John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 Decem… Read Full Bio ↴John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His work included music, writing, drawings and film. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.

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)

Beef Jerky
John Lennon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

My mummy's dead
I can't get it through my head
Though it's been so many years
My mummy's dead
I can't explain
So much pain
I could never show it
My mummy's dead

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of John Lennon's song "Beef Jerky" speak to the deep pain and loss that can come with the death of a loved one. The repetition of the phrase "My mummy's dead" underscores the singer's inability to fully grasp the reality of the situation. Despite the passage of time, the pain remains fresh and unyielding. The line "I could never show it" suggests that the singer is struggling to process their emotions and may feel that they must keep their grief hidden.

It's worth noting that the use of the term "mummy" rather than "mother" is significant. In some cultures, the word "mummy" is associated with the process of embalming and preserving the dead. This may hint at a deeper sense of the singer's struggle with the idea of death and their mother's mortality. The repetition of the phrase "So much pain" suggests that the singer is struggling to find a way to cope with this loss.

Overall, "Beef Jerky" is a poignant meditation on the lingering pain of loss and the struggle to come to terms with the reality of death.

Line by Line Meaning

My mummy's dead
The person's mother has passed away.

I can't get it through my head
The person is having a hard time accepting the fact that their mother has died.

Though it's been so many years
Even though a lot of time has passed, the person still struggles to come to terms with their mother's death.

My mummy's dead
Reiterating the fact that the person's mother has passed away.

I can't explain
The person cannot find the words to articulate the pain and sadness they feel.

So much pain
The person is experiencing a great deal of emotional pain and suffering.

I could never show it
The person is trying to conceal their pain and sadness from others.

My mummy's dead
Once again reminding the listener that the person's mother has passed away.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LENNON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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