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The meaning behind John Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band,” - a thread.
Happy 50th anniversary
The meaning behind John Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band,” - a thread.
Happy 50th anniversary
50 years ago today, John Lennon released his first solo album after the breakup of the Beatles. The album explored themes of grief, isolation, love and death all of which hold relevance to today.
1. Mother
The opening track mother immediately sets up the often somber tone of the record and the recurring theme of grief. The song itself is an outpouring of sadness from John about the death of his mother and the abandonment by his father and the impact it had on him
The opening track mother immediately sets up the often somber tone of the record and the recurring theme of grief. The song itself is an outpouring of sadness from John about the death of his mother and the abandonment by his father and the impact it had on him
2. Hold On
This leads into the song Hold On. Coming off the emotional heartbreak of Mother, Hold On’s sentiment is to try to keep your head up despite times being tough, a sentiment that feels relevant both after the raw pain expressed in the previous song, +
This leads into the song Hold On. Coming off the emotional heartbreak of Mother, Hold On’s sentiment is to try to keep your head up despite times being tough, a sentiment that feels relevant both after the raw pain expressed in the previous song, +
But even more so considering another, more recent death in johns life: the death of The Beatles, the band he created.
3. I Found Out
And then begins I Found Out. This is the first song on the album that takes shots at religion, a theme that will be revisited later. More than organised religion however, religion can be a thinly vailed metaphor for the way the beatles were often +
And then begins I Found Out. This is the first song on the album that takes shots at religion, a theme that will be revisited later. More than organised religion however, religion can be a thinly vailed metaphor for the way the beatles were often +
worshiped during the era of beatlemania, an idea that will also be revisited later on. The line that makes this obvious is “I’ve seen religion from Jesus to Paul.”
However John found out that this worship can often blindsight people, himself included into ignoring their problems
However John found out that this worship can often blindsight people, himself included into ignoring their problems
4. Working Class Hero
I’ve already done a separate thread on the meaning of working class hero which you can read. Though in an album context, after vaguely talking about his own experience with celebrity worship in I found out, John turns to critiquing the system that + https://twitter.com/lennonsquish/status/1294474004204412928
I’ve already done a separate thread on the meaning of working class hero which you can read. Though in an album context, after vaguely talking about his own experience with celebrity worship in I found out, John turns to critiquing the system that + https://twitter.com/lennonsquish/status/1294474004204412928
Facilities the worship of those people consider above them and the search of meaning in religion: capitalism.
5. Isolation
Isolation has definitely been a song extremely relevant to this year, the lyrics resonating with people John could never have predicted. For John however, it was a meditation of the often lonely nature of his position. As he said himself:
Isolation has definitely been a song extremely relevant to this year, the lyrics resonating with people John could never have predicted. For John however, it was a meditation of the often lonely nature of his position. As he said himself:
“Because I was famous - I couldn’t go to the movies, couldn’t go to the theatre, couldn’t do anything.”
This is building on the same “it’s lonely at the top” sentiment in working class hero.
This is building on the same “it’s lonely at the top” sentiment in working class hero.
6. Remember
Remember can arguably be seen as a culmination of themes in previous songs. Once again John reminisces of his childhood. The instrumentation of the verses feels somber, stressful, much like johns childhood. But when it moves into the chorus the music +
Remember can arguably be seen as a culmination of themes in previous songs. Once again John reminisces of his childhood. The instrumentation of the verses feels somber, stressful, much like johns childhood. But when it moves into the chorus the music +
Becomes more uplifting, shifting into major chords w/ lyrics like “don’t feel sorry” and don’t you worry expressing there’s no point in regretting what happened
This is similar to whats expressed in Mother and Hold On with the verses mirroring mother and chorus mirroring Hold On
This is similar to whats expressed in Mother and Hold On with the verses mirroring mother and chorus mirroring Hold On
7. Love
Love is an uplifting break from emotional and societal introspection of the songs previous and just a generally beautiful song.
Love is a concept that clearly both fascinated and uplifted John throughout his life and when he explores it in music it turns out beautiful
Love is an uplifting break from emotional and societal introspection of the songs previous and just a generally beautiful song.
Love is a concept that clearly both fascinated and uplifted John throughout his life and when he explores it in music it turns out beautiful
8. Well Well Well
This track is less about revolutionary politics and more about the act of existing as someone with revolutionary ideas and the often satisfaction of connecting with someone with similar ideas. In this case that someone would most likely be Yoko Ono
This track is less about revolutionary politics and more about the act of existing as someone with revolutionary ideas and the often satisfaction of connecting with someone with similar ideas. In this case that someone would most likely be Yoko Ono
9. Look At Me
Look at me is a song about wanting perceived by others while at the same time not necessarily knowing just how you want to be perceived.
It’s important to note that John was struggling with his identity while having people from all directions telling him +
Look at me is a song about wanting perceived by others while at the same time not necessarily knowing just how you want to be perceived.
It’s important to note that John was struggling with his identity while having people from all directions telling him +
who he was. The clever Beatle, the witty one, the mean one. In a position like his it’s easy to lose yourself. This compounds on the ways fame has had a negative effect on his self perception.
10. God
All of these themes eventually culminate in God. Like I Found Out, on first blush, God seems like a cynical song about the nature of religion, but as the song goes on, it reveals to be something much deeper and more personal: the legend surrounding the Beatles +
All of these themes eventually culminate in God. Like I Found Out, on first blush, God seems like a cynical song about the nature of religion, but as the song goes on, it reveals to be something much deeper and more personal: the legend surrounding the Beatles +
The song opens with the famous line “god is a concept by which we measure our pain.” John then goes on to list things given God like status... kings, Kennedy even Hitler; until finally he sings “I don’t believe in Beatles;” adding his own legend to the list he rejects +
Then adding “The dream is over... I was the dreamweaver.” The perception of the Beatles was just that: a dream. A dream he created. John used to believe in that dream as much as anyone else. But that myth ended up hurting him, so he has to let it go.
^ this may seem upsetting, especially to Beatles fans but it’s important to note that this was how John was feeling just after the breakup. As the years went by he would begin to look back at the Beatles more fondly.
11. My Mummy’s Dead
We end where we began. The closing track is a very brief, yet melancholic song about the death of John’s mother. Despite his best attempts, he will never fully get over it because when it happened he was never completely able to express his grief
We end where we began. The closing track is a very brief, yet melancholic song about the death of John’s mother. Despite his best attempts, he will never fully get over it because when it happened he was never completely able to express his grief
Plastic Ono Band may not be a happy album, but it’s an honest one. I think it takes bravery to be as vulnerable as John was here. And because it, he created a work that still resonates with people 50 years later. Despite having plastic in the title it’s very human.
End of thread
End of thread
