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)
Satire 3
John Lennon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd just want to leave you with this message
They say that the best things in life are free, except on TV, heh, heh, heh, heh
In John Lennon's Satire 3, he takes a satirical look at life in the modern world. The first two lines are an example of the wit that characterizes the entire song. Getting one's "jyamas" is a perfectly normal nighttime routine for many people, but it is also a reminder that our lives are often defined by mundane things. Lennon's decision to start the song this way may suggest that he believes that we can all laugh at ourselves and the things we take for granted.
The third line is where the satire begins to take a more pointed tone. The phrase "they say that the best things in life are free" is a common one, often used to remind people that wealth and material possessions are not the most important things in life. However, Lennon adds a sarcastic twist to it by saying, "except on TV". This line suggests that the things that are advertised to us on TV – products and services that promise to make our lives better, more exciting, or more fulfilling – are, in fact, not free at all. In other words, we are being sold a version of happiness that cannot be achieved through consumerism.
Line by Line Meaning
Just a minute! I'm just getting my jyamas
Hold on a moment, I need to put on my comfortable clothing.
I'd just want to leave you with this message
I simply wish to impart this message to you.
They say that the best things in life are free, except on TV, heh, heh, heh, heh
It is often said that the greatest pleasures in life do not require financial cost, except for when it comes to televised content, haha.
Contributed by Lila J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
The Seeker
John Lennon in a interview said that himself & Yoko found it funny.
Dean Mellis
The biggest sharp jump in history was when Belushi and Akroyd left.
Damascene Music
Yeah; one of his last interviews December 6 1980
Barbara Gentile
@Mary Wealth I did laugh once - oven cleaning tips 😂
Mary Wealth
So that makes two people that thought it was funny.
glitterdrip19
its funny seeing him try to do a Liverpool accent LOL
"just love songs and oven cleaning tips"
"OH no my cake Yoko!"
I'm crying 😆
wink37
He (Malcolm McDowell) is from Liverpool. That’s how he used to speak.
Randy R
Been looking for this for 40 years. Remember John saying he was loving It on one of his last interviews
Richard S
John and Paul almost made a unplanned cameo appearance after a Saturday Night offer of $3,000 for a Beatle reunion on their show. They decided against it at the last minute. That would have been a historical music event on SNL
Luis R
Damn, a month before he died