My short essay on “In My Life” for my Music Appreciation class

There are several reasons why I chose “In My Life” as my #1 song.  I think a good place to start is to mention the significance The Beatles had on pop culture and on music as a whole.  They were able to take seemingly simple melodies and merge them with complex sounds, which is a format that continues to make great popular music to this very day.  I would argue that a few of the other songs on my list have a great Beatles influence.  Brian Wilson himself has said many times that Rubber Soul, the album of which “In My Life” comes from was one of the primary influences of Pet Sounds, a Beach Boys album that featured “Caroline, No” which is another song on my list.  The Beatles also have had a significant presence throughout my life as well.  Since I was a little kid, I’ve been following their music and their history.  The individual members of the group alone have been great influences and as a writer and an artist, I never fail to see their importance in the world of music and art in general.  I chose “In My Life” because it’s one of the more personal songs written and sung by John Lennon during his time as a member of The Beatles and it’s also one of his most endearing.  It’s a love song but it’s also so much more than that.  The song’s narrator is singing about always living in the present but also never forgetting the people and the places that brought him where he is.  He chooses not to linger on those memories because he loves where he is today, but he will always acknowledge them and they’ll always be important to him.  Whenever I listen to the song, I always have specific people and places in my mind and it always brings a smile to my face and occasionally even a tear.  The melody is beautiful and is punctuated by a recurring guitar riff which opens the song.  The song also features a classical piano towards the end, an example of the eclecticism in the music of The Beatles.  It is not only a great song but it is a song that is always close to my heart.