No. 052 - The Beatles’ “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” changed my life

A sixth-grade music class gone rogue and the unusual song structure Jason Matu aspires to emulate

Aug 16, 2024

This Song Changed My Life is an independent music publication featuring essays from people all around the world about the songs that mean the most to them. Created by Grace Lilly, supported by readers.

• 3 min read •

Somehow, my elementary school music teacher got to listen to and talk about his favorite records for my entire sixth-grade music class and get paid for it.

This is what he did at work.

“Class” consisted of Mr. So-and-So, having an avowed aversion to the cutting-edge compact disc technology of the time, selecting records from his vast collection of vinyl to exemplify each genre of music in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. This passed as music education in Western New York in the 1990s, and I for one am eternally grateful for this obvious folly from on high.

Personally, I don’t agree with the approach. Any self-respecting fan of music will tell you that there are only two genres of music — good and bad — but I digress. I did love learning about the history of music and getting my first taste of the legends associated with that fine institution called rock ‘n’ roll.

At this early point in my allotted three score and ten, I was already an avid fan of music, having been born with that peculiar mental condition that is the love of song. What can I say? Grandpa played the honky-tonks and bars — although I did not know that back then; it was a dark family secret kept from me to trick me into going to college.

By this time, I had figured out that every song consisted of essentially the same form: a repeating intro, verse and chorus, and a bridge once or twice. Sometimes it was mixed up a bit, but that was essentially it.

Then we came to that seminal moment in the history of United States pop-rock music, the British Invasion. Naturally, one of the groups we covered was The Beatles. They were so-called, I was told, because their music had a beat in it.

We listened to numerous selections of songs interspersed with apocryphal takes on Beatles lore from Mr. So-and-So — for instance, if you listen to the White Album backwards it says that “Paul is Dead.” I can recall hearing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” which did not impress me much back then, and “Revolution 9,” which we listened to for some totally inexplicable reason.

The song that really blew my mind, though, was “Happiness Is a Warm Gun.”

This song did not have a single part that repeated. Each part was so musically distinct, and they were all great. Despite the fact that each part was so different, they all came together perfectly.

Then there were the words. I had never heard such rich, image-filled lyrics.

I had absolutely no idea what they meant, but I knew they had to hold the secret to the meaning of life, the universe, everything. If only I could discover the source of the magic that made this music work, I too could be imbued with the same knowledge of those fundamental secrets. The sound of it took me to another place.

Since then, I have taken to writing my own songs.

On countless occasions, I have tried to write a three-part song with no repeating parts that is poetry from beginning to end. I have yet to make one that actually works in any way that is something even remotely like “Happiness Is a Warm Gun.” And I have certainly not released any of these experiments. But I hope I will one day.

You know what they say, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.” ◆

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About Jason

Jason Matu is a folk-rock singer-songwriter in Brooklyn, New York. He and his various groups have played all across the U.S. of A. He is looking forward to doing so again soon-ish.

Instagram @jason.matu

⭐ Recommended by
Matthew Miller (No. 014)

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