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Roger : No. I think it was very relevant when I wrote it, and actually I think it's even more relevant today. It's very basically saying that what they teach us in schools is all very fine, but what about what they don't teach us in schools that creates so much confusion in our being.

I mean, they don't really prepare us for life in terms of teaching us who we are on the inside. They teach us how to function on the outside and to be very intellectual, but they don't tell us how to act with our intuition or our heart or really give us a real plausible explanation of what life's about. There's a huge hole in the education. I remember leaving school at 19, I was totally confused.

That song really came out of my confusion, which came down to a basic question: please tell me who I am. I felt very lost. I had to educate myself in that way, and that's why California was very good for me to kind of re-educate myself, if you like. But it's interesting that that song, I hear it all the time, it's quoted in schools so much.

I've been told it's the most-quoted song in school. That may be because it has so many words in it that people like to spell. But I think it also poses that question, and maybe stimulates something with students. I hope so. Before speaking with Roger, we sent him this quote he made in at interview with the British music publication. Melody Maker : "Rock 'n' roll is just touching upon what's possible with music.

I think of what we're doing as being very primitive. We haven't even begun to explore. The power of music has been forgotten. The ancients knew it, and we're rediscovering it very slowly. Music has the power to heal, to hypnotise, to make people totally sad, happy, joyous. I'd like to find out how to do all those things. Roger : I'm not sure about that. I think pop songs actually add to the confusion. I think that unfortunately we've really trivialized music in general.

I really think that the intention of music is there's no end to it, and we're using it in a very, very trivial way. And lyrically as well. I think artists should be represented in the better part of human nature, if you like, the part that wants to explore deeper issues and deeper things within themselves.

That's the job of the artist, in a way. But there aren't too many artists, to tell you the truth, who inspire me. I think we've lost that. Whereas, when I was growing up, with The Beatles and all the bands and the artists that were around then, I had so much that was inspiring me, and it's sad to see so little inspiration coming from modern day artists. Songfacts : That leads me to my next question. What do you think about that?

Roger : Well, initially I had words with them, because they didn't ask me. But that was a technical thing. Funny enough, normally I don't like my compositions being tampered with, but there was something just very infectious about what they did, and I actually enjoyed what they wrote juxtaposed against what I wrote.

It's interesting, though, "Breakfast in America" kind of made their career. It's amazing. Songfacts : Yes, it did. And it's interesting, because I had a chance to talk to the drummer in the band. He said that he really liked that album and was playing it around the time they were working on their album, and they ended up incorporating it into their music. Do you feel like re-contextualizing music can be as creative as starting from scratch with a new melody and new lyrics?

Roger : Whoa. You're talking to the wrong guy. I don't know. That's a difficult question to answer. Freddie Mercury was always adding another "Galileo. Elton John thought "Bohemian Rhapsody" was too "weird" for the radio. The huge success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" is due in part to one DJ. Promoting "Bohemian Rhapsody" proved problematic. Log in Sign Up. New Reading List. Send to Friend. Where stories live. Okay, Thanks. Booking information Close. The Beatles Story exhibition is now open!

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