Best John Lennon songs

The most talented of the Beatles IMO, and my favourite songwriter/performer after Freddie Mercury and Amy Winehouse (who is obviously number 1 for me.)

I'd say his best songs are Instant Karma.



It's lyrics are quite good, but this is one of his best performances.

Starting Over



There is a real tragic irony to this. In fact it's probably the most ironic song of all time alongside "Help Yourself" by Amy Winehouse, but it is such a beautiful song all around. Quite inspirational.

Working Class Hero



Forget Imagine, this is his magnificent octopus LOL.

This song had a massive effect on me as a teenager. The line they hate you if your clever but despise a fool, along with "keep you doped with religion and sex and tv and you think your so clever and classless and free, but your still fucking peasants as far as I can see" are the two best things he ever wrote.

Replace religion with identity politics and it's just as applicable today.

Imagine ironically I think is one of his worst songs. It makes some good points, and I do like the music, but it is really sanctimonious.

What are your thoughts?

I do find I have more time for Lennon's solo material than that band he was in before... more mature and insightful. Agree Imagine is too hippy dippy but Working Class Hero is a classic, tho that primal scream and Yoko Ono collaboritive stuff isn't really my bag.

McCartney was more overtly commercial wìth Wings etc but ended up surrounded by yes men and repeating himself, Harrison was too self-effacing and perhaps out of step with the mood of the 70s despite a strong debut, and Ringo never exactly seemed to take the music side that seriously!

Mott1 wrote:I do find I have more time for Lennon's solo material than that band he was in before... more mature and insightful. Agree Imagine is too hippy dippy but Working Class Hero is a classic, tho that primal scream and Yoko Ono collaboritive stuff isn't really my bag.

McCartney was more overtly commercial wìth Wings etc but ended up surrounded by yes men and repeating himself, Harrison was too self-effacing and perhaps out of step with the mood of the 70s despite a strong debut, and Ringo never exactly seemed to take the music side that seriously!

I like the Beatles, but Lennon's solo stuff is definitely more grown up.

He is a fascinating figure. So many different sides to him, some admirable, some less so. It's ironic that he only had half the life that Ringo and Paul did, but his life is more interesting.

(How many famous rock stars saw an alien spaceship?)

John Lennon Saw UFO Article

Though that's not to do down Paul and Ringo. John's life was more interesting because of his faults LOL. My dad is insanely pro Ringo, so I grew up in a house with a lot of Ringo's solo stuff. A lot of it is better than it get's credit for.

Another area where Lennon's life was more interesting was his foray into politics. Lennon was the original virtue signalling celebrity. It would be unfair to compare him to modern celebs completely however.

He was naive, a bit of a poser, and made himself look like an idiot at times, but a lot of his causes at least were better, like being anti Vietnam war, supporting the civil right's movement, exposing just how far the CIA were willing to go.

I always found this video interesting. One wonders what Al Capp would have made of Lily Allen and Madonna today?



This is celebs being trolled before the internet

As a Bowie fan I always found his friendship with John in the 1970s was interesting - I rarely detect much Beatles influence on David other than on one track from Hunky Dory which has a McCartney feel to it (Oh! You Pretty Things) and a fine cover of Lennon's Mother - but they were fast friends.

He inadvertently inspired David to write 'Fame' (getting a writers credit too) and his assassination had a major effect on Bowie, who was playing The Elephant Man at the time. Though the idea it made David shy away from role playing and outrageousness is rather disproved by the existence of Labyrinth!

graet anthem of the prison abolishion movement



stunning expresion of women power

TBH he was a mediokre song writer over all, lucky he had Yoko too write him some decent tunes