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)
The Luck Of The Irish
John Lennon Lyrics
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You'd be sorry and wish you were dead
You should have the luck of the Irish
And you'd wish you was English instead!
A thousand years of torture and hunger
Drove the people away from their land
A land full of beauty and wonder
If you could keep voices like flowers
There'd be shamrock all over the world
If you could drink dreams like Irish streams
Then the world would be high as the mountain of morn
In the 'Pool they told us the story
How the English divided the land
Of the pain, the death and the glory
And the poets of Auld Ireland
If we could make chains with the morning dew
The world would be like Galway Bay
Let's walk over rainbows like leprechauns
The world would be one big Blarney stone
Why the hell are the English there anyway?
As they kill with God on their side
Blame it all on the kids the IRA
As the bastards commit genocide! Aye! Aye! Genocide!
If you had the luck of the Irish
You'd be sorry and wish you was dead
You should have the luck of the Irish
And you'd wish you was English instead!
Yes you'd wish you was English instead!
John Lennon's song "Luck of the Irish" is a commentary on the Irish and British conflict from the perspective of an Irish person. The lyrics are sarcastic and speak to the idea of the "luck of the Irish" being ironic, as if the Irish really had luck, they would not be in their current situation. The lyrics "If you had the luck of the Irish, You'd be sorry and wish you were dead" is a clear example of this sarcastic tone. The song then goes on to talk about the centuries-long British oppression of the Irish people from torture and hunger to the British rape of Irish lands. Lennon also references the English involvement in the partition of Ireland that created the Northern Ireland state in 1921, which perpetuated the conflict between the two countries.
The song also highlights the resilience and beauty of the Irish people by stating that if they could keep their voices like flowers, there would be shamrocks all over the world. "Shamrocks" is a common symbol of Ireland, and Lennon is saying that if the world could hear what the Irish have to say, it would be a better place. The lyrics also reference the dream-like quality of Irish streams and how drinking them would make the world high as the mountain of morn. The song also touches on the idea of walking over rainbows like leprechauns, referencing the Irish folklore character that is often associated with luck.
Overall, the song is a scathing indictment of the British treatment of the Irish, with Lennon questioning the British presence in Ireland and blaming the IRA's actions on the British genocide of the Irish people.
Line by Line Meaning
If you had the luck of the Irish
If you experienced the same unfortunate circumstances as the Irish people, as described in this song
You'd be sorry and wish you were dead
You would feel overwhelmed by the struggles and difficulties the Irish people have faced throughout history
You should have the luck of the Irish
Rather than experiencing the same difficulties as the Irish people, one should have their resilience and bravery
And you'd wish you was English instead!
The English are responsible for much of the suffering experienced by the Irish, but some may still wish to be English as they have been in a position of power
A thousand years of torture and hunger
The Irish people have endured immense hardship over many centuries, including starvation and oppression
Drove the people away from their land
The impact of British colonization and control led many Irish people to leave their homeland in search of a better life elsewhere
A land full of beauty and wonder
Despite the struggles faced by the Irish, their homeland is still full of natural beauty and wonder
Was raped by the British brigands! Goddamn! Goddamn!
The British must be held responsible for exploiting and harming the Irish people and their land
If you could keep voices like flowers
If people could hold onto the beauty and uniqueness of different cultural identities like they do with flowers
There'd be shamrock all over the world
Irish culture and identity would be celebrated and valued universally if it were embraced in the same way as flowers
If you could drink dreams like Irish streams
If people could fully embrace the hopeful, imaginative nature of the Irish spirit
Then the world would be high as the mountain of morn
The world would be a more positive and uplifting place if everyone embraced this mindset
In the 'Pool they told us the story
In Liverpool, where the author grew up, people often discussed the struggles faced by the Irish people
How the English divided the land
The British divided and controlled Irish land, leading to conflict and instability
Of the pain, the death and the glory
The song highlights the immense struggles and triumphs of the Irish people throughout history
And the poets of Auld Ireland
The writers and poets who captured the struggles and hopes of the Irish people in their work
If we could make chains with the morning dew
If people could create something beautiful and delicate like chains using the morning dew
The world would be like Galway Bay
The world would be a peaceful and beautiful place if people were able to create beauty from the delicate parts of nature
Let's walk over rainbows like leprechauns
Rather than being weighed down by despair, we should embrace joy and hope like the playful and optimistic leprechauns
The world would be one big Blarney stone
There would be endless beauty, magic, and wonder in the world if we could embrace Irish spirit and culture
Why the hell are the English there anyway?
Why did the British colonize and exploit Ireland? The song questions their motives
As they kill with God on their side
The song criticizes the hypocrisy of the British, who claimed to be doing God's work while causing immense harm and pain
Blame it all on the kids the IRA
The British government often blamed the Irish Republican Army for violence and unrest, rather than acknowledging their own role in perpetuating conflict
As the bastards commit genocide! Aye! Aye! Genocide!
The song uses powerful language to condemn the British for their crimes against the Irish people, including genocide.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN LENNON, YOKO ONO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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