Happy Birthday John Lennon: Behka’s Favorite Lennon Songs

Kids, I'm a huge Beatles fan.  I have been since I was 13, pretty much twenty years now.

As a kid, I didn't have the internet. I had the library and a little record store on 16th Street called Vintage Vinyl. I would go there in the summers and the guy would let me listen to some of his records and tape off the songs for a quarter.  This was the advanced technology we had back then.  So when I found the Beatles, I became curious. I wanted to find out all about them and what they were like and what they did after the band broke up, etc.  I gravitated toward John Lennon, he was always my favorite Beatle.  So naturally his records were more important, more naughty for me to find.

My favorite album of his is the first solo album he ever did, Plastic Ono Band.  It's also commonly known as the Primal Scream album, since he and Yoko were following the controversial Arthur Janov Primal Scream therapy at the time.  Anyway, I have a few favorites that I'd like to share in honor of what would have been John's 72nd birthday today.   They are probably not the famous ones you might remember, but keep in mind that I'm a nerd and I love me an album track.

This first one is called "Working Class Hero".  It's a somewhat sarcastic, very angry song about how he, and the Beatles, had been dismissed as "low class" for years.  He felt confined by what was presumed about him because of where he was from and how he was raised.  Apologies, there is a swear.

This another song off of the Plastic Ono album. It's a song that's pretty straightforward song about how he felt betrayed by his parents, who left him at a young age.  He also felt very maligned by the Auntie who raised him.  At the end, though, there is a little joke - "Remember the 5th of November" is a reference to Guy Fawkes Day.   Hence, the explosion.

This song is called "How?" and is off the more commercial hit album, Imagine.   This is another very straightforward song about his own insecurities, and how he felt like he might not be the best husband.  I always felt like Imagine was divided into two halves; the commercial songs with lots of strings (like "Imagine" and "Jealous Guy"), and the more "real" songs without as much flair.

Sometime in New York City was recorded right as John and Yoko had officially first moved to the United States.  Much of it is very topical, and very political.  It's the main reason the FBI and CIA tried to get John kicked out of the country in the mid-seventies.  This song is about "The Troubles" between Northern Ireland and Ireland.  As a child, he had family who lived in Ireland and was always very fond of the place and its people, and never agreed with the violence.

I'm definitely skimming here, as I know that a lot of what I like isn't necessarily stuff that the average person might like. I actually think the best songs on that album are Yoko's.  After that album, there was what is commonly referred to as "The Lost Weekend."  Basically, Yoko Ono kicked him out of the apartment and he went to Los Angeles.  He drank a lot, did a lot of stupid things and made three albums.  One of which was a covers album which is only for the hardcore Lennonites, and the other two, Walls and Bridges and Mind Games.  On Mind Games, I actually prefer the title track best, but there is one little song on Walls and Bridges which I've always liked.  Nobody seems to be too familiar with this era, but this song is about the sadness and disconnect he felt from Yoko at the time.  He was dating someone in LA, and she was dating someone in NYC.   The song is called "Bless You," and it's about how he wanted her to be happy, even if they were apart for now.

Well, I think that's enough for one post. I'm sure I could do another post about Double Fantasy and also the music released after his death.   I certainly hope you didn't think it was too babbly.

Lennonly yours,

Behka