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)

You Can't Catch Me
John Lennon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I bought a brand new airmobile
'Twas a custom made, 'twas a flightning deal
With a powerful motor and a hide away wing
Push in on the button, you will hear her sing

Now you can't catch me
Baby, you can't catch me
Cause if you get too close

You know I'm going' like cool breeze

Hey! Hey!
Well, you walk!
You walk!

New Jersey turnpike in the wee wee hours
I was rolling slowly cause of drizzling showers
Here come a flat-top, he was moving up with me
Then come waving goodbye in a little old souped up jitney
I put my foot in the tank, I began to roll
Moaning siren, 'twas the state patrol
I let out my wings, then I blew my horn
Bye-bye, New Jersey, I become airborne

Now you can't catch me
Baby, you can't catch me
Cause if you get too close
You know I'm going' like cool breeze

Hey!
Well, you walk!
Yeah, walk!

I bought a brand new airmobile
'twas a custom made, 'twas a flightning deal
With a powerful motor and a hide away wing
Push in on the button, you will hear her sing

Now you can't catch me
Baby, you can't catch me
'cause if you get too close
You know I'm going' like cool breeze

Hey! Hey!
Well, you walk!
You walk!

Flying with my baby last Saturday night
Wasn't a gray cloud floating in sight
Big, full moon, shining up above
Cuddle up, honey, be my love

Sweetest little thing that I ever seen
I'm going to name you Maybellene
Flying on the beam, set on flight control
Radio tuned to rock and roll
Two, three hours passed us by,
Altitude dropped into five-o-five
Fuel consumption, way too fast
Let's get on home before we run out of gas

Now you can't catch me,
Baby, you can't catch me
Cause if you get too close
You know I'm going' like cool breeze

Get it on!
Yeah, walk!
Get it on, get it on, get it on, do it!

Get it on, get it on!
You know you can't catch me!

Overall Meaning

"You Can't Catch Me" is a rock and roll song by John Lennon. It was originally written and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1956. Lennon recorded a cover version of the song in 1975 as part of his Rock 'n' Roll album. The song tells the story of a guy who drives a brand new airmobile, which is a car that also turns into an airplane, and he can't be caught by anyone while he's driving it.

The song is all about freedom and the excitement of the open road. The singer is driving on the New Jersey turnpike in the wee wee hours when he's spotted by the state patrol. He hits a button on his car that turns it into a plane, and he takes off into the sky. The song is a celebration of the spirit of adventure and the thrill of escaping the mundane.

The lyrics of the song are full of puns and double entendres. The line "Push in on the button, you will hear her sing" could be taken literally as the car sings when you push the button. However, it could also be interpreted as a sexual innuendo. Similarly, the line "I'm going to name you Maybellene" could be a reference to the Chuck Berry song of the same name, but it could also be interpreted as the singer giving his car a pet name.

Line by Line Meaning

I bought a brand new airmobile
I have just purchased a new flying car

'Twas a custom made, 'twas a flightning deal
It was a bespoke design and an excellent bargain

With a powerful motor and a hideaway wing
It has a strong engine and retractable wings

Push in on the button, you will hear her sing
By pressing a button, an engine noise is heard

Now you can't catch me
No one can stop me

Baby, you can't catch me
My love interest cannot keep up with me

Cause if you get too close
If you try to follow me too closely

You know I'm going' like cool breeze
I will escape smoothly and swiftly

Hey! Hey! Well, you walk! You walk!
An exclamation of superiority, as the listener's mode of transportation is slower than mine

New Jersey turnpike in the wee wee hours
I was driving on a highway in New Jersey in the early morning

I was rolling slowly cause of drizzling showers
I was driving cautiously because it was raining slightly

Here come a flat-top, he was moving up with me
A police car started to drive alongside me on the road

Then come waving goodbye in a little old souped-up jitney
The police car drove away, leaving me behind

I put my foot in the tank, I began to roll
I accelerated my vehicle

Moaning siren, 'twas the state patrol
The police car was chasing me with its siren on

I let out my wings, then I blew my horn
I activated the wings and honked my horn

Bye-bye, New Jersey, I become airborne
I took off and left New Jersey behind

Flying with my baby last Saturday night
I was flying with my love interest last Saturday night

Wasn't a gray cloud floating in sight
The sky was clear, and there were no clouds

Big, full moon, shining up above
The moon was bright and full in the sky

Cuddle up, honey, be my love
I am asking my love interest to snuggle with me

Sweetest little thing that I ever seen
My love interest is the most beautiful person I have ever seen

I'm going to name you Maybellene
I am giving my love interest a nickname of Maybellene

Flying on the beam, set on flight control
I am controlling the airplane with a system of electronic beams

Radio tuned to rock and roll
I am listening to rock and roll music on the radio

Two, three hours passed us by
Two or three hours elapsed

Altitude dropped into five-o-five
The altitude reduced to 5,500 feet

Fuel consumption, way too fast
The airplane was using up fuel at an alarming rate

Let's get on home before we run out of gas
We should head home before we run out of fuel

Get it on! Yeah, walk! Get it on, get it on, get it on, do it! Get it on, get it on! You know you can't catch me!
An exclamation of confidence in my vehicle's speed

Lyrics © ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Chuck Berry

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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