In 1968, The Beatles released one of their most politically charged songs, Revolution. Written primarily by John Lennon, the track reflected his thoughts on activism, non-violence, and the turbulence of the late 1960s. What many don’t realize is that the song sparked a direct musical response from Nina Simone, one of the most influential and outspoken voices of the civil rights era.
The Beatles’ “Revolution”: A Call for Peaceful Change
Originally recorded in multiple versions — including the hard rock single Revolution (B-side to Hey Jude), the slower bluesy Revolution 1, and the avant-garde Revolution 9 — the song was Lennon’s reaction to political unrest, particularly the May 1968 student protests in France, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and growing Maoist rhetoric in Western counterculture.
Lennon’s stance was clear: change, yes — but not through violence. His lyric, “But when you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out”, frustrated more radical activists, who saw this as a refusal to take the necessary direct action.
Enter Nina Simone: A Voice for the Civil Rights Struggle
By the late 1960s, Nina Simone had become not just a celebrated musician but also a fearless activist. Her earlier protest anthem Mississippi Goddamn (1964) was a fiery reaction to the murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers, making her a leading voice for racial justice.
When she heard The Beatles’ Revolution, Simone felt Lennon’s pacifist take didn’t match the harsh realities faced by Black Americans in the fight for equality. In 1969, she released Revolution (Pts. 1 & 2), a bold, unflinching rebuttal.
“I’m here to tell you about destruction, of all the evil that will have to end,” Simone sang, rejecting the idea that patience and peaceful protest alone would bring about real change.
Her version didn’t chart commercially and appeared on the album To Love Somebody, which was not among her biggest successes. But culturally, it was a pointed statement — a refusal to sugarcoat the urgency of the moment.
Lennon’s Reaction to Simone’s “Revolution”
Interestingly, Lennon appreciated Simone’s artistic pushback. In a 1971 Rolling Stone interview, he praised her track:
“That was very good — it was sort of like ‘Revolution,’ but not quite. That I sort of enjoyed, somebody who reacted immediately to what I had said.”
By that point, Lennon’s own political views had shifted, as reflected in his solo song Power to the People, which took a much more activist, even militant, tone.
Why Simone’s Version Matters
Simone’s Revolution is more than just a musical response — it’s a philosophical counterargument. Where Lennon’s song was shaped by the perspective of a wealthy white musician observing global unrest, Simone’s came from lived experience in the front lines of America’s racial struggle.
While it may never have been a commercial hit, her version remains an important document of 1960s activism, showing how music can be a dialogue — and even a debate — between artists with differing visions for change.
