Lunch is what makes the WORLD GO ROUND

Many moons ago, I was glued to my transistor radio listening intently to a BBC World Service programme called My Music, a witty and amusing quiz show in which some very erudite and musically inclined speakers were asked questions on various genres and intricacies of music.

- SURESH SUBRAHMANYAN

The Beatles – Lunch is all you need

In a particular episode, a participant asked a seemingly crackpot question to the panel, “What would happen if we replaced the word love with the word lunch in many well-known songs?” I can’t remember any of the songs that were suggested. All I can recall was the sheer hilarity that ensued as each participant went to town giving his or her own version, and often even singing it. Desperate as I was, I decided to draw inspiration from the programme and provide my own list of love songs, or rather lunch songs to see what comes out of it. The results are surprising.

When The Beatles released their immensely popular hit, All You Need Is Love, I tried to imagine what the implication would have been had the song been titled All You Need Is Lunch. It is a valid proposition for discussion. After all, if the stomach is not properly cared for, love can take a nosedive. It is an existential issue. I daresay during their early days of struggle in Liverpool, the Beatles might have been worried about when or where their next egg or ham sandwich would come from. They were not born rich. Around the time, they also composed It’s Only Love which would have been far more appropriately titled,