Beatles: All You Need is Love Meaning

Song Released: 1967

All You Need is Love Lyrics

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   Imogina

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   Dec 15th 2009 !⃝

   I think it's not as simple as saying "there's nothing you can do that can't be done" = "you can do anything". Grammatically, they don't mean the same thing anyway.
   
   More literally - it just means you can do things that can't be done. Eg it's not possible to walk to the Moon, so you can't walk to the Moon.
   
   The point is, then, I think - he's saying "you can't do the impossible" - all you can do is things that can be done. But that's ok - the important thing is love - that's all you need.
   
   So I think it's meant to be about accepting yourself and loving yourself and everyone else. That loving people is the most important thing - he's saying don't worry about the rest.
   
   This makes more sense when you move beyond the early part of the lyrics and notice:
   
   "Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you
   in time - It's easy:
   
   and
   
   "Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
   It's easy."
   
   So he's ending the song saying just try to be you, just let yourself be where you are meant to be, and let it happen by letting love happen.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Dec 17th 2005 !⃝

   Sorry, but I see it as such: There's nothing you can do that can't be done, nothing you can sing that can't be sung... all you need is love. It means more than just "you can do anything" It means, "you can do anything, but anyone can do it. So, that doesn't make you special. You can sing anything , but so can everyone else. So, that doesn't get you by. All you Need is Love because that is what makes every one of us special."

3. 3TOP RATED

   #3 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Oct 19th 2015 !⃝

   Who cares about the meaning? All you need is love - love yourself (learn about you in time), love others (explanation soon), love your situation (nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be), love/respect other's individuality and togetherness (nothing you can do that can't be done), believe in / love your abilities, and love that you can improve or achieve what you need/want(nothing you can do that can't be done). But, also remember that you don't need your wants and that it's important to establish your own meanings and priorities (love is all you need). Love makes the world go 'round; love is the basis of many things (peace, freedom, security, beauty, truth); and even though some people have love, they still need to work to re-establish it every so often. Love is not a fairy-tale, but it's harder to find a story without love than without violence.
   Many/all (?) religions are based on this, including the path to God through love in Hinduism (one of the religions in India, where the Beatles visited).
   Maybe this was The Beatles being mocking, but if so the song grew into something bigger than that - so what's the right interpretation: the original meaning, your interpretation, or the interpretation by people growing up with this song being new?
   Enough times listening to this song and it sounds like Hippie stupidity, but sometimes going back and listening to it makes it a nice pick-me-up, bringing sunshine to a cloudy day.
4. anonymous

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   Sep 2nd 2019 !⃝

   I think it's not only about excepting yourself but also loving others. This is not a new idea or truth to be expressed. In the Bible Jesus tells us to be pleasing to God and at peace with other people you just need love. Jesus thought those around him it's more important to love then hate and to except others for who they are. I believe John was starting to realize just how important this kind of love was for peace and harmony between people. But unfortunately a belief in Jesus is the only way to accomplish this kind of love.
5. anonymous

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   May 30th 2017 !⃝

   I think it means, with Love, you can do anything. The Lyrics are saying...All you need is Love and with Love, you can do anything that you put your mind to doing. Nothing you can do, that can't be done means...there is NOTHING that you can't accomplish through LOVE. LOVE MAKES ALL THINGS POSSIBLE!
6. anonymous

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   May 6th 2015 !⃝

   Iam on the same page as Homer who did a previous great interpretation.
   Once you get your head around Quantum Physics, Eckhart Tolle, Eastern Philosphy, Budhism, the real teachings of Christ ( nothing to do with religion), the real meaning behind the movie The Matrix, The Cosmic Giggle, What the bleep do we know and Ho'opnopno ( Dr Hew Len), you will begin to understand.
   My brain is slowly starting to get it after years of research, and the scary thing is, once you get it, "its easy".
   
   God is love, we are all particles of God, everything is God. God/Love is the Matrix we live in, we just have to understand this. We are all one, and everyone you see is just another part of you, a reflection of you.
   
   You are part of the Hologram that is the Universe and like a Hologram, it ALL exists in your mind, every touch, smell, sight, emotion can only exist and be experienced in your mind, in the present moment, The Now. If you are existing in a state of love, than it will be reflected in all you experience.... good and bad.
7. anonymous

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   Apr 19th 2015 !⃝

   It's all in the title "All You Need Is Love". It's a definition of "love". Love is what you "need" and thereby can never be attained. If you had it you wouldn't need it.
8. anonymous

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   Feb 22nd 2015 !⃝

   It's quite obvious what the song means. Did you not listen to the song or what? There is no way for it to be misinterpreted. It has a clear straight out meaning for those people that devote their life to interpreting Beatles songs. It means, "All you need is love". You can't make it any more simpler than that.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. Jheart11mmc

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   Feb 11th 2015 !⃝

   It's saying love will bring you far.
10. joan.vanore

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    Jul 20th 2014 !⃝

    I think the point is in the paradox: since, if you've done it, it by definition CAN be done, you might as well try. It takes the power out of "can't be done" by putting the focus on the doing.
11. anonymous

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    May 17th 2014 !⃝

    The most philosophical song by them. Words are inspired by the Pible, Old Testament, prophets. Words "Nothing you can..." tells us, that we live in this limited world our limited lives and we're like prisoners here. The only way out to unlimited life and bliss is love. Love is all you need. It is so easy - to be loved and to love. This is the teaching of Buddha, the teaching of Jesus.
    
    (Harri Kingo, Estonia)
12. anonymous

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    Nov 12th 2013 !⃝

    Its a tribute to secularism and we dont need God but love for each other. Before the jesuit order introduced secularism in 1798 everyone believed in a god of some discription.
13. Horio

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    Oct 16th 2013 !⃝

    Without love, nothing can't be done.
    If you don't have love, you can't do anything.
14. fistofate

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    Aug 9th 2013 !⃝

    I read John Lennon say that the title and chorus of the song are a joke; that they expected everyone knew they weren't serious and they were making fun of the "flower power" culture that was going on in the US at the time.
    Note that accounts of people who saw George Harrison come to the Haight-Ashbury during the "Summer of Love" say he was shocked and dismayed at how dirty everything was that day, and had it not been for some prodding by people around him telling him how bad it would look if people just saw him drive away, he got out of the car and went through the drill with all his fans, but he even said afterward that he expected the neighborhood to be populated by shopkeepers and more middle class types of people, not filthy drug dealers, homeless people and beggars.
    John Lennon was one who came over and became a part of the US scene, but the rest of them never did that.
    In fact, various actors, musicians and artists from the US tried to connect with the Beatles by going over to the Apple offices and the Beatles kept them at arm's length, not wanting to be involved.
    That might have had something to do with the song.
    The lyrics "nothing you can do that can't be done" and "xxxxx(something) you can do that can't be xxxx (something)" in every verse, they seem to be saying "Hey, you're not really giving us any unique truth here, Mr. Hippie Man. We've seen this before. You're not all that."
    I think the song was a putdown of American Bohemian culture...shortly followed by "Revolution" which was more of the same.
    The Beatles were not hippies. They grew up working class, but had middle class values. Kids with left wing values in this country (the US) grew their hair long and worshipped the Beatles, but there was a huge misconception here about what the Beatles politics were.
    Most British kids were criticizing their own nation for being too controlled, with their high taxes and conservative ways. They looked at the US as an escape from that. I believe that was the Beatles position, until John Lennon became an anti-war activist, but then that was pretty much after the group broke up.
15. anonymous

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    Mar 30th 2012 !⃝

    All you ever need in life is LOVE, LOVE, LOVE..i'm bad bitch for you, destructive and evil witch. I could eat your heart out. Now run...!
    
    I love this song and Beatles rock... yeah!
16. anonymous

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    Mar 24th 2012 !⃝

    All you need is love. Love is a believing creature. Self explanatory.
    
    E.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
17. anonymous

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    Jan 8th 2012 !⃝

    I think we are all missing the very first part of the song which was the french national anthem. The English never liked the french much and the french hate everyone. One interpretation from the french states that they are being mocked in the song, by how the french think they are so much better than everyone and the song is stating that they are not and to quit thinking so highly of themselves and that they need love and all we all need is love. Listen to the anthem in the beginning and then see it from this perspective and listen. Makes a lot of sense.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
18. anonymous

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    Jul 31st 2011 !⃝

    Simple really, you can't do anything that someone else can't do, so stop argueing and have peace. A true statement.

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