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Writer's pictureTommy Sangchompuphen
Nov 5, 2022

Learning from The Beatles (Part 3 - Songs 21 to 30)

Here's the third installment of how I can tie almost every Beatles song back to some important legal rule or tip for the bar exam. Check out "Learning More from The Beatles" and "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" for the first two installments.


The following list contains another 10 songs.


(Bom bom bom bom bompa bom)

Sail the ship (bompa bom)

Chop the tree (bompa bom)

Skip the rope (bompa bom)

Look at me.


(All together now), All together now,

(All together now), All together now,

All together now!



Criminal Law: Conspiracy is one of the three inchoate crimes tested on the bar exam, along with attempt and solicitation. Common law conspiracy requires: (i) an agreement between two or more persons; (ii) an intent to enter into an agreement; and (iii) an intent to achieve the objective of the agreement.


Tip: Under the traditional definition of conspiracy, the agreement itself was sufficient to establish the requisite actus reus (physical act). Today, most states require a separate overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, although mere preparation is usually sufficient to meet the actus reus requirement.



I can’t believe it’s happened to me.

I can’t conceive of any more misery.

Ask me why

I’ll say I love you and I’m always thinking of you.



Evidence: A question that calls for an opinion or conclusion that the witness is not qualified or permitted to make is improper.


Tip: The question—“Why did your neighbor think that?”—is an improper question. The witness could not know his neighbor’s thoughts. Therefore, the witness is not permitted to give his opinion as to his neighbor’s thoughts.



Blackbird singing in the dead of night,

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.

All your life,

You were only waiting for the moment to arise.


(Album: The Beatles (the "White Album"))


Constitutional Law: Paul McCartney said he wrote this song in response to the ongoing civil rights movement in America in the 1960s. According to McCartney, he was relaying a message of hope: “I had in mind a black woman, rather than a bird. Those were the days of the civil rights movement, which all of us cared passionately about, so this was really a song from me to a black woman, experiencing these problems in the States: 'Let me encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith, there is hope.'" The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Thirteenth Amendment prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude and also empowers Congress to end any lingering badges and incidents of slavery.


Tip: The Thirteenth Amendment can prohibit racially discriminatory action by anyone—whether by the government or by a private actor. Usually, private conduct does not have to comply with the Constitution, exception under certain exceptions.


24. Boys


Well, I talk about boys (yeah, yeah, boys)

Don’t ya know I mean boys (yeah, yeah, boys)

Well, I talk about boys, now (yeah, yeah, boys)

Aah (yeah, yeah, boys)

Well, I talk about boys, now (yeah, yeah, boys)

What a bundle of joy! (yeah, yeah, boys)



Torts: Every intentional tort requires that the element of intent be proven. That intent can be either specific (the defendant’s purpose in acting is to bring about the consequences of his conduct) or general (the defendant knows with substantial certainty that the consequences of his conduct will result).


Tip: Age is not a valid defense to an intentional tort—even for young boys like five-year-old Brian Dailey!. Under the majority view, minors (as well as incompetents) will be liable for their intentional torts. In other words, they are held to possess the requisite intent.



You say yes, I say no,

You say stop, and I say go, go, go,

Oh no.

You say goodbye and I say hello, hello, hello,

I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello, hello, hello,

I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello.



Evidence: For the purpose of impeaching the credibility of a witness, a party may show that the witness has, on a prior occasion, made statements that are inconsistent with some material part of his present testimony. Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, an inconsistent statement may be proved by either cross-examination or extrinsic evidence.


Tip: In most cases, prior inconsistent statements are hearsay, admissible only to impeach the witness. However, where the statement was made under oath at a prior proceeding or in a deposition, the statement is characterized as nonhearsay and may be admitted as substantive proof of the facts stated.



I’ve got to admit, it’s getting better,

A little better all the time.

I have to admit, it’s getting better,

It’s getting better since you’ve been mine.



Evidence: Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, evidence of repairs or other precautionary measures made following an injury is inadmissible to prove negligence, culpable conduct, a defect in a product or its design, or a need for a warning or instruction. The public policy rationale behind this evidentiary rule is to encourage people to make such repairs.


Tips: Although evidence of subsequent remedial measures is not admissible to prove negligence, etc., this evidence may still be admissible to prove ownership or control, to establish the feasibility of precautionary measures when such feasibility is disputed, and to prove that the opposing party has destroyed evidence



Childlike no one understands,

Jackknife in your sweaty hands,

Some kind of innocence is measured out in years.

You don’t know what it’s like to listen to your fears.



Torts: A property owner may only use reasonable force to defend property. Force that will cause death or serious bodily harm is not reasonable unless the invasion of property also entails a serious threat of bodily harm to the owner. In this instance, the property owner may then invoke the defense of self-defense and use deadly force.


Tip: A property owner may not use indirect deadly force such as a trap, spring gun, or vicious dog—say, like a bulldog—when such force could not lawfully be directly used.



I got something to say that might cause you pain;

If I catch you talkin' to that boy again,

I'm gonna let you down and leave you flat.

Because I've told you before:

Oh, you can't do that.



Torts: Products liability refers to the liability of a supplier of a defective product to someone injured by the product. The defect can be a manufacturing defect, a design defect, or a defect based on inadequate warnings or instructions.


Tip: A product must have clear and complete warnings of any dangers that may not be apparent to users. However, courts have required suppliers to anticipate reasonably foreseeable uses even if they are “misuses” of the product.



She said I know what it’s like to be dead,

I know what it is to be sad,

And she’s making me feel like I’ve never been born.

I said who put all those things in your head,

Things that make feel that I’m mad,

And you’re making me feel like I’ve never been born.


(Album: Revolver)


Evidence: Hearsay make up about one-third of the multiple-choice questions on the MBE and historical appear in 75 percent of the MEE questions since 2008. The formal definition of hearsay is rather straightforward: “Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.” An out-of-court statement is not hearsay if it is offered to prove anything other than the truth of the matter it asserts.


Tip: The following statements are not hearsay because they are offered for purposes other than the truth or what they assert: statements of independent legal significance (like words of contract or defamatory words); statements offered to show their effect on the listener; statements offered to show speaker’s knowledge; and statements offered to show state of mind.



Slow down

Baby, now you’re movin’ way too fast

You gotta give me little lovin’

Give me little lovin’

Aw! If you want our love to last



Torts: A clearly stated specific duty imposed by the statute (like a speed-limit statute) can replace the general duty of care element for common law negligence. For the statute to apply, the plaintiff must show: (i) that the plaintiff is in the class intended to be protected by the statute, and (ii) that the statute was designed to prevent the type of harm that the plaintiff suffered.


Tip: Speed limits are established for normal driving conditions—not for hazardous conditions caused by poor weather. Compliance with a statute does not establish freedom from fault.


“The End”

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