John Lennon was one of the most iconic songwriters in The Beatles. Some would say he was bested by Paul McCartney, but that’s all a matter of opinion. Regardless, Lennon penned some of the most arresting lyrics of all time, both as part of the Fab Four and during his solo career. Let’s take a look at some of John Lennon’s most memorable lyrics! This list is definitely not exhaustive, by the way.
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1. “Gimme Some Truth”
“No short-haired yellow-bellied / Son of tricky dicky’s / Gonna mother Hubbard soft soap me / With just a pocket full of hope / Money for dope, money for rope.”
These particular lyrics have a beautiful balance of rhyme and rhythm, and they’re quite biting as well. This Imagine classic was originally brought up in sessions for The Beatles, but never made it to any album before their inevitable breakup.
2. “Watching The Wheels”
“Ah, people asking questions / Lost in confusion / Well, I tell them there’s no problem / Only solutions / Well, they shake their heads and they look at me / As if I’ve lost my mind.”
There’s a haunting vibe to these words and this song. “Watching The Wheels” was the last single from the last album that Lennon would release before his death. It sounds like a haunting goodbye, though Lennon said that it was a sort of love letter from him and his wife, Yoko.
3. “Mother”
“Children, don’t do what I have done / I couldn’t walk and I tried to run / So, I, I just got to tell you goodbye.”
John Lennon’s most memorable lyrics often involve trauma; specifically, his own childhood trauma. Lennon was abandoned by his parents as a child, and his mother was killed in a car accident when he was only a teenager. Lennon later clarified that “Mother” is not just about his own childhood, but about parents as a whole.
4. “Working Class Hero”
“There’s room at the top they are telling you still / But first, you must learn how to smile as you kill / If you want to be like the folks on the hill / A working-class hero is something to be.”
Lennon really hated the rich and powerful, despite being quite rich himself. Regardless, this song was an ode to those who have been stepped on by the big man, and he even referred to it as a “revolutionary” song.
5. “Across The Universe”
“Pools of sorrow waves of joy / Are drifting through my open mind / Possessing and caressing me.”
This gorgeous fan favorite appears on The Beatles’ final album. It’s one of the best songs to punctuate the end of an incredible career as a band. Specifically, Lennon turned an irritable moment with his first wife into a song. He even made some lyrical links between having music stuck in your head and spirituality.
“It’s like being possessed; like a psychic or a medium,” said Lennon. “The thing has to go down. It won’t let you sleep, so you have to get up, make it into something, and then you’re allowed to sleep.”
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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