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)

Don’t Be Scared
John Lennon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Don't be scared
Don't be scared
Don't be scared to love
Better to love than never love at all
Don't be scared

Don't be shy
Don't be shy

Don't be shy to tell
You may lose the chance to tell
Don't be shy

When your hearts are lit
Drop your survival kit
Then you never have to
Run or split

Sun in the east
Moon in the west
This boat's moving slow
There's no land in sight at all
Away we go

Don't be scared
Don't be scared
Don't be scared to love

It's better to love than never love at all
Don't be scared

Overall Meaning

The song "Don't Be Scared" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono is a love song that encourages people not to be afraid of loving and expressing their emotions. The opening lines of the song, "Don't be scared, don't be scared, don't be scared to love," set the tone for the rest of the song. The repeated line emphasizes the message that regardless of the fear of rejection or heartbreak, it is better to take the chance on love and experience it, rather than never have loved at all.

The song also encourages honesty and openness in relationships with the lines, "Don't be shy, don't be shy, don't be shy to tell, you may lose the chance to tell, don't be shy." This suggests that if one doesn't express their feelings or intentions, they may risk losing the opportunity to have their love reciprocated. The last verse brings a change of scenery with references to the sun and moon and a boat moving slowly with no land in sight, perhaps representing a metaphorical journey towards love, with each line ending reassuringly that there is no need to be scared, and love is worth the effort.

Line by Line Meaning

Don't be scared
There's no need to be afraid

Don't be scared
Again, no need to be afraid

Don't be scared to love
Love freely, without fear

Better to love than never love at all
It's preferable to experience love than not at all

Don't be scared
Once again, no need to be afraid

Don't be shy
Don't be timid or hesitant

Don't be shy
Reiterating, don't be timid or hesitant

Don't be shy to tell
Speak up about your feelings

You may lose the chance to tell
It's possible to miss out on expressing oneself

Don't be shy
One more time, don't be timid or hesitant

When your hearts are lit
When your souls are illuminated