God (John Lennon song)

"God" is a song from John Lennon's 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.[1]

"God"
Cover to promo single issued by Odeon in Spain in 1988
Song by John Lennon
from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Released11 December 1970
Recorded26 September – 9 October 1970
Length4:09
LabelApple/EMI
Songwriter(s)John Lennon
Producer(s)John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band track listing
11 tracks
Side one
  1. "Mother"
  2. "Hold On"
  3. "I Found Out"
  4. "Working Class Hero"
  5. "Isolation"
Side two
  1. "Remember"
  2. "Love"
  3. "Well Well Well"
  4. "Look at Me"
  5. "God"
  6. "My Mummy's Dead"

Meaning

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 lists many movements that 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, Buddha, mantra, the Gita, yoga, kings, Elvis, Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) and the Beatles.[2]

The final section describes Lennon's change since the break-up of the Beatles. While the Beatles were basically his family throughout the 1960s,[1] he states that he is no longer the "Dreamweaver" or "The Walrus", but just "John". The final line of the song, "The dream is over,” in effect officially declared the end of the 1960s and its quest for meaning in utopian movements. Lennon is saying that meaning lies within oneself. "If there is a God," Lennon explained, "we're all it."[3]

Personnel

The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:[4]

Notes
  1. "God". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. Wenner, Jann S. (2000). Lennon Remembers. London: Verso. p. 48. ISBN 1-85984-376-X.
  4. Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd. p. 61. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X.
  5. "God (p. 2)". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
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