1967 Reprise – love is all you need

By Adrian Brookes.

The angels of democracy dealt death to Vietnam
As civil rights uprisings erupted through the land
They marched the streets for justice, got cut down out of hand
And Hendrix played at Monterey, the summer of love was underway
Was it all a castle made of sand?

Hey, come and see! they cried
We’ll change the world with love
Right is on our side
And truth will be enough!
With our little hippy helpers we’ll find that blessed release
Then we’ll up and show the world the way of love and peace

See, all we wanna do is sow the seed
And get the word out: love is all you need

The guardians of morality said it’s a damned disgrace
After all we’ve done for you, you throw it back in our face
But they’re so full of hypocrisy, that scourge of the human race
To whine about promiscuity surpasses all credulity
When war brings peace and love’s a thing to hate

What would you have us think?
For we will not believe
That living on the brink
Is all we can achieve
We’re not so naïve that we can’t see through the lies
We’re here to make our own lives, not to be your sacrifice

So whatever it was that you were thinking of
Forget it! ’Cause all we need is love

The captains of industry faced questions from the board
What is all this peace talk that we cannot afford?
Can you just imagine where we’d be without our wars?
Where would all our profits go? We wouldn’t have a cent to show
Devising death is what we pay you for!

No need to keep you guessing
What makes this country tick
We’re sending out the message
With napalm to make it stick
The banality of evil’s in the monthly sales report
You’ve paid up all your taxes, now look at what they’ve bought

I know it grinds in hearts so full of greed
But it’s number one now: love is all you need

Those merchants of religion won’t leave you in the lurch
So go and cover your asses at Sunday morning church!
They’ll tickle your ears with scriptures—with a little selective search
And preach in all sincerity their gospel of prosperity
See—all God wants to do is make you rich!

But I read the word one day
’Bout what Jesus came here for
It said he came to make a way
To save and bless the poor
With love and not with money he went and paid the price
So if you won’t believe John Lennon, at least believe Jesus Christ

D’you hear those choirs of angels up above?
Seems everyone’s singing: all you need is love
Daaa-da-da-da-daaa!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adrian Brookes grew up in the English West Midlands but has lived most of his life in Australia. A former journalist and English teacher, he writes short fiction and songs.