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)
Misdummer New York
John Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just me and Yoko Ono
We was waiting for Jerry to land
Up come a man with a guitar in his hand
Singing, "Have a marijuana if you can"
His name was David Peel
And we found that he was real
He sang, "The Pope smokes dope every day"
Singing, "Power to the people today!"
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
Que pasa, New York?
Que pasa, New York?
Well down to Max's Kansas City
Got down the nitty gritty
With the Elephants Memory Band
Laid something down
As the news spread around
About the Plastic Ono Elephants Memory Band!
And we played some funky boogie
And laid some tutti frutti
Singing, "Long Tall Sally's a man."
Up come a preacher man trying to be a teacher
Singing, "God's a red herring in drag!"
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
Que pasa, New York?
Que pasa, New York?
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
Que pasa, New York?
Que pasa, New York?
Well we did the Staten Island Ferry
Making movies for the telly
Played the Fillmore and Apollo for freedom
Tried to shake our image
Just a cycling through the Village
But found that we had left it back in London
Well nobody came to bug us
Hustle us or shove us
So we decided to make it our home
If the Man wants to shove us out
We gonna jump and shout
The Statue of Liberty said, "Come!"
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
Que pasa, New York?
Que pasa, New York?
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
Que pasa, New York?
Que pasa, New York?
The lyrics to John Lennon's "New York City" capture the excitement and energy of the city that he and Yoko Ono had made their home after leaving London. The song tells the story of their arrival in the city, their encounters with local musicians and activists, and their attempts to make a new life for themselves.
The first verse describes Lennon and Ono waiting for Jerry Rubin, a political activist and one of the leaders of the counterculture movement of the 1960s. As they wait, they are approached by David Peel, a musician known for his street performances and political activism. Peel sings about the pope smoking marijuana, a reference to the controversy surrounding the Catholic Church's stance on drug use at the time. The encounter is cut short by a police officer, who sings "Power to the people" as he pushes the group up the street.
The second verse describes Lennon's experiences playing with the Elephants Memory Band, a group of local musicians that he had met in New York. They perform at Max's Kansas City, a famous club in the city, and attract attention from the media and fans. The verse also references a preacher who sings about religion and politics, implying that he is just another person trying to capitalize on the counterculture movement.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Que pasa, New York?" which means "What's happening, New York?" in Spanish. This reflects the multiculturalism of the city and the influence it had on Lennon and Ono's music and worldview.
Overall, "New York City" is a celebration of the culture and energy of the city that Lennon and Ono loved. The song captures the excitement of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and the political and social issues that were important to Lennon.
Line by Line Meaning
Standing on the corner
John Lennon and Yoko Ono were waiting on a street corner
Just me and Yoko Ono
John Lennon and Yoko Ono were together
We was waiting for Jerry to land
John Lennon and Yoko Ono were waiting for their friend Jerry to arrive
Up come a man with a guitar in his hand
A man approached them with a guitar
Singing, "Have a marijuana if you can"
The man offered them marijuana
His name was David Peel
The man's name was David Peel
And we found that he was real
They realized that David Peel was genuine
He sang, "The Pope smokes dope every day"
David Peel sang a song about the Pope smoking marijuana
Up come a policeman shoved us up the street
A police officer pushed them up the street
Singing, "Power to the people today!"
The police officer was chanting a phrase about supporting the people
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
The song is about New York City
Que pasa, New York?
The phrase "Que pasa" means "What's happening?", and the song is asking what's happening in New York
Well down to Max's Kansas City
John Lennon and Yoko Ono went to Max's Kansas City
Got down the nitty gritty
They experienced the raw reality of the place
With the Elephants Memory Band
They were with the band Elephants Memory
Laid something down
They recorded something
As the news spread around
Word about them began to circulate
About the Plastic Ono Elephants Memory Band!
People were starting to learn about the band and their music
And we played some funky boogie
They played some funky music
And laid some tutti frutti
They sang the lyrics to a song called "Tutti Frutti"
Singing, "Long Tall Sally's a man."
They sang a line from the song "Long Tall Sally"
Up come a preacher man trying to be a teacher
A preacher approached them, trying to teach them something
Singing, "God's a red herring in drag!"
The preacher was saying that the idea of God is a deception
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
The song is still about New York City
Que pasa, New York?
The song is still asking what's happening in New York
Well we did the Staten Island Ferry
They rode the Staten Island Ferry
Making movies for the telly
They were making films for television
Played the Fillmore and Apollo for freedom
They played at the Fillmore and the Apollo Theater to promote the idea of freedom
Tried to shake our image
They were attempting to change the way people saw them
Just a cycling through the Village
They were casually biking through the Greenwich Village neighborhood
But found that we had left it back in London
They realized that the identity they had created for themselves belonged to their past in London
Well nobody came to bug us
They weren't bothered or harassed by anyone
Hustle us or shove us
They weren't pressured or forced to do anything
So we decided to make it our home
They chose to make New York City their home
If the Man wants to shove us out
If someone in power tries to remove them from the city
We gonna jump and shout
They'll protest and make a scene
The Statue of Liberty said, "Come!"
They felt that the Statue of Liberty was welcoming them to the city
New York City, back in New York City, New York City
The song ends by repeating the chorus
Que pasa, New York?
The song ends by repeating the question about what's happening in New York
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Winston Lennon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dulce Natalia Hernandez
on Imagine - 2010 - Remaster
en donde kiera k este