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)

Rip It Up / Ready Teddy
John Lennon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well it's Saturday night, and I just got paid
Fool about my money, don't try to save
My heart says "go! go! have a time"
'Cause it's Saturday night, baby, I'm feelin' fine

Gonna rip it up,
Gonna rock it up,
Gonna shake it up,

Gonna ball it up,
Gonna rock it up,
And ball the night.

Got me a date and I won't be late,
Picked her up in my eighty-eight.
Shag on down to the union hall,
When the joint starts jumpin', I 'll have a ball.

Gonna rip it up,
Gonna rock it up,
Gonna shake it up,
Gonna ball it up,
Gonna rock it up,
And ball the night.

Whoa!

Well, ready, set, go man, go,
I got a girl that I love so.

And I'm ready,
Ready, ready, teddy,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, teddy,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, teddy,
I'm ready, ready, teddy to rock and roll.

Goin' to the corner, pick up my sweetie pie,
She's a rock and roll baby, she's the apple of my eye.
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, teddy,
I'm ready,
Ready, ready, teddy,
I'm ready,

Ready, ready, teddy,
I'm ready, ready, teddy to rock and roll.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to John Lennon's song Rip It Up / Ready Teddy express the excitement of a young person on a Saturday night, eager to go out, have fun, and spend all their money without worrying about saving. The lyrics revolve around the idea of having a good time and letting loose. The opening lines, "Well it's Saturday night, and I just got paid, Fool about my money, don't try to save" indicate that the singer is looking to spend his hard-earned money on a good time. He gets a date and picks her up in his car, an "eighty-eight," and they head to the union hall where they plan to dance the night away.

The chorus, "Gonna rip it up, gonna rock it up, gonna shake it up, gonna ball it up, gonna rock it up, and ball the night," repeats several times throughout the song, and it serves as an expression of the singer's desire to let loose and have a wild night of dancing and fun. The verses express the singer's enthusiasm for the night ahead and his excitement at the prospect of being with his date.

Overall, the lyrics to "Rip It Up/Ready Teddy" are an energetic ode to youthful exuberance and the thrill of a night out with someone special. The song serves as a reminder of the importance of living in the moment and enjoying life to the fullest.

Rip It Up / Ready TeddyJohn Lennon Lyrics

Dulce Natalia Hernandez

on Imagine - 2010 - Remaster

Rip It Up / Ready Teddy
John Lennon Lyrics