“Taxman was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money
we were giving most of it away to taxes; it was and still is typical. Why
should this be so?”-George Harrison (Maxwell, 50)
Taxman
(Harrison)
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.
Don't ask me what I want it for (ah, ah, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (ah, ah, Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.
As you can see in the lyrics, George Harrison is a bit bitter about the
fact that most of his money is going to taxes. In fact, up until 1966, the
Beatles’ had been so busy touring that they hadn’t had the time to sit down
and examine how much money they were making and how much was being given to
the government. When they finally did, they realized that they didn’t have
as much money as they thought they did. You can also see that George
mentions the name of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and Leader of the
Opposition, Edward Heath. Obviously they were two very important government
figures at the time.
In my opinion this song still hold a lot weight today, and I have proof! The
song is currently being used in and H & R block commercial about taxes. I
think as long as there is money in the world this song will have some
weight to it. This song is a perfect example of the timelessness of the Beatles.
Click on the title of song to listen to it
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