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)
Born in a Prison
John Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Raised in a prison
Sent to a prison called school
We cry in a prison
We love in a prison
We dream in a prison like fools
Reach for yourself and your battered mates
Mirror becomes a razor when it's broken
Look in the mirror and see your shattered fate
We live with no reason
Kicked around for no reason
Thrown out without reason like tools
We work in a prison
And hate in a prison
And die in a prison as a rule
Wood becomes a flute when it's loved
Reach for yourself and your battered mates
Mirror becomes a razor when it's broken
Look in the mirror and see your shattered fate
We live in a prison
Among judges and wardens
And wait for no reason for you
We laugh in a prison
Go through all four seasons
And die with no vision of truth
Wood becomes a flute when it's loved
Reach for yourself and your battered mates
Mirror becomes a razor when it's broken
Look in the mirror and see your shattered fate
The lyrics to John Lennon & Yoko Ono's song "Born in a Prison" paint a picture of the societal prison that humans find themselves in. The lyrics suggest that we are born into a prison, raised in a prison, and then sent to a prison called school. It highlights how we live our entire lives in a figurative prison, where we cry, love, dream, work, hate, and die within the confines of societal norms and expectations. The lyrics suggest that we do things simply because that's the way they have always been done, without questioning why or considering alternatives.
The song suggests that we are all prisoners in some shape or form, controlled by those in power who use us like tools, throwing us out without reason. The song highlights that we are all controlled by the system, living in a prison with no reason, kicked around, and waiting for something that may never come. In essence, "Born in a Prison" suggests that society is a flawed system that needs to be questioned and challenged.
Line by Line Meaning
We're born in a prison
Our life begins and continues in a restricted and oppressive environment.
Raised in a prison
Our upbringing reinforces the limitations and confinement of our prison-like existence.
Sent to a prison called school
Our education system perpetuates the confinement and control of our prison-like existence.
We cry in a prison
Even our emotions are restricted and suppressed in our oppressive environment.
We love in a prison
Our ability to love is limited and constrained by our prison-like existence.
We dream in a prison like fools
Our aspirations and hopes are unrealistic and unattainable within our confined and oppressive environment.
Wood becomes a flute when it's loved
If we give something love and attention, it can transform into something beautiful and joyful.
Reach for yourself and your battered mates
We should strive for personal growth and support others who have also suffered under our oppressive environment.
Mirror becomes a razor when it's broken
If we don't take care of ourselves and our environment, it can turn against us and become harmful.
Look in the mirror and see your shattered fate
We must face the consequences of our actions and the harsh realities of our prison-like existence.
We live with no reason
Our lives lack purpose and meaning within our oppressive environment.
Kicked around for no reason
We are subject to arbitrary and senseless abuse and mistreatment within our oppressive environment.
Thrown out without reason like tools
We are discarded and replaced as easily as any other resource within our oppressive environment.
We work in a prison
Our livelihood and productivity are constrained and dictated by our oppressive environment.
And hate in a prison
Our negative emotions of anger and bitterness are also fostered and amplified by our oppressive environment.
And die in a prison as a rule
Our oppressive environment is likely to be the cause of our eventual demise.
We live in a prison
Our entire existence is dominated by our oppressive environment.
Among judges and wardens
We are surrounded and controlled by authority figures who enforce the confinement and restriction of our prison-like existence.
And wait for no reason for you
We exist without hope or expectation of change or intervention from others outside of our oppressive environment.
We laugh in a prison
Even our moments of happiness and amusement are overshadowed by the oppression and confinement of our environment.
Go through all four seasons
We experience the full range of life's ups and downs, but they are all within the confines of our oppressive environment.
And die with no vision of truth
Our understanding of reality and the world around us is limited and distorted by our oppressive environment.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: YOKO ONO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dulce Natalia Hernandez
on Imagine - 2010 - Remaster
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