My John Lennon
Published December 31, 2005
I want to finish up the year with a small tribute to John Lennon. A few weeks ago was the 25th anniversary of his death, which put me in a bit of a grump with the ol' boy. The particular circumstances of his passing encourage the absolute worst, most un-John types of pious tributes. Yoko has only egged it on, setting him up as some kind of martyr. Look, John Lennon did NOT die for our sins.
Personally, I think that the circumstances of his death weren't that bad. It's unfortunate that he got cut short, but from HIS point of view, it wasn't really that bad a way to go. It beat hell out of being Reagan dying a long drawn out Alzheimer's death- over within a couple of minutes. There are worse ways to go.
Anyway, the guy that I've spent so much attention on for most of my life was very different than the cheap plastic dashboard saint being promoted by the professional widow. He was the "Bad Boy" who relished the idea that he "worries his teacher till at night she's ready to poop."
The highest gesture of this was his joyful irreverence at the November 4, 1963 Royal Command performance. In front of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret among others, John famously quipped "Will the people in the cheaper seats clap their hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry." Note that this was not some cheesy pinko posturing, as he would indulge in his low ebb following the Beatles' breakup, but simple cheerful working class sauciness.
That's MY John Lennon, a joy and comfort to my days.
- My John Lennon
- Published: December 31, 2005
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Music: Roots Rock, Music: Rock, Music: Pop, Culture: Society, Culture: Arts
- Writer: Al Barger
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Comments on this articleComments
I think Al is saying that it's better to go out with a bang than a whimper...and it's better to die painfully in five minutes than five years...
Well, pretty nearly ANY way of dying is likely going to suck. Some ways suck a lot worse than others. Spending your last five minutes shot and bleeding sucks, but RJ gets it. John got it pretty quick. Could have been worse.
No vendetta particularly. Yoko does not especially perturb me, but I tend to find her pretty disreputable. I find THIS little move particularly contemptible.
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Al, this part has to be a joke:
I think that the circumstances of his death weren't that bad. It's unfortunate that he got cut short, but from HIS point of view, it wasn't really that bad a way to go.
How would you like to spend the last few minutes of your life choking up blood in the back of a police car. I wonder if he thought of his wife, his children...
And what is your neverending vendetta aginst Yoko all about? If Lennon loved her, which he obviously did, who are we to jump on her? What exactly has she done wrong?
But his 1963 quote was pretty funny. He had a lot of good ones. His songs were usually pretty good, too.