The Gospel of John and Paul

There are times some writings need no explanation. They simply come to exist.

The Gospel of John and Paul

By

Carlos Lorenzo Estrada 

(The Saints of Liverpool) 

“And, in the end

The love you take

is equal to the love you make.” - The Beatles 

They were rebels 

These brilliant poets from Liverpool 

Defining a generation of youth

Who felt lost in the miasma of societal conformity 

Inspired by the blues of inequity and enslavement 

Whose rich haunting sorrows cried across the sea

A rebellion that sang to them in harmony and lyric

Rooted in the Southern strife of hate and despair 

White soul from the grace of a black cry for freedom 

Yesterday 

Let it be

All you need is love

Black bird singing in the dead of night

A gospel of Jude intonated within the heart of these young English men

And the world wept...and changed

In "Revolution"... came hope.

Author's Note

I was born in 65 and grew up listening to their music and will do for the rest of my remaining life. When I first picked up guitar at age 12 I did so specifically to learn my favorite song "Yesterday". It is so hauntingly melodic and quite easy to learn if I'm being honest. They changed the face of pop music for generations to come. And their influence still resonates today. They came at a turbulent time in history making music as the world began to fall apart around them. With great political leaders being assassinated. But despite the changing of the times their music never wavered from its message of profound peace and love. The Beatles. The greatest rock band in history of music.

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

I was 12 when the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan show. I fell in love with their music. I bought every album and I still enjoy listening to their music. The talent of each of the four Beatles is incomparable if you ask me. What a wonderful tribute to them. I liked it. Lydi**

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you Lydi, for your kind comment on this piece. I agree each one of them are talented on their own. And in their union created art that will live on for as long as humanity exists. I could not imagine living in a world without the songs of the Beatles in it. I'm saying this as I'm humming "here comes the sun". CLE

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I went through a phase where I listened to all the Beatles recordings. And another phase where I listened to all the Stones recordings. I'm still listening to The Who though. I like The Beatles later stuff and the Stones earlier stuff but I like everything and anything by The Who. Different strokes and all that jazz. I was listening to an Alison Krauss album one day (I'm a fan of bluegrass too) and I heard this song, "I Will". As a poet, I thought, you know, this is really good and I wonder if she wrote that. Then I looked at the credits and it read, lyrics and music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. I just had to laugh. I said, Oh...well, that makes sense. They really wrote some superb songs together.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

They truly did. And in their music is the purity of poetry. I wish I could have written the words, "the love you take is equal to the love you make. " For no statement can better define our existence as a species than those simple words of poetry. Thank you kindly my friend for sharing your thoughts with me. I also agree The Who are a pretty damn good band as well.

[Sami Khalil]

"English men



And the world wept...and changed




In "Revolution"... came hope."

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you Sami for sharing your thoughts with me on this remarkable group of poets we know as The Beatles. I mentioned it before in another comment that I can't imagine a world without the incredible poetry of this band. If the world would ever come to an end and there were no more people on this planet if aliens came all they would need to do in order to understand humanity as a species would be to listen to the songs of the Beatles. Than they would get exactly who we were. CLE

[Sami Khalil]

I totally agree. You are welcome sir Carlos...

[Sami Khalil]

"Let it be



All you need is love



Black bird singing in the dead of night"

[Sami Khalil]

I feel they were larger than life; awesome to say the least. I echo your thoughts about them. You wrote a fine, worthy tribute to them. They filled the airwaves and our hearts, ears with song. What struck me too is their humbleness regardless of all the fame and fortune.

[Ken Simm.]

I used to live in Liverpool and remember seeing them on a local TV station in black and white in 64 on the largest TV with the smallest screen. They were hugely influential in all the arts and this poem does them real justice.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you Ken for sharing your words and thoughts with me. It means so much to me that I was able to elicit that fond memory you have of them. They will forever resonate in my mind as a four year old hearing my mother humming "Yesterday" in 1968. To this day and beyond they continue to influence the many generations of poets and artists throughout the world. I can not imagine a world without the legacy of the Beatles in it. CLE

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

Carlos,

this piece set to pen of page is a fine tribute to a band and honorable group of men that I have admired since I heard them the first time on the radio and them first on The Ed Sullivan show ... Majestically well done, my friend ...

Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn de Graham

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you kindly Marvin for your comment. Each generation has their poets and artists. There are those that strip the bonds of common art to become iconic and revolutionary. The Beatles have more than reached this plateau and status. As long as time exists so to will their art. CLE

[Neville]

they were pretty darned good weren't they .. and what a FAB tribute to the FAB four sir .. Neville

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Yes they truly were and continue to be iconic. Imagine this fact that somewhere in the world there is someone who can't speak a word of English but can sing a Beatles song. They changed a world and generations after. The first song I can ever remember hearing was Yesterday. My mother sang it to me as a 4 yr old. And it remains to me to be the single most beautiful song of poetry I have ever heard. Thank you Neville for sharing your thoughts with me on this poem.

[Chris Shaw]

I have to agree the greatest group ever. There will never be another who have had the impact in the world of music that they have had. I had the great fortune to see them at the Astoria in Finsbury Park with my brother when I was 13. My friends were so envious and I have to say that was one of the best Christmas presents ever. Thank you for this fine tribute. Liverpool have produced the finest, including my husband :) Happy new year Carlos. All the very best to you.

Chris

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

That is such an incredible gift to be able to have seen them live. To witness history that will never happen in that way again. They defined a generation and changed world culture on how music is accepted into all hearts regardless of where one lives. I had an aunt that could barely speak a word of English but she loved the Beatles and would sing their songs. In my heart the song "Yesterday" will remain one of the greatest poems ever written into lyrical music. I was born in 65 but can remember that single song my mom once sang to me as I slept as a four year old. That song remains with me still. As I remember yesterday. CLE

[Pete]

i too was born in '65. you used some great sounding words. i can still hear the static of spinning vinyl and the click of 8 track tapes. nicely done carlos ... :)

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Your words are poetry themselves when describing the sounds of the music we grew up on Pete. I can still hear the clicks of spinning vinyl on my parents record player that was embedded into a rosewood furniture table bought in 68. The clarity of sound haunted me. Nothing compares to hearing Paul's vocals of Yesterday emanating from it, or even Stevie Wonder's My Cherie Amour. Music has never sounded more perfect than in those days. Thank you again my friend.