God (John Lennon song)
| "God" | |
|---|---|
 Cover to promo single issued by Odeon in Spain in 1988 | |
| Song by John Lennon | |
| from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | |
| Released | 11 December 1970 |
| Recorded | 26 September – 9 October 1970[1] |
| Length | 4:09 |
| Label | Apple/EMI |
| Songwriter(s) | John Lennon |
| Producer(s) | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector |
| John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band track listing | |
11 tracks
| |
"God" is a song by English musician John Lennon, from his first post-Beatles solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album was released on 11 December 1970 in the United States and the United Kingdom.[2] The song references the Beatles and other cultural phenomenons.[3]
Meaning
[edit]There are three sections in the song.
In the first section, John Lennon describes God as "a concept by which we measure our pain".
In the second, Lennon chants a list of things he does not believe in, ending by stating that he just believes in himself (individuality) and Yoko (his wife). He rejects magic, the I Ching, the Bible, tarot, Hitler, Jesus, Kennedy, the Buddha, mantra, the Gita, yoga, kings, Elvis, Zimmerman (Bob Dylan), and the Beatles.[4]
The final section describes Lennon's change since the break-up of the Beatles. While the Beatles were basically his family throughout the 1960s,[2] he refers to Paul McCartney's 1965 Beatles song "Yesterday", and states that he is no longer the "Dreamweaver" or "The Walrus", but just "John". The final line of the song, "The dream is over", has been seen as declaring the end of the 1960s quest for meaning. "If there is a God", Lennon explained, "we're all it".[5]
Legacy
[edit]The Irish rock band U2 wrote and recorded the song "God Part II" as an answer song to Lennon's "God". Included in U2's 1988 album Rattle and Hum, "God Part II" reprises the "don't believe in" motif from Lennon's song and its lyrics explicitly reference Lennon's 1970 song "Instant Karma!" and American biographer Albert Goldman, author of the controversial book The Lives of John Lennon (1988).
English musician David Bowie, a friend and one-time musical collaborator with Lennon,[6] wrote and recorded the song "Afraid", which was included in his 2002 album Heathen; one of the song's lyrics, "I believe in Beatles", is a rejoinder to Lennon singing "I don't believe in Beatles" in "God".[7]
Personnel
[edit]The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:[8]
- John Lennon – vocals, tack piano[9]
- Billy Preston – grand piano[9]
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Klaus Voormann – bass guitar
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "God". 2 August 2010.
- ^ a b "God". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ Wiener, Jon (1991). Come together : John Lennon in his time (Illini books ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06131-4. OCLC 21907530.
- ^ Wiener, Jon. (1991). Come together : John Lennon in his time (Illini books ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06131-4. OCLC 21907530.
- ^ Wenner, Jann S. (2000). Lennon Remembers. London: Verso. p. 48. ISBN 1-85984-376-X.
- ^ Pegg 2016, pp. 373–379.
- ^ Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated 2016 ed.). Titan Books. p. 5. ISBN 9781785655333.
- ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd. p. 61. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X.
- ^ a b "God (p. 2)". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- 1970 songs
- John Lennon songs
- List songs
- Song recordings produced by John Lennon
- Song recordings produced by Phil Spector
- Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono
- Songs critical of religion
- Songs written by John Lennon
- Songs about the Beatles
- Songs about John Lennon
- Songs about Yoko Ono
- Plastic Ono Band songs
- Cultural depictions of Bob Dylan
- Cultural depictions of Jesus
- Cultural depictions of Yoko Ono
- Cultural depictions of the Beatles
- Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy
- Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler
- Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley