Born in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager. In 1956, he formed The Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the smart Beatle", Lennon initially was the group's de facto leader, a role he gradually ceded to McCartney. Through his songwriting in the Beatles, he embraced myriad musical influences, initially writing and co-writing rock and pop-oriented hit songs in the band's early years, then later incorporating experimental elements into his compositions in the latter half of the Beatles' career as his songs became known for their increasing innovation. Lennon soon expanded his work into other media by participating in numerous films, including How I Won the War, and authoring In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works, both collections of nonsense writings and line drawings. Starting with "All You Need Is Love", his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement and the larger counterculture of the 1960s. In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his second wife, multimedia artist Yoko Ono, held the two-week-long anti-war demonstration Bed-ins for Peace and left the Beatles to embark on a solo career.
Between 1968 and 1972, Lennon and Ono collaborated on many works, including a trilogy of avant-garde albums, several more films, his solo debut John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and the international top-10 singles "Give Peace a Chance", "Instant Karma!", "Imagine", and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". Moving to New York City in 1971, his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a three-year deportation attempt by the Nixon administration. Lennon and Ono separated from 1973 to 1975, during which time he produced Harry Nilsson's album Pussy Cats. He also had chart-topping collaborations with Elton John ("Whatever Gets You thru the Night") and David Bowie ("Fame"). Following a five-year hiatus, Lennon returned to music in 1980 with the Ono collaboration Double Fantasy. He was murdered by a Beatles fan, Mark David Chapman, three weeks after the album's release.
As a performer, writer or co-writer, Lennon had 25 number-one singles in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Double Fantasy, his best-selling album, won the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. That year, he won the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2002, Lennon was voted eighth in a BBC history poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth-greatest singer and 38th greatest artist of all time. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (in 1997) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice, as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1994).
Studio albums
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)
Imagine (1971)
Some Time in New York City (with Yoko Ono, 1972)
Mind Games (1973)
Walls and Bridges (1974)
Rock 'n' Roll (1975)
Double Fantasy (with Yoko Ono, 1980)
Milk and Honey (Posthumous with Yoko Ono, 1984)
Experimental studio albums with Yoko Ono
Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins (1968)
Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions (1969)
Wedding Album (1969)
14. Life Begins At Forty
John Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Age is just a state of mind
If all that's true
You know that I've been dead for thirty-nine
And if life begins at forty
Well, I hope it ain't the same
It's been tough enough without that stuff
Well, I tried to sweep the slate clean
With a new broom every day
If that don't work
I'll jerk around until my next birthday
Yeah, life begins at forty
Age is just a state of mind
Well, if all that's true
You know that I've been dead for thirty-nine
In John Lennon's song "Life Begins at 40," he reflects on the popular adage that life begins at 40, turning it on its head with a mix of irony and dry humor. According to Lennon, if age is indeed just a state of mind and life really begins at 40, then he's been dead for the thirty-nine years leading up to it. He doesn't necessarily agree with the sentiment that life gets better with age, saying it's been "tough enough" up until this point, and he certainly doesn't want to go through being "born again." Lennon recognizes the inherent optimism in the claim that life begins at 40, but he seems to be responding more to the pressure that society puts on people to have certain experiences or accomplishments by a certain age.
The chorus of the song emphasizes this point, as Lennon states that age is just a state of mind, suggesting that we shouldn't be too concerned with the number of our years as an indication of our worth or accomplishments. Instead, by acknowledging that the years leading up to 40 may have felt like a kind of death, Lennon suggests that we're really just getting started at this point. The verses, however, take the opposite tack, with Lennon seeming to throw up his hands when it comes to trying to make a fresh start. While he's tried to "sweep the slate clean" every day, he recognizes that this isn't always possible, so he'll just have to bide his time until his next birthday. The song, then, is both a reflection of Lennon's wit and his ambivalent feelings about getting older.
Line by Line Meaning
They say life begins at forty
The commonly-held belief is that turning forty is a major turning point in life
Age is just a state of mind
Your age does not define your physical or mental state
If all that's true
If the above statements are accurate
You know that I've been dead for thirty-nine
If life really starts at forty, then I must have been leading a dull existence for the last thirty-nine years
And if life begins at forty
If the common belief is true, then
Well, I hope it ain't the same
I hope that the next phase of my life is different from the previous ones
It's been tough enough without that stuff
My life has been difficult up to this point
I don't wanna to be born again
I don't want to start from scratch, I want to build upon my existing experiences
Well, I tried to sweep the slate clean
I attempted to start over fresh and wipe away past mistakes
With a new broom every day
Trying to achieve a fresh start fully using new tactics every day
If that don't work
If my previous attempts at starting anew have been unsuccessful
I'll jerk around until my next birthday
I'll keep changing things until I turn forty and hope that with age comes clarity
Yeah, life begins at forty
Yes, people believe that life starts anew at forty
Age is just a state of mind
How old you are does not define your mental or physical state
Well, if all that's true
Assuming the common beliefs around life at forty hold some truth
You know that I've been dead for thirty-nine
I must have been leading a dull existence for the past thirty-nine years
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN LENNON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lesco Brandon
My Dad was 17 in a restrant working when his brother called him and told him about the bad news. My Dad said he began crying for John Lennon and his 3 brothers all together in pain. He told the people in the restront and people started screeming and leaving the place. My Dads boss closed the restront for the and my Dad walked home and played a Beatles Album. knowing that peoples hopes over the past 10 years had ended. That day will be remembered forever.
newmac
John Lennon, 1980-2007 The Collected Works. The album that never was. ;-( I wonder what we missed....so sad...
AeroBeatlesDoorsLed
sadly life ended at 40 r.i.p john lennon
Nothing Really Matters
John Lennon singing life begins at 40. That is the mother of all irony.
TheChange2008
Watching the wheels akustik sounds better than the original! 5 for this genius!
Reverend Flash
"Life BEGINS At 40" was never released by Ringo Starr.
The Doctor
HAHA! XD when he sings "Life starts at 40" he almost sounds like Hank Williams, very country music- Awsome, John, We'll always love you
The Doctor
He did a country song? :o it's sounds a whole lot like country....cool :D
lordblazer
Watching the Wheels is a good song. I dunno. I listened to a lot of john lennon on my ipod everytime I went to Tokyo when I was living in Japan.. Listen to Imagine when I was riding the bus from APU campus to Beppu city. mainly because the scenery fit the music(going down a mountain looking at the ocean as you go down beautiful!!)..
Mirror Time
John Lennon is and will always be the greatest man that ever lived... To me. Everyone has likes and opinions. That's mine. It's amazing that people who don't listen to his & Yoko's music say mean things and make up crap. John is Dead. Leave him alone. ......................If you don't like John & Yoko then why the hell are you here? To criticize? It's nice being anonymous here on you tube. But remember every cause has an effect.