Authors: Ken Bielen Ben Urich
and “drinking coffee from our favorite cup” as an apology for his boorish
(the Hyde part of the Jekyll and Hyde combination) behavior. It sounds
to be a composing tape that needs more work both lyrically and musically.
Lennon employs lyrics similar to those he has used previously, sounding like
he is feeling his way to what he might want to eventually use and bridging
the gaps with intentional filler. At the end, he loses whatever grasp of lyrical
114 The Words and Music of John Lennon
structure he had and laughs at his own “bill and spoon in June, and croony
woony woony” lyrics, asking finally “can you stand it?”
The song “Dear John” may be Lennon’s last composing tape, compris-
ing a double meaning on the famous relationship breakup notes called Dear
John letters, and a missive to himself. Of course, it could also have become
a companion piece to “Dear Yoko.” The song is in an early stage of com-
position, with not quite two complete verses. The opening verse indicates
that it might have also been related to the statements of self-support and
assurance that make up “Hold On” from
John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band
a decade previously. Here Lennon comforts himself as he approaches the
start of middle age with “the race is over, you’ve won” and “don’t be hard
on yourself” in a soft, pleasantly relaxed voice. Riffing until he decides to
try another verse, Lennon discovers that his chords are those of the famous,
late-life romance ballad “September Song,” which causes him to chuckle to
himself, stop unexpectedly, and immediately begin again. It is a charming
moment in what might have developed into a charming song of similar
measure.
“The Great Wok” is one of a handful of “Dakota Mind Movies” Lennon
prepared from 1977 to 1979, more of which were included in episodes of
The Lost Lennon Tapes.
They are usually ridiculous and silly but harmlessly
amusing and creative. Most have out-of-place music playing in the back-
ground as Lennon, in the guise of some character (a French detective named
Maurice Dupont was a favorite), unleashes a pun-filled stream of discon-
nected wordplay imagery and illogical narrative. The recordings varied in
length and were clearly planned out and prepared, at least to some degree,
with room to improvise on the irrational as the mood so struck him. If typed
up and read, the content would not be out of place with any of Lennon’s
pieces from his first two books. Nor would the lyrics be atypical of the writ-
ings (roughly contemporary to the “mind movies” recordings) collected as
the book
Skywriting by Word of Mouth,
which was published in 1986, almost
six years after his slaying.
This particular recording was done for New Year’s Eve 1979, and Len-
non is in the guise of a guru called the Great Wok, who tells us that the
truly “great wok must be done.” His character is cut from the same cloth as
the “Brahma from Burma” and he relates a holiday message. Included is his
New Year’s resolution to renounce everything but “complete luxury and self-
indulgence,” and he announces this sacrifice as his duty “not only as a human
being, but as a person,” based on the advice gleaned from that well-known
“sage, George Formby” (the British Music Hall veteran). One way to look at
it, the Great Wok relates, is “simply not to look at it at all.”
“It’s Real” is barely over a minute long and features Lennon pleasantly
whistling a plaintive melody while strumming bouncy rhythmic chords on his
acoustic guitar. If he had developed lyrics yet, he does not use them here, and
the breezy tune does not seem to need them if he had.
Gone from This Place 115
WonsaPonatime
Wonsaponatime
is a single CD selection of cuts from
John Lennon Anthol-
ogy,
largely favoring alternate studio takes and rehearsals and unexpectedly
omitting some of the true rarities from the box set. If the larger collection is
for serious fans, it might have made sense for
Wonsaponatime
to feature the
rare selections such as the tracks discussed previously. Instead, it appears as
though the idea was to make a collection of generally more easily recognized
material; given the larger enterprise, the choice baffles.
Working cLass hero
(Covers ColleCTion)
Working Class Hero
is an intriguing collection of covers and remakes of
Lennon’s post-Beatles career, sanctioned by his estate and used to raise funds
for animal charities. Released in 1995, the lineup includes an eclectic selec-
tion of performances from such stalwarts as Cheap Trick and George Clinton
as well as alternative groups Screaming Trees and Candlebox. Most versions
of the songs do not stray too far from Lennon’s performed or recorded con-
ceptions of the songs, but each artist or group manages to put its charac-
teristic imprint on its offering. Standouts include Clinton’s near-delirious
“Mind Games,” The Flaming Lips’ snarling “Nobody Told Me,” Cheap
Trick’s “Cold Turkey,” and “Well Well Well” by Super 8. “Grow Old with
Me” by Mary Chapin Carpenter received some FM radio airplay, charting on
the adult contemporary lists at number 17—and deservedly so for its quiet
grace.
John Lennon’s Jukebox
John Lennon’s Jukebox,
a unique two-CD set release, is reputedly made up
of songs found on a jukebox once owned and stocked by Lennon, and a tele-
vision documentary accompanied its release in 2004. This jukebox is not one
of the fabled Dakota apartment jukeboxes, stocked with Bing Crosby and
Elvis Presley, but a portable one owned by Lennon in the 1960s.6
One joy of the collection of 40 recordings is to hear many of the originals
that either The Beatles or Lennon covered at some point in their respective
recording careers. Even more interesting are certain musical riffs or snatches
of lyrics that Lennon adapted to his own work. Some may be coincidence—
such as “Steppin’ Out” by Paul Revere and the Raiders, which perhaps
inspired Lennon’s “I’m Stepping Out”—but others have more significant
and demonstrable connections.
“Some Other Guy” by The Big Three provides an example of a musical
influence that Lennon would adapt in the future. This tune was a staple of
The Beatles in their Hamburg and Cavern Club days and appears on the
group’s
Live at the BBC
collection. Lennon took the opening passage, three
116 The Words and Music of John Lennon
solid note-chords and transferred them almost verbatim for his own open-
ing to “Instant Karma!” The songs could not be less alike after that, but the
beginning is more than similar; it is the same.
A clear lyrical borrowing comes from Barrett Strong’s “Oh I Apolo-
gize.” The general approach of the song may have influenced such Lennon
creations as “Jealous Guy,” “Aisumasen (I’m Sorry),” and “(Forgive Me)
My Little Flower Princess.” But in the first verse, a more specific influence
becomes apparent. Strong sings, “I don’t expect you to take me back, after
I’ve caused you so much pain” to a simple pounding rhythm similar to the
passage from Lennon’s “Isolation” in which he sings, “I don’t expect you to
understand, after you’ve caused so much pain.” The line and Strong’s per-
formance of it is felt again in some of the demos of Lennon’s “Real Love,”
where he sings, “I don’t expect you to understand, the kingdom of heaven
is in your hand” in a similar melodic rhythm. Interestingly, the version of
“Real Love” completed by The Beatles for the
Anthology 2
collection does
not contain the passage.
acoustic
In fall 2004, Ono sanctioned the release of
Acoustic,
which was Lennon
performing acoustic versions of some of his songs. At the time of
Acoustic
’s
release, there were still many unreleased home recordings of Lennon acousti-
cally busking through various old rock and roll and rhythm and blues num-
bers (several had been broadcast on
The Lost Lennon Tapes
), and it reasonably
might have been supposed that this collection would compile the best of them.
The collection’s running time of just under 45 minutes allows for another
half hour of music on the CD. However, with three notable exceptions, the
included tracks are all rehearsals or polished demos of Lennon accompany-
ing himself on songs that he composed, so the idea behind the album is not
just acoustic performances by Lennon, but acoustic guitar performances by
Lennon of his own post-Beatles compositions—no acoustic piano and no
non-Lennon compositions. Ono included charts of guitar chords and lyrics,
explaining in her liner notes that she hoped to encourage future musicians to
play from their hearts as Lennon always had.
Of special note is that many of the songs that are performed on piano in
their finalized versions are here performed on guitar. Some of the record-
ings, especially “Woman Is the Nigger of the World, “ It’s Real,” and “My
Mummy’s Dead,” are so short or fragmentary as to be of limited interest and
value. It is perplexing as to how they might be of use to guitar students.
Yet there are some real gems. For instance, “God” does not have the
best sound quality, but Lennon’s guitar work provides a rolling rhythm and
the pace is faster than the studio version, making the mood oddly more
upbeat and palatable. Lennon jokes around with the introduction, saying
that angels must have sent him from above with a message about “our love.”
Gone from This Place 117
It is akin to a 1950s teen romance parody, and Lennon almost breaks him-
self up, thereby softening the “God is a concept by which we measure our
pain” line that follows. As noted previously, Lennon sings “I don’t believe in
Dylan” instead of “Zimmerman,” which makes more thematic sense. After
stating his belief in himself, he does not add the “Yoko and me” line as in
the final version.
As for the rest, “Cold Turkey” features Lennon’s intriguing shuddering as
if in drug withdrawal and fractured vocals, and “What You Got” has a gutsy
blues tinge that is a real joy because it is not as evident in the final version.
“Watching the Wheels” shows its Dylansesque roots in a wonderful perfor-
mance, and “Dear Yoko” sounds even more like the Buddy Holly songs that
inspired it, at least musically. “Real Love” is not the same take as on the
Imagine: John Lennon
collection but is fairly close to that track and to the
Beatles’ completed version.
Three songs on the album are culled from live performances. “Imagine”
comes from a concert at the Apollo Theater to support the families of those
killed in the Attica State Prison riots and is one of the better versions extant
for its gentle power in full effect. Also included are two numbers from the
four-song set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to support the release of John Sinclair
from prison. “The Luck of the Irish” is a cut or two above passable, but after
Lennon encourages the crowd to “start again” if attempts at social change do
not work, “John Sinclair” is performed to great effect with lilting ease. While
not the album fans may have been expecting, there is enough interesting
material on
Acoustic
to make the collection worthwhile.
John Lennon: the musicaL
In 2004–2005, Ono collaborated on a production of a musical of Lennon’s
life and art, using his songs to tell the story of his life. Three songs never
professionally recorded by Lennon during his life time were included in
John
Lennon: The Musical,
and the availability of bootlegs of Lennon’s demos of
those songs increased as a result. One of the three songs was “Cookin’ (In
the Kitchen of Love),” his 1976 contribution to Ringo Starr’s
Rotogravure
album, discussed in chapter 5. The other two were “India, India” and “I
Don’t Want To Lose You.”
“India, India” seems to have been written for the autobiographical musical
the couple planned off and on from the mid-1970s titled “The Ballad of John
and Yoko.” Lennon reportedly worked on it sporadically, though in earnest,
in 1977 and 1978; the couple mentioned it as a future project in interviews
publicizing
Double Fantasy;
and Ono discusses it in her introduction in Len-
non’s posthumously collected prose work
Skywriting by Word of Mouth.
The song exists in a complete and overdubbed demo, sounding fairly pol-
ished as a result. As the title indicates, the song comments on Lennon’s emo-
tional state of mind during The Beatles’ well-known trip to India in 1968.
118 The Words and Music of John Lennon
It is an upbeat but wistful tune played on acoustic guitar. Lennon sings of
India, asking it to take him to its heart and reveal its ancient mysteries. Imme-
diately, however, he admits he has the answers he needs deep in his mind.
The verse changes this awareness to his need to “follow my heart” which is