Julian Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon in Liverpool on 8 April 1963… Read Full Bio ↴Julian Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon in Liverpool on 8 April 1963) is an English musician. The son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, he inspired three Beatles' songs: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1967), "Hey Jude" (1968) and "Good Night" (1968). In 2020, he legally changed his name from John Charles Julian Lennon to Julian Charles John Lennon.

Lennon was given his first guitar by his father at age 11 and formed his first band at age 13 with school friend Justin Clayton, who has since played on each of Lennon’s albums. “Justin and I spent all our time learning the classic rock and roll songs, like ‘Roll Over Beethoven,’ Lennon recalls. “As I got older, I began to listen to the Beatles more carefully and became fascinated by the intelligence that went into their songwriting — the arrangements, melodies, and lyrics, which was great as I began to write my own songs. Crafting a great song is always my final goal.”

Though Lennon was also interested in pursuing acting (and was offered an education through the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company), he decided to stick with music. “I'd fallen madly in love with being able to play three or four chords, and everybody standing up and yelling and screaming,” he says. “The simplicity and ease of it drove me toward a career in music more than anything else.”

In 1983 Lennon, then aged 20, was offered his first record deal and released Valotte the following year. Produced by Phil Ramone, the album was certified platinum and earned Lennon a Grammy Award nomination for “Best New Artist.” It also included two major hits, the title track, which was a fixture on the Billboard Top 40 chart for 12 weeks, peaking at No. 9, followed by Too Late For Goodbyes, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Noted film director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) directed the videos for both singles, the success of which made Lennon an international star, necessitating a global tour of Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Australia. “It was bonkers,” Lennon says. “Coming out of hotels, people would literally trying to rip the clothes off you. I had spent my last year of school in the middle of nowhere in North Wales. To go from that to doing a world tour and having screaming girls after you was crazy.”

Because of his popularity, the record company urged Lennon to make a follow-up album immediately, which he did, releasing The Secret Value of Daydreaming in March 1986. Though Lennon felt he did not have enough time to write or record the album, Daydreaming (also produced by Phil Ramone) went on to gold certification and spawned the hit “Stick Around,” which earned him his first No. 1 on the Billboard Rock chart. (Eighties stars Michael J. Fox and Jami Gertz appear in the song’s video.) After taking a much-needed break, Lennon released the vocally experimental Mr. Jordan in 1989, which featured the rock radio hit Now You’re In Heaven, followed by 1991’s Help Yourself, whose highlights include Saltwater, a plea for environmental responsibility, and Other Side of Town, featuring Blue Nile singer Paul Buchanan.

Lennon decided to take a hiatus following the release of Help Yourself to focus on other creative pursuits, including his interest in acting. In 1993, he was featured as the voice of David Copperfield in an animated NBC special of the Dickens classic. In 1995, film director Mike Figgis asked Lennon to make a cameo in his new film Leaving Las Vegas. “I was told to dress like an ’80s English rock and roll bartender,” Lennon says, “So I rode my Harley to the set wearing clothes I would normally wear and Mike said, ‘That’s great!’” (Nicolas Cage, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his role, orders a beer from Lennon’s bartender character before getting head-butted by another patron and thrown out by Lennon.)

In 1996, Lennon contributed the original composition “Cole’s Song” to the soundtrack to the film Mr. Holland’s Opus, which starred Richard Dreyfuss and featured a score by the late renowned composer Michael Kamen. “I’d met Michael a few times and thought he was an incredible writer and orchestrator,” Lennon says. “I got word that he thought of me for writing this song, not only because of the subject matter, but because two of Dad’s songs were also in the film,” Lennon says. “He thought it would be a nice touch for me to come up with something that would work at the end of the film.” Also that year, Lennon made a cameo in the independent comedy film Cannes Man, directed by Richard Martini and starring Seymour Cassel and Francesco Quinn.

Lennon returned to the music business in 1998 with Photograph Smile.

In 2002, he recorded a version of "When I'm Sixty-Four", from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, for an Allstate Insurance commercial.

In 2009, Lennon released a tribute song and EP, "Lucy", honouring the memory of Lucy Vodden (née O'Donnell), the little girl who inspired the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

Lennon released his sixth solo album, the self-produced Everything Changes, in the UK on September 26th, 2011, through British independent label Conehead Management Ltd.

The seventh studio album by Lennon, Jude, was released on 9 September 2022. The album's title is a reference to the Beatles 1968 song "Hey Jude", written by Paul McCartney (and credited to Lennon–McCartney) for the then five-year-old Julian.

If You Only Knew
Julian Lennon Lyrics

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Hans poulsen

If you only knew
What we've been through
To get this far
You wouldn't be so cool
So cruel
So clever

If you only knew
What we've been through
To save this star
You wouldn't be so cold
So bold
So together

Time was once I told you
They bought and sold us round
But we will keep surviving
Love will keep reviving those who've drowned

Don't let us down
All our fathers have fallen for a dream
Don't give up ground
Surely you've been where we've been
And it's not a crazy dream
No, it's not a crazy dream

If you only knew
What we've been through
To get this far
You wouldn't be so cool
So cruel
So clever

If you only knew
What we've been through
To save this star
You wouldn't be so cold
So bold
So together

Time was once I told you
They bought and sold us round
But we will keep surviving
Love will keep reviving those of us who've drowned

So don't let us down
For our fathers have fallen for a dream
Don't give up now
Surely you've been where we've been
And it's not a crazy dream
No, it's not a crazy dream

If you only knew
What we've been through
To get this far
You wouldn't be so cool
So cruel
So clever
If you only knew
If you only knew

If you only knew
If you only knew

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Julian Lennon's song "If You Only Knew" expresses how the ups and downs experienced by the singer and his collaborators. In the first verse, Julian tells the listener that if they only knew what they’ve been through to get this far, they wouldn't be so cruel, cool, and clever. The second verse follows up on the first one, with the singer explaining that if they only knew what they've been through to save this star, they wouldn't be so together and bold. Both the verses exhibit the toll that the arduous journey has taken on the singer.

The third verse is more introspective and reflective, with Julian recalling how he had once told someone that he and his colleagues were "bought and sold". The line refers to them having been taken advantage of and swindled. Despite the harsh reality, the singer is determined to keep surviving, and love will revive those who have drowned. The pre-chorus and chorus of the song plead with the listener not to give up on them since all the fathers have failed for this dream, and they finally arrived. The song urges the listener to understand that the dream is not crazy and to support Julian and his group to achieve their admirable goals.

Line by Line Meaning

If you only knew
If you were aware

What we've been through
The struggles we've faced and endured

To get this far
To reach this point of progress

You wouldn't be so cool
You wouldn't act so detached and dismissive

So cruel
So unkind and heartless

So clever
So skilled at manipulating or deceiving

If you only knew
If you understood

What we've been through
The challenges we've faced and overcome

To save this star
To preserve and protect something precious

You wouldn't be so cold
You wouldn't be so unfeeling and unsympathetic

So bold
So daring and fearless