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)
4. It's So Hard
John Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You gotta love
You gotta be somebody
You gotta shove
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Sometimes I feel like going down
You gotta eat
You gotta feel something
You gotta worry
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Sometimes I feel like going down
But when it's good
It's really good
And when I hold you in my arms, baby
Sometimes I feel like going down
You gotta run
You gotta hide
You gotta keep your woman satisfied
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Sometimes I feel like going down
In "It's So Hard," John Lennon expresses the challenging aspects of life and how difficult it is to navigate through them. He emphasizes the need to live, love and be somebody, but it requires a lot of effort and determination to push through. The use of language such as "gotta," "shove," and "worry" portrays the weight of responsibility and the pressure to keep pushing forward, even when it is tough.
Despite the challenges, Lennon recognizes that life can be good, and when it is, it is really good. The chorus "Sometimes I feel like going down" implies the possibility of falling into a dark place, but the line "when I hold you in my arms, baby" suggests that love and connection can provide a source of comfort and joy amidst the difficulties of life.
Moreover, Lennon mentions the importance of running, hiding, and satisfying one's partner, emphasizing that finding peace and happiness is a constant battle, and it requires effort and sacrifice.
Overall, "It's So Hard" by John Lennon is an honest portrayal of the challenges of life, the importance of love and connection, and the need to keep pushing through despite the obstacles.
Line by Line Meaning
You gotta live
To exist and experience life
You gotta love
To feel a deep affection for someone or something
You gotta be somebody
To have a purpose and identity
You gotta shove
To push forward and assert oneself
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Despite the necessary actions, it remains difficult
Sometimes I feel like going down
Occasionally, the difficulties seem too overwhelming
You gotta eat
To consume food for sustenance
You gotta drink
To consume liquid for sustenance
You gotta feel something
To experience emotions and feelings
You gotta worry
To be concerned and anxious about something
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Despite the necessary actions, it remains difficult
Sometimes I feel like going down
Occasionally, the difficulties seem too overwhelming
But when it's good
In moments of positivity and joy
It's really good
The positive moments are incredibly fulfilling
And when I hold you in my arms baby
The feeling of holding one's loved one is special
Sometimes I feel like going down
Occasionally, the difficulties seem too overwhelming
You gotta run
To move quickly on foot
You gotta hide
To conceal oneself from harm
You gotta keep your woman satisfied
To ensure one's partner is content
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Despite the necessary actions, it remains difficult
Sometimes I feel like going down
Occasionally, the difficulties seem too overwhelming
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Winston Lennon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
THE LIONHEART
JOHN LENNON FOREVER!
Gabriel Oliveira
esse riff fica na cabeça pqp
Nelson valentim
Kkkjkkjk
John King
Live from Philadelphia on the Mike Douglass Show ;Amazing !
Mary Roering
41yrs ago today😭Miss you John 🌹RIP🌹
けけ
カッコよすぎる
Ciro Pinto
I wish John's mic was louder!
The Don
Brilliant beautiful bongo bashing!
Johns solo stuff is underrated everyone talks bout imagine which was pretty average. Everyone was expecting brilliance like an day in the life’ ‘strawberry fields’ and perfect compositions like him and Paul did in the Beatles but they just wanted to do songs simple songs like everyone else was doing and when you listen to them and other people music of the time it stands up.
Andres C
“Imagine” is a perfect song, period. Like “Yesterday”, two masterpieces of simple melodic compositions. That doesn’t mean they’re the best songs but they are perfect.
monkey47
@Jed Low cold turkey better