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)

Well Well Well
John Lennon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
I took my loved one out to dinner
So we could get a bite to eat
And though we both had been much thinner
She looked so beautiful I could eat 'er
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well

I took my loved one to the big field
So we could watch the English sky
We both were nervous feeling guilty
And neither one of us knew just why
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well,
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well, well

Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well

We sat and talked of revolution
Just like two liberals in the sun
We talked of woman's liberation
And how the hell we could get things done
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well

I took my loved one to a big field
So we could catch the English sky
We both were nervous feeling guilty
And neither one of us knew just why
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, oh well
Well, well, well, well

Well, well, well, well
Well, well!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to John Lennon's song "Well Well Well" are somewhat enigmatic and open to interpretation. The overall mood of the song is ambiguous, with the repeated phrase "well, well, well" serving almost as a mantra for Lennon's musings on life and love. The first verse describes a romantic dinner date, with the singer admiring his partner's beauty to the point of wanting to consume her. The second verse takes a turn towards the political, as Lennon and his partner discuss revolution and women's liberation while watching the English sky.

The repetition of certain phrases, such as "well, well, well" and "big field," creates a sense of circularity in the song. It seems as though the singer is trapped in a kind of loop, experiencing the same emotions and ideas over and over again without being able to escape them. The nervousness and guilt felt by both the singer and his partner are also significant, hinting at some kind of underlying tension in their relationship or in the wider world.

Overall, "Well Well Well" can be read as a meditation on the complexity of human experience. The song suggests that even seemingly simple moments, like a dinner or a walk in the field, can evoke powerful emotions and thoughts. It also implies that personal and political issues are often intertwined, and that change on a larger scale may require us to examine and confront our own internal struggles.

Line by Line Meaning

Well, well, well, oh well
Expressing surprise and excitement at the situation at hand.

Well, well, well, oh well
Reiterating the surprise and excitement at the current events.

I took my loved one out to dinner
I brought my significant other to a fancy meal.

So we could get a bite to eat
We were hungry and needed sustenance.

And though we both had been much thinner
We both used to be skinnier.

She looked so beautiful I could eat 'er
I found her stunningly attractive and desirable.

I took my loved one to the big field
I brought my significant other to an open area.

So we could watch the English sky
We wanted to admire the beauty of the sky in England.

We both were nervous feeling guilty
We were both anxious and ashamed.

And neither one of us knew just why
We didn't understand why we felt that way.

We sat and talked of revolution
We discussed the idea of revolution.

Just like two liberals in the sun
Talking about liberal ideals under the sun.

We talked of woman's liberation
We discussed the idea of liberating women.

And how the hell we could get things done
We contemplated practical ways of accomplishing change.

Well, well, well, oh well
An expression of surprise and excitement.

Well, well, well, oh well
Reiterating the shock and thrill of the events.

Well, well, well, oh well
Still surprised and excited.

Well, well, well, oh well
Repeated once again.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN LENNON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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