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'And-I-will-lose-my-mind' - Images of mental illness in the songs of the Beatles

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Annette Hames

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Abstract

References to the mental distress conventionally associated with an unhappy love affair or tragic life-event are to be found in the lyrics of many songs in popular music. Implicitly or explicitly, such lyrics remind the listener that failure or frustration in personal relationships can have traumatic, even dangerous consequences. We have located our investigation of one well-known set of songs-those written and performed by the Beatles-within the context of the clinically observed categories of neurotic and psychotic mental disorders recognised by psychologists. In so doing, we hope to systematically analyse the ways in which various types of mental illness have been depicted in the group's songs, search for patterns in their presentation, and offer explanations for their composition. While such an examination may reveal much about the specific songwriting development of the Beatles, it might also help to illuminate more general contemporary attitudes towards the nature of mental illnesses.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Hames A, Inglis I

Publication type: Review

Publication status: Published

Journal: International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music

Year: 1999

Volume: 30

Issue: 2

Pages: 173-188

Print publication date: 01/12/1999

ISSN (print): 0351-5796

ISSN (electronic):

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