#9: The Beatles: When I’m Sixty Four: 1967
My mother kept scrapbooks, she must have had about 50 of them as they were divided equally and randomly between her 7 children. I have 7; so that makes 49! She also liked The Beatles and below is a rather grainy image from one of her scrapbooks of The Beatles in April 1964 receiving Great Britain’s Show Business Personality Award from the British Prime Minister, Mr Harold Wilson.
In those early days The Beatles were four lads from Liverpool making boppy, pop music, performing in suits and ties and whose hair was a little longer than the average short back and sides. They had a cult following and later in June of 1964, when Beatlemania arrived in Sydney, my mum followed the news about “her boys” as she called them. I think she had dubbed them by this name because it reminded her of her own four boys, pictured below.
There’s lots of good Beatles music and later memorable music by the individual members but for today I want to talk about the 1967song, first written by Paul McCartney when he was about 14 or 15 and then later rejigged by Lennon and McCartney and released on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Album.
Firstly, I want to say 64 is not old but when you are young it seems to be ancient; 64 is the number in the song but it’s not just about 64; it’s about 74, 84, 94. From my observations of life, I have concluded that real love is demonstrated in the way people treat each other as they grow old. When folks are young, life is about adventure, about building, about progress and moving forward. As the years mount up it is more about slowing down, about contentment, about looking after your health, about making the most of what you have and continuing to love. The saying that old age is not for sissies is spot on. I have a little saying that if life has not challenged you and taught you to be gracious and kind, old age is certainly the challenge that will put you to the test of gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
In a world where so many older folks are lonely and sad it is surely a blessing to have people around who love and care for you. Whether it be husbands and wives caring for each other or children caring for and about their aged parents or friends supporting each other or young people recognizing the worth and the wisdom implicit in a lifetime of experiences; When I’m Sixty Four is a reminder that we all get older and when we do, things change but love can last a lifetime.
Way leads onto Way 