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)

Here We Go Again
John Lennon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here we go again
Here we go again and again
Wond'rin' how it all began
Wond'rin' will it ever end

Round and round we go
Where it's going, nobody knows
Though I know we've been this place before

Someone keeps on moving the door

Here we go agai-ai-ai-ain
Here we go agai-ain
Here we go agai-ai-ai-ain
Here we go agai-ain

So I say hello again
And nobody gives a damn
And nobody wants to hold your hand
Ev'ryone is an also-ran

Round and round we go
Where it's going, nobody knows
Though I know we've seen this place before
Someone keeps on moving the door

Here we go agai-ai-ai-ain
Here we go agai-ain
Here we go agai-ai-ai-ain
Here we go agai-ain

Round and round we go-oh-oh-oh
Round and round we go-oh

Here we go agai-ai-ai-ain
Here we go agai-ain

Overall Meaning

In "Here We Go Again," John Lennon describes a sense of frustration and hopelessness that comes from being stuck in a cyclical pattern. The repetition of the phrase "Here we go again" creates a feeling of resignation- this cycle has happened before, and it will happen again. Lennon reflects on the human tendency to question the origins of events, and wonder if they will ever end. This sense of uncertainty is reinforced with the line "where it's going, nobody knows," which adds to the feeling of being trapped in a cycle without any clear path forward.

The second verse highlights the isolating aspect of the cycle. Lennon notes that even though he is familiar with this place and has been here before, nobody is interested in connecting with him. The line "everyone is an also-ran" reinforces this sense of separation, highlighting the feeling of being forgotten or overlooked. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the feeling of being stuck- it's like being trapped on a merry-go-round that keeps going around and around.

Overall, "Here We Go Again" captures the sense of frustration and monotony that can come from feeling stuck in a repetitive cycle. Lennon's lyrics create a sense of hopelessness, highlighting the idea that sometimes, it's hard to break free from these patterns and move forward.

Line by Line Meaning

Here we go again
Starting over, repeating the same cycle

Here we go again and again
Repeatedly starting over the same cycle

Wond'rin' how it all began
Pondering the origin of the cycle

Wond'rin' will it ever end
Questioning if the cycle will ever stop

Round and round we go
Continuously circling through the same cycle

Where it's going, nobody knows
Uncertainty about the outcome or destination of the cycle

Though I know we've been this place before
Awareness of the repetitiveness of the cycle

Someone keeps on moving the door
Impression that someone is actively preventing progress or change in the cycle

So I say hello again
Greeting the repeated cycle

And nobody gives a damn
Feeling neglected and unimportant

And nobody wants to hold your hand
Feeling unsupported and isolated