The Beatles weren't the first rock group to put out a "concept" record (before CDs). I think the first one was 'Me and my Arrow" by Neilson, and came complete with a video which we eagerly watched on TV, being amongst the first rock videos, but the difference with this one was that it was PG, for kids as well as adults.Then followed others,with extended videos like 'Pin Ball Wizard' and "Bricks in the Wall' by the Who. The ground breaking double album 'Sergeant Peppers' was different because it had no videos, and also because most of the tracks became big hits.
One of these was "When I'm 64". Well I was just 20 (still a virgin - as you were in those days), and how was this relevant to me? Sixty four was a hundred years away. I didn't think much about it, except I vowed that I would always keep my hippy ideals, and that I wouldn't end up with a dead end job. The fact that I bombed out of an Art course at the sausage factory (UNSW) didn't dampen my spirit. True, it lessened my chances of making my first million before I was 30, but then I knew that I didn't want fortune, I wanted happiness. Just that. Sharing it with another would be ideal, well...the improbable takes time, the impossible a little longer.
So now I am 64, and yes, my wife still loves me, still wants me, and I am a happy hippy. But that is not enough.
There is much in this world that is broken, not least of all our woeful Labor govt. which doesn't remember what Labor is supposed to represent. Maybe one day one of our refugees that successive govts have kept in goals, will rise up in the ranks and inspire us, and become PM The improbable takes time, the impossible a little longer.