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)
A Day in the Life
John Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more
The lyrics to the song "In My Life" by John Lennon and Paul McCartney are a reflection on the memories and experiences that have shaped the singer's life. The opening lines express the idea that there are certain places that have had a profound impact on the singer, even if they have changed or disappeared over time. Some of these places may have been positive experiences, represented by the phrase "some forever, not for better," while others may have been negative, indicated by "some have gone and some remain." The singer's ability to recall these moments and experiences is tied to the people they shared them with, as expressed in the line "With lovers and friends, I still can recall."
However, the second half of the song shifts focus to a specific person who stands out among all the others. The singer notes that while they will always cherish the memories they've made with others, there is no one who compares to this individual. The line "And these memories lose their meaning when I think of love as something new" suggests that the singer's past experiences pale in comparison to their current feelings for this person. They acknowledge that they will never lose their affection for those who came before, but that their love for this new person surpasses everything else. The repetition of "In my life, I'll love you more" at the end of the song emphasizes the depth and sincerity of this love.
Line by Line Meaning
There are places I'll remember
In my memories, there are certain places I will always remember
All my life, though some have changed
These places have been a part of my life, some have undergone changes
Some forever, not for better
Some changes have been for the worse and will remain forever
Some have gone and some remain
Some of these places no longer exist, while others still remain
All these places had their moments
These places were special at certain times and left lasting memories
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
In these places, I spent time with people I loved and cared about
Some are dead and some are living
These people include both those who have passed away and those who are still living
In my life, I've loved them all
Despite life's changes, I have loved all of these people and places
But of all these friends and lovers
Despite all of these memories, there is one person who stands out
There is no one compares with you
This person is special and incomparable
And these memories lose their meaning
Compared to this person, these memories aren't as important
When I think of love as something new
This person has given a new meaning to love in my life
Though I know I'll never lose affection
Despite my deep love for this special person, I will always hold affection for those who came before them
For people and things that went before
I will always cherish and remember the people and places that came before this special person
I know I'll often stop and think about them
These memories will still come to mind frequently
In my life, I'll love you more
Overall, my love for this special person will only continue to grow throughout my life
Lyrics © JELLYBEAN MUSIC GROUP
Written by: JOHN LENNON, JOHN WINSTON LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gutgolf74
@@potato-whiz
Well, there are still people not convinced that the earth is round and Trump is a crook and a dangerous person...
While in both cases the evidence is even bigger than this one, you can rest assured: It's literally impossible to be John.
Why it shouldn't be John:
It's Paul's part, end of story. No need for John to sing lead on Paul's part in Paul's dream.
That's also why we only see PAUL during this part in the official video to ADITL. No John AT ALL - but he returns right when HIS part, the last verse, starts.
They were finished recording John's vocals for ADITL 2 weeks before and just returned for recording Paul's part on February 3rd. John NEVER sang this part when he had the chance to.
Also, note the position of the voices in the stereo-picture: John is on the right, Paul on the left. The "aaahs" start on Paul's side and move over to cue John's return.
Why it couldn't be John:
Since -- in contrast to Emerick's fairy-tale - there is absolutely no cut between the "dream" and the "aaah", it must be still the same lead singer, Paul. You can even hear him take a breath between the "dream" and the "aaah" on the isolated vocal track.
Since John is doing his trademark NASAL high falsetto in the background AT THE SAME TIME it's impossible for him to also do the lead aaah.
Also, the lead aaah doesn't sound like John AT ALL.
It's a chest voice that would have been too high for him to do. Please name a single example where John sings like that - I bet you can't! Note how the example of "Mother" from this video is a FALSETTO part!! That's only proving it's Paul doing the "aah".
With Paul you only have to go as far as "Lovely Rita" to find a very similar example.
There are many experts who very thoroughly listened to all the actual reels and went through all the paperwork and wrote very highly praised books, like Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew (from the book "Recording the Beatles", p. 444): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon."
Or John C. Winn, who actually pointed out all the little differences between every single mix every made of any Beatles song: (from the book "That magic feeling - The Beatles' recorded legacy, p. 86): "Paul then corrected his vocal blunder by taping a new vocal on track 2, also adding some soaring "aahs" over the circle-of-fifths segment that linked back to the final verse".
And of course Sam Okell, who did the freaking Sgt. Pepper's REMIX: "Paul's main vocal track is in stereo, because we gave it some spread with the Waves S1 Stereo Imaging plug-in, so it has a different sound than John's lead. We also split off two little bits to be able to pan them left and right. His fourth vocal track is the 'aaah' section, and below it is an 'Aah delay' aux track." "Inside Sgt. Pepper's": Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. 26 October 2021
@arsonne
This song feels like the end-credits for life.
@Rfoz51
Funny you should say that - this was played at a funeral I attended, just surreal and so weird!
@pr.paradox1970
SO TRUE
@lindaklase3821
Yes, Paul’s death November 9, 1966. And replacement with Billy Shepherd aka Billy Shears. Ringo sings Billy Shears.
@ots1634
ew, i gotta turn it off- that depresses/scares me
@jona.scholt4362
@2:49 would be the part I agree with the most regarding the end of the world comment.
@seektruth8662
Another fun fact: This is 2 songs melded together. Paul wrote the middle part (woke up,fell out of bed) and John the rest. Both songs were incomplete and both artists had no idea how to finish them. So they put them together and created one of the greatest songs ever.
@bondarmsman
Tnx. I didn't know that. The McCartney part was shitty though. He should not have messed with it. Another Lennon song stolen by McCartney and credited to Lennon-McCartney like "In my life".
@porflepopnecker4376
The transition from the Paul segment back to the John song is so utterly sublime that to omit it would deprive the song of a great deal of its beauty and power. The two segments work together magically.
@marguskiis7711
John used to lease Maccas ideas a lot. This Maccas part he used in his "Remember" 1970.