In 64 BCE the Roman general Pompey took over Jerusalem and made the Jewish kingdom a client of Rome. In 57-55 BCE Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, split it into Galilee, Samaria & Judea, with 5 district Sanhedrin/Synedrion (councils of law). In 40-39 BCE Herod the Great was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate, but in 6 CE his successor, Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, was deposed by the emperor Augustus and his territories annexed as Iudaea Province under direct Roman administration: this marked the end of Judah as an even theoretically independent kingdom.
Israel and Judah inherited the religion of late first-millennium Canaan, and Canaanite religion in turn had its roots in the religion of second-millennium Ugarit. In the 2nd millennium, polytheism was expressed through the concepts of the divine council and the divine family.
Golden Slumbers
"Golden Slumbers" is a song by The Beatles, part of the climactic medley on their 1969 album "Abbey Road". The song begins the progression that leads to the end of the album and is followed by "Carry That Weight." The two songs were recorded together as a single piece, and both were written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney).
McCartney was the lead vocalist. He begins the song in a soft tone, with piano, bass guitar, and string section accompaniment. Starting with the line "Golden slumbers fill your eyes", the drums come in and McCartney switches to a stronger tone. McCartney said, "I remember trying to get a very strong vocal on it, because it was such a gentle theme, so I worked on the strength of the vocal on it, and ended up quite pleased with it."
The main recording session for "Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight" was on July 2, 1969.
John Lennon was not present. He was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Scotland on July 1, 1969, and was hospitalized there until July 6.
Additional vocals were added in an overdub session on 30 July 1969, the same day the first trial edit of the side two medley was created. Lennon did participate in this session. On 15 August, orchestral overdubs were made to "Golden Slumbers" and five other songs on "Abbey Road".
Carry That Weight
"Carry That Weight" is a song by The Beatles. Released on "Abbey Road" and part of the long, climactic medley that closes the album, it has vocals from all four of the Beatles (a rarity in their songs). It is after "Golden Slumbers", and transitions into "The End".
The middle bridge, featuring brass instruments, electric guitar and vocals, repeats the beginning of "You Never Give Me Your Money", but with different lyrics. The ending also repeats the arpeggiated guitar motif from the end of that song, similar to the figure featured in the George Harrison written songs "Here Comes the Sun" and "Badge" (co-written by Harrison and Eric Clapton).
Music critic Ian MacDonald said that the lyrics was an acknowledgment by the group that nothing they would do as solo artists would equal what they had achieved together, and they would always carry the weight of their Beatle past. McCartney said the song was about the Beatles' business difficulties and the atmosphere at Apple at the time. In the film "", Lennon says that McCartney was "singing about all of us."
The Beatles began recording "Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight" as one piece on July 2, 1969. McCartney, Harrison and Starr recorded 15 takes of the two songs while Lennon was in the hospital recovering from a car accident in Scotland.
The rhythm tracks featured McCartney on piano, Harrison on bass guitar and Starr on drums. The best were takes 13 and 15, which were edited together on July 3rd. That day and the next, McCartney overdubbed his lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Harrison added lead guitar, and all three sang the chorus.
On July 30, they added more vocals, including Lennon, who had rejoined the sessions on July 9. More vocals, timpani and drums were overdubbed on 31 July. The orchestra was recorded on August 15.
Personnel per MacDonald and Mark Lewisohn
Her Majesty (song)
"Her Majesty" is a song written by Paul McCartney (although credited to Lennon/McCartney) that appears on The Beatles' album "Abbey Road". "Her Majesty" is the final track of the album and appears fourteen seconds after the song "The End", but was not listed on the original sleeve. As such, it is considered one of the first examples of a hidden track in rock music.
The song was recorded in three takes on July 2, 1969, before the Beatles started work on "Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight". McCartney sang and played an acoustic guitar. The decision take it from the Abbey Road medley was made on July 30.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (song)
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a song credited to Lennon/McCartney, and released in 1967, on The Beatles' album of the same name. The song appears twice on the album: as the first song (transitioning into "With a Little Help from My Friends"), and as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", (which transitions into "A Day in the Life"). As the title track, the lyrics introduce the fictional band that performs in the album.
Since its original album release, the song has also been released on singles, on compilation albums, and has been performed by several other artists including Jimi Hendrix (such as at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970), U2, and a comic interpretation by Bill Cosby.
On the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album, the song opens to the sound of a loud audience, and an orchestra tuning up, which was taken from the February 10 orchestra session for "A Day in the Life". The crowd sounds edited into the song were recorded in the early '60s by Martin, during a live recording of the stage show Beyond the Fringe. When the song itself begins, the band introduces its members. The song is in G major, with a 4/4 meter. A horn quartet was used to fill out the instrumental sections.
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" is a repeat of the song at a faster tempo with heavier instruments. While the first track stays largely in the key of G major (except for transient modulation to F and perhaps C in the bridges), the reprise starts in F and modulates back to G. The track opens with a distorted guitar strumming a "Hendrix chord" (dominant 7th sharp 9). McCartney counts 1-2-3-4, and between 2 and 3, Lennon says "bye!".
The idea for a reprise was Aspinall's, who thought that as there was a "welcome song", there should be a "goodbye song". The song contains the same melody as the opening version, but with different lyrics. At 1:18, it is one of the Beatles' shorter songs (the shortest is "Her Majesty" at 0:23). The reprise was recorded on 1 April 1967, two months after the version that opens the album. At the end of the track, Martin's pre-recorded applause sample segues into the real final track of the album, "A Day in the Life".
"Full version:"
"Reprise":
With a Little Help from My Friends
"With a Little Help from My Friends" (originally titled "A Little Help from My Friends") is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released on The Beatles album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in 1967. The song was written for and sung by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr as the character "Billy Shears"; it is ranked #304 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed this song for the first time together at the David Lynch Foundation Benefit Concert in the Radio City Music Hall, New York on 4 April 2009.