Across the Universe Day

I don't go to Beatles fan conventions and I don't really collect Beatles memorabilia (though I do own quite a small library of Beatles books), but I'm enough of a Beatles geek to participate in Across the Universe Day. From acrosstheuniverse.com:

"Monday, February 4th 2008 is the exact 40th anniversary of the Beatles recording their anthem of universal peace - "Across The Universe" - in 1968. To mark the occasion, Beatles fans worldwide are invited to play that Beatles song at the same time of day - creating a harmonic convergence around the globe. And the Beatles' universal message will NOT be restricted to Planet Earth! The US Space Agency NASA will play a major part in the celebrations by beaming the song "Across The Universe" literally Across The Universe! NASA is going to transmit the Beatles tune from a satellite antenna directly into outer space! And it will do this at the exact same time as fans Across The World are playing "Across The Universe!"

I'm working at the library tonight, at the public reference desk, but I'll have "Across the Universe" on my iPod, both the Let It Be mix and an alternate mix, and at 7:00 p.m., EST, which is when NASA will be doing its beaming, I'll join in and play those versions, only for myself to hear, it's true, but according to the website, that's allowed. I have to admit that I never quite saw the song as an "anthem for universal peace," more as a song about the individual's search for peace and meaning and communication in the world [universe], but it is one of my favorite Beatles songs, so I'll play it and hum along quietly so as not to startle the patrons.

While we were discussing this event the other day, a co-worker asked me if the chorus went "Nothing's gonna change my world," or "Nothing's gonna chain my world." I told her it was "change." She said she'd been singing the "chain" version all these years, but that actually either version made sense, and she's right. Maybe it makes even more sense; did John Lennon really mean that nothing should change our worlds? For someone who spent much of his public time trying to change people's minds, that doesn't seem right. I'm sure there's some "Transcendental Meditation" meaning to the chorus, but either way, it's a lovely song filled with lovely images that I'll be pleased to listen to tonight, along with thousands of other Beatle fans and, as Paul McCartney has noted, perhaps a few space aliens.