What's Playing in the Haas House

There’s something a little unexpected happening in our house right now. Lucas, who turns 9 in May, has a new favorite band/music artist. If I asked you to guess what kind of music has grabbed him at this age, you’d probably guess the latest hot trend, whatever his friends are listening to, or something tied to a movie or game. You probably wouldn’t have guessed a band (that you may have loved at his age) that first picked up guitars sixty years ago. That’s right, Lucas has found The Beatles. 

And not in a casual, “oh yeah I’ve heard that song” kind of way. He’s really getting into them! It all started at school, where he’s a part of an after-school program that’s using Imagine by John Lennon as a highlight. He came home working through the lyrics, trying to learn the words, and practicing the melody. It didn’t take long before curiosity kicked in. Who wrote this? What else did they do? 

As an AVID Beatles fan growing up, that was all the invitation I needed! 

From there, it’s turned into a daily rhythm between us. Car rides have become sing-alongs. Not the half-interested, mumbling-along kind. Lucas in full voice and even developing a bit of a British accent. At home, we’ve taken it a step further. I’ll sit down at the piano, pull up the chords to any one of the many hits and play, and he’ll sing along. Gabriel even joined in the other night, doing his best Ringo and drumming on the floor to keep a beat. There’s something about that setup that feels a little timeless. No screens and no distractions, just the two (or three) of us trying to keep tempo and harmonize together. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we don’t. But it doesn’t really matter. 

What’s been just as fun is watching how Lucas engages with this new love all on his own. He’ll go on YouTube and search for “Top 25 Beatles Songs” or “Best Beatles Albums,” and then immediately start critiquing the list. “That one should be higher.” “How is that not even on here?” “Who made this list?” If you know Lucas, he definitely has strong opinions. 

And there’s another layer to all of this that I’m probably most excited to share. Thanks to a couple of books my brother bought me for my birthday several years ago, we’ve been reading through stories from Paul McCartney about how different songs came to be. Where the ideas started, what the lyrics meant, what was happening in their lives at the time they wrote these songs. I think that’s been the best part of this new Lucas obsession for me.  For the first time, I can see Lucas starting to understand that songs aren’t just catchy sounds. The words mean something. Sometimes they’re literal, sometimes they’re symbolic, sometimes they’re about things he probably won’t fully understand until later in life. But he’s starting to ask the questions. “What does that line mean?” “Why would they write it like that?” Those are fun conversations to have because he’s very much into history as well and is starting to place songs in their proper context.  

And the best part for me is… we’re just getting started. There’s so much of The Beatles catalog that he HASN’T heard yet. So many songs that don’t show up on the “Top 25” lists. You fellow fans out there know what I mean. It’s the songs that sounded very different. Some of the quieter ones. Heck, anything from Magical Mystery Tour. The ones that take a few listens before they click. Or the one’s that just touched us differently.  

I don’t know how long this phase will last. Maybe it sticks, maybe it fades, but right now, it’s a lot of fun! And for a dad, there’s something pretty special about finding out that your kid organically loves the same thing you do, and you didn’t initiate that love.  

If you read this, shoot me a note. What’s your favorite Beatles song? And then, what was your favorite “not as popular” Beatles song? I’ll pass along the results to Lucas.  

Ticket #T010640

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