We count on musicians to hold a mirror up to us. We want songs to reflect our inner-most thoughts–the ones we’re too afraid to say out loud. Not every musician is up to the task. Many skim the surface, not daring to say anything too honest. John Lennon wasn’t one of those musicians.
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Lennon was often completely unfiltered and candid in his music–especially his solo material. Check out three songs that saw Lennon become his most authentic self, below.
[RELATED: The Whirlwind Bob Dylan Song John Lennon Felt Like He Could Never Compete With]
“How Do You Sleep?”
The truth about someone often comes out once you stop being friends. Once the responsibility and niceties required of an intimate relationship expire, all bets are off. That happened with Lennon and Paul McCartney once the Beatles called it quits. Despite their close partnership for much of the band’s tenure, the aftermath of their breakup was messy to say the least.
Lennon penned “How Do You Sleep?” as a jab at McCartney. He riddled the song with some pretty brutal lyrics. You live with straights who tell you you was king / Jump when your momma tell you anything / The only thing you done was Yesterday / And since you’re gone you’re just another day, for example. Lennon certainly wasn’t alone in his smack talk, but “How Do You Sleep?” likely came as a shock to listeners in 1971. How do you go from being the best of friends with someone to loathing them enough to write such a song? Lennon wasn’t afraid to reveal the truth behind this fracturing friendship.
“Beautiful Boy”
While McCartney was routinely sentimental in his songwriting, Lennon often took a more rugged approach to his material. Many of his songs were socially conscious or political in nature. He wasn’t one for a “silly love song”, as some would say…But, that doesn’t mean he never let his guard down.
In “Beautiful Boy”, Lennon allowed himself a rare moment of unfiltered sentimentality. He sings to his son, Sean, in this track, promising to be there for him as a father figure throughout his life. Close your eyes / Have no fear / The monster’s gone / He’s on the run and your daddy’s here, he sings. It has proven to be one of the sweetest songs a rocker has ever produced. Sometimes playing against expectations pays off.
“Give Peace A Chance”
The Beatles shied away from protest material. They had a few songs here and there that could’ve been taken as such, but they weren’t at Bob Dylan levels of activism by any means. This is in stark contrast to Lennon’s solo career, wherein he laid his opinions bare.
“Give Peace A Chance” sees Lennon pick a side. He stands with the anti-war crowd, putting his past, less-political self on the back burner. All we are saying is give peace a chance, he sings, protesting for a brighter future. This track is just one of several times Lennon decided to be perfectly honest–backlash be damned.
(Photo by Rowland Scherman/Getty Images)
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