Inspired by political protests in early 1968, Lennon's lyrics expressed sympathy with the need for social change but doubt in regard to the violent tactics espoused by some members of the New Left.

[23] The repeated phrase "it's gonna be alright" came directly from Lennon's Transcendental Meditation experiences in India, conveying the idea that God would take care of the human race no matter what happened politically.

This version, RM1 (Remix in Mono #1) of take 20, runs to 10 minutes 46 seconds (at the correct speed)[38][better source needed] and was created at the end of the 4 June session, with a copy taken away by Lennon.

[50][nb 1] In the words of Paul McCartney, it was played on "a bit of a cheap Gibson", a hollowbody guitar with a laminated maple top that gave it some bite and warmth.

[56][66] This event came two months after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the Democratic presidential nominee who had pledged to end America's involvement in Vietnam,[67] and coincided with further militant action in Europe.

[72] The single was one of the four records that were sent in gift-wrapped boxes, marked "Our First Four", to Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family, and to Harold Wilson, the British prime minister.

[73] According to music journalist Jim Irvin, the heavily distorted sound of "Revolution" led some record buyers to return their copies, in the belief that "there was bad surface noise" on the disc.

[87][88] According to Spizer, it "combines the best elements of the album and single versions",[87] while Hertsgaard writes that, two years after the band had retired from public performances, the clip proved that "the Beatles could rock with the best of them".

[90] In Fortnam's description, a "lean, mean demeanour" had replaced Lennon's "moptop-era puppy fat",[90] while Hertsgaard says the clip presented him as "a serious longhair ... his center-parted locks falling down to his shoulders, and both his vocals and his subject matter further underlined how far he had traveled since the moptop days".

[23] Lindsay-Hogg recalled that before filming "Revolution", Lennon looked the worse for wear, yet he turned down a suggestion that he apply some stage makeup to make him appear healthier.

[97][99][nb 3] In his contemporary review of the single, for Melody Maker, Chris Welch praised the A-side, saying it was a track that took several listens before its full appeal became evident, but he dismissed "Revolution" as "a fuzzy mess, and best forgotten".

[103] Cash Box's reviewer described "Revolution" as "straight-out rock with lyrical flavor of a pre-Revolver feel and fifties-rock instrumentation", adding: "More commercial at first few hearings, but hardly able to stand up against 'Hey Jude.

[105] Dave Marsh featured "Revolution" in his 1989 book covering the 1001 greatest singles, describing it as a "gem" with a "ferocious fuzztone rock and roll attack" and a "snarling" Lennon vocal.

He says that whereas "Revolution 1" resembles a "stoned, bluesy jam", the vibrant quality of the single version "has the effect of making [Lennon's] flower-proffering pacifism a dynamic option, rather than a soporifically waved white flag".

[107] In his song review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger calls "Revolution" one of the Beatles' "greatest, most furious rockers" with "challenging, fiery lyrics" where the listener's "heart immediately starts pounding before Lennon goes into the first verse".

[111] The counterculture's reaction was especially informed by news footage of the violent scenes outside the Democratic National Convention on 28 August, and of Soviet tanks invading Czechoslovakia,[66] which marked the return of Soviet-style communism and the end of the Prague Spring.

[15][119] In Britain, the New Left Review derided the song as "a lamentable petty bourgeois cry of fear",[114] while Black Dwarf said it showed the Beatles to be "the consciousness of the enemies of the revolution".

[120] The far left contrasted "Revolution" with the Rolling Stones' concurrent single, "Street Fighting Man",[105] which Mick Jagger had been inspired to write after attending the violent rally at Grosvenor Square in March.

[125] Among these, the New Left Students for a Democratic Society's newspaper at Cornell University stated that "You can argue about effectiveness of non-violence as a tactic, but it would be absurd to claim that it is a conservative notion ...

[130][nb 5] In reaction to the song and to Lennon and Ono's performance art activities,[131] the British authorities withdrew the protection they had long afforded the Beatles as MBEs.

"[105][137][nb 6] Ellen Willis of The New Yorker wrote that the Rolling Stones understood the "ambiguous relation of rock to rebellion", but "It takes a lot of chutzpah for a multimillionaire to assure the rest of us, 'You know it's gonna be all right' ...

"[138][nb 7] Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner wholeheartedly supported the Beatles,[139] saying that any accusations of "revolutionary heresy" were "absurd", since the band were being "absolutely true to their identity as it has evolved through the last six years".

[145][146][nb 8] On her arrival in London in December, the American singer Nina Simone was quoted as saying she wanted to "know what the message is" in "Revolution" so that she could perform the song effectively in concert.

[152] Challenged on his political stance, Lennon exchanged open letters with John Hoyland,[154] a student radical from Keele University, in the pages of Black Dwarf.

[117][155] Hoyland wrote the first letter in late October 1968, expecting that Lennon's drugs bust and the intolerance shown towards Ono, as a Japanese woman in Britain, would make him more sympathetic to a radical agenda.

[153][170] With reference to Lennon's comments in this interview, MacDonald wrote in 1994: "Tiananmen Square, the ignominious collapse of Soviet communism, and the fact that most of his radical persecutors of 1968–70 now work in advertising have belatedly served to confirm his original instincts.

[181] Harrison commented in an interview for Musician magazine: Well, from our point of view, if it's allowed to happen, every Beatles song ever recorded is going to be advertising women's underwear and sausages.

[191] On 13 July that year, in advance of the album's release, the band performed the song with Rodgers,[192] Madonna and guitarist Steve Stevens at the concert held at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia that formed the US part of Live Aid.

[109] Singer Scott Weiland said that the band had selected the song while on tour in Europe, several weeks before Come Together; he added: "Our real decision for picking 'Revolution' was simply because it rocks.

[207] "Revolution" has also been covered by Anima Sound System, Billy Bragg, the Brothers Four, Enuff Z'nuff, Jools Holland, Kajsa Grytt, Kenny Neal, Reckless Kelly, Stereophonics, Jim Sturgess, Running Wild and Trixter.