Learning from The Beatles (Part 7 - Songs 61 to 70)
We're almost one-third of the way through the Beatles' entire musical catalogue!
With Songs 61 to 70, find out which song was Ringo Star's first solo composition with the Beatles, and which John Lennon-written song was sung by Ringo because Lennon thought providing his own vocals to the lyrics would tarnish his image.
61. Don’t Pass Me By
I listen for your footsteps coming up the drive,
Listen for your footsteps but they don't arrive,
Waiting for your knock dear on my old front door,
I don't hear it,
Does it mean you don't love me anymore?
(Album: The Beatles (the "White Album"))
Torts: “Don’t Pass Me By” was Ringo Starr’s first solo composition. He originally wrote the song in 1963, but it didn’t actually get recorded until the “White Album” in 1968.
A person owes all foreseeable plaintiffs a duty of reasonable care. The danger-invites-rescue doctrine states that when someone puts himself in peril, it's natural for others to attempt to rescue that person. This means that rescuers are foreseeable plaintiffs. Therefore, an individual can be liable if he negligently puts himself in peril and the rescuer is injured in attempting a rescue.
Tip: There is no duty to rescue. But once a rescuer begins to help an injured person, the rescuer must do so in a non-negligent manner—or else be liable for any additional injuries sustained by the injured person.
62. When I Get Home
Wo wo ah, wo wo ah.
I got a whole lotta things to tell her
When I get home.
Come on, on my way,
'cause I'm agonna see my baby today;
I've got a whole lotta things I gotta say to her.
(Album: A Hard Day’s Night)
Torts: John Lennon’s lyrics to “When I Get Home” are believed to have had something to do with his guilt towards his first wife, Cynthia, from whom he was absent for long periods of time.
Assault, as an intentional tort, is an affirmative act by the defendant with the intent to place the plaintiff in reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact to his person and that actually causes the plaintiff apprehension.
Tip: There is no assault if the defendant is too far away to do any harm or is merely preparing for a future harmful act. So, if the defendant says something like, “When I get home” to an at-home plaintiff (which, by the way, is a completely different context in which the Lennon song describes), then the immediacy requirement for assault is negated.
I want you
I want you so bad.
I want you.
I want you so bad,
It's driving me mad, it's driving me mad
She's so heavy, heavy.
(Album: Abbey Road)
Evidence: John Lennon wrote “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” about his love for Yoko Ono. The entire song contains just 14 different words and was one of the last songs ever recorded by the Beatles.
Federal Rules of Evidence 701 provides for the following: “If a witness is not testifying as an expert, testimony in the form of an opinion is limited to one that is: (a) rationally based on the witness’s perception; (b) helpful to clearly understanding the witness’s testimony or to determining a fact in issue; and (c) not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of Rule 702.” (FRE 702 provides the parameters for when a witness may testify as an expert.)
Tip: Under FRE 701, a witness is permitted to testify that an object was “heavy.”
64. The Inner Light
Without going out of my door
I can know all things on earth
Without looking out of my window
I could know the ways of heaven
The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows
(Album: Past Masters, Volume 2)
Evidence: This George Harrison composition was his first to be featured on a Beatles single. It was the B-side to Paul McCartney’s “Lady Madonna.” The lyrics are a rendering of the 47th chapter (sometimes titled "Viewing the Distant" in translations) of the Taoist Tao Te Ching.
Federal Rules of Evidence 805 defines “hearsay within hearsay.” Hearsay within hearsay—also referred to as “double hearsay”—is an out-of-court statement that incorporates other hearsay. It’s admissible only if both the outer hearsay statement and the inner hearsay statement fall within an exception to the hearsay rule.
Tip: A hospital record sometimes presents “hearsay within hearsay” issues. The record itself is the outer level of hearsay, which is usually examined under the business records exception to the hearsay rule (Rule 803(6)). The statement within the hospital record is the inner layer, which usually is examined under the statements for purpose of medical diagnosis and treatment exception to the hearsay rule (Rule 803(4)). The Evidence question from the February 2008 Multistate Essay Examination tested this very situation.
Just let me hear some of that
Rock and roll music
Any old way you choose it
It's got a back beat, you can't lose it
Any old time you use it
It's gotta be rock and roll music
If you want to dance with me
If you want to dance with me
(Album: Beatles For Sale)
Real Property: “Rock and Roll Music” was the second song that the Beatles covered from Chuck Berry—the first being “Roll Over Beethoven.” Berry’s version has been credited with defining rock and roll and providing the foundations for the Beatles and other bands.
There is an implied covenant in every lease that neither the landlord nor someone with paramount title (e.g., a prior mortgagee of the landlord who forecloses) will interfere with the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and possession of the premises.
Tip: The implied covenant of “quiet enjoyment” doesn’t exclusively deal with unwanted noise and sounds. But certainly, raucous neighbors living within an apartment complex and blaring “Rock and Roll Music” late into the evening hours could be a basis for a tenant to allege a breach of covenant against the landlord.
66. Sun King
Here comes the Sun King.
Ev'rybody's laughing
Ev'rybody's happy.
Here comes the Sun King.
Quando paramucho mi amore de felice carathon.
Mundo paparazzi mi amore cicce verdi parasol.
Questo abrigado tantamucho que canite carousel.
(Album: Abbey Road)
Criminal Procedure: The foreign part of the song—a garbled mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian—roughly translates to: “When for much my love that happy heart / World of paparazzi my love green girl parasol / This thank you so much cake an’ eat it Carousel.” Carousel is an English candymaker. John Lennon, who penned the lyrics, had called it “a piece of garbage.”
The Supreme Court has held that the Fourth Amendment doesn’t prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the curtilage of a home.
Tip: A defendant must have standing before raising Fourth Amendment violation. A defendant has standing only if his own reasonable expectations of privacy are violated. The U.S. Supreme Court, in California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988), held that an individual doesn’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage that is “readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public.”
You know my name, look up the number
You know my name, look up the number
You, you know, you know my name
You, you know, you know my name
(Album: Past Masters, Volume 2)
Real Property: The inspiration for this John Lennon-written song? The cover of a 1967 London telephone book, which had the tagline, “You know the name, look up the number.”
Land sale contracts and deeds must identify the land. The land may be described in various ways, such as by the name of the property or by a number and street system.
Tip: The description of the land need not be formal, but it must be unambiguous and be sufficient for a reasonable person to identify the property to be conveyed. Other ways to describe property include: by reference to a government survey, by metes and bounds, by courses and angles, by references to a recorded plat, and by reference to adjacent properties.
Let's all get up and dance to a song that was a hit
Before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long, long time ago,
Your mother should know, your mother should know.
Sing it again:
Let's all get up and dance to a song that was a hit
Before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long, long time ago,
Your mother should know, your mother should know.
(Album: Magical Mystery Tour)
Constitutional Law: “Your Mother Should Know” was used in the last scene of “Magical Mystery Tour,” where the four Beatles danced in tuxedos. Written by Paul McCartney, the Beatle said, “I was basically trying to say your mother might know more than you think she does. Give her credit.”
Parental rights are one of several privacy rights that are considered fundamental rights and, thus, laws restricting parental rights are subject to strict scrutiny. The right to privacy gives parents the fundamental right to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children. In other words, mothers (and other parental figures) should know how to raise their children.
Tip: Where a law limits a fundamental right—like the right to privacy—strict scrutiny applies, and the law will be upheld only if the government can establish that the law is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest. If a fundamental right isn’t involved, then rational basis applies (i.e., the challenger must establish that the law is rationally related to achieve a legitimate government interest. Keep in mind that intermediate scrutiny isn’t applicable when examining laws restricting fundamental rights. The only tests used are rational basis and strict scrutiny.
69. Long, Long, Long
It's been a long long long time
How could I ever have lost you
When I loved you
It took a long long long time
Now I'm so happy I found you
How I love you
(Album: The Beatles (the "White Album"))
Constitutional Law: George Harrison’s “Long Long Long” was inspired by his growing religious belief. The “you” in the lyrics was “God.”
The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t ever defined what constitutes a religious belief. However, it has made clear that religious belief need not require recognition of a supreme being nor arise from a traditional—or even an organized—religion.
Tip: The U.S. Supreme Court has never held an asserted religious belief to be not religious for First Amendment purposes.
70. Good Night
Good Night
Now it's time to say good night.
Good night, sleep tight.
Now the sun turns out his light.
Good night, sleep tight.
Dream sweet dreams for me.
Dream sweet dreams for you.
(Album: The Beatles (the "White Album"))
Criminal Procedure: Ringo Starr provided the vocals to “Good Night,” but John Lennon wrote the lyrics for his son, Julian. Lennon didn’t want the tender song to tarnish his image, so he gladly let his bandmate take credit for singing it.
A defendant must have standing before raising Fourth Amendment violation. A defendant has standing only if his own reasonable expectations of privacy are violated. The Supreme Court has held that a defendant has a reasonable expectation of privacy any time: (i) the defendant owned or had a right to possession of the place searched; (ii) the place searched was in fact her home, regardless of whether she owned or had a right to possess it; or (iii) the defendant was an overnight guest of the owner of the place searched.
Tip: What’s the connection to this Beatles song? Think of the owner of the place searched as a very hospitable host, saying “good night” to her overnight guest!
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