, the first track I listened to was “Tomorrow Never Knows” and I played it 5 times in a row without getting tired of it.
And despite its drug-fueled vibe (and that has to be mentioned), the song never sounds dated or hokey. It’s certainly tied to its time in some manners, but it still sounds fresh and exciting every single time. The Beatles never recorded another track like it, and neither has anyone since.
