Remember (John Lennon song)

The song was influenced by Lennon's primal therapy sessions with Dr Arthur Janov, and the lyrics reflect things typically remembered in therapy.[1] The memories described are unpleasant ones, of conflict with family, authority and peers. Lennon employs his wit, mentioning how "the hero was never hung, always got away", and parents "wishin' for movie stardom, always playin' a part," instead of being honest and open.

At one point in the song, the beat slows down and Lennon sings to himself that when things get crazy in the future, he should try to remember his current moment of respite.[2] Rogan thinks that the moment of respite Lennon wants to remind himself to remember in crazy times is in his childhood, rather than the present day.[3] Mellers explains that the song's construction creates for the listener by using a vocal melody that has no line but is rather made up of pentatonic fragments, and by using odd tonality which moves between unrelated chords.[4]

At the very end of the song, Lennon is heard saying the words, "Remember, remember, the Fifth of November", followed by the sound of an explosion. The words are from the English nursery rhyme "Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November",[5] and are a reference to Guy Fawkes Night, a holiday in Great Britain that is celebrated with fireworks. Lennon told Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone that it was part of a lengthy ad-lib, and said he later decided that this line ought to be the culmination of the song.[6][2] "I cut it there and it just exploded 'cause it was a good joke", Lennon said.[7]

Lennon plays the piano in staccato fashion.[2] Pop historian Robert Rodriguez notes that early in the song, when Lennon begins to sing, drummer Ringo Starr has to "compensate for John's erratic sense of rhythm," an example of the benefit to Lennon of working with a musician familiar with his quirks.[8]

One line from the song "If you ever change your mind about leaving it all behind" was borrowed from the opening line of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me," which Lennon later covered on Rock 'n' Roll.[8][9] However, Lennon works the line into a different context. Whereas Cooke was inviting a lover to come home to him, Lennon uses the line to suggest that "leaving it all behind" is impossible, and one should always be aware of one's past.[9] Lennon goes on to sing that one should not feel sorry about or worry about the past.[9]

The original version of "Remember" was over eight minutes long.[1] This version contained an organ overdub, more double-tracked vocals, and a Jew's harp. Lennon cut the recording down and added an explosion, in reference to Guy Fawkes Night.[1]

A 2:44 rehearsal take of "Remember"—where the tempo of the song is being worked out—appears on the 1998 box set John Lennon Anthology.[1]

The song was recorded on 9 October 1970, Lennon's 30th birthday. This is evident in that in an outtake of the song, Lennon sings "Happy Birthday ... to me ..." as Starr and Voormann played the backing track.[1] The same day was also the occasion of Lennon's last ever meeting with his father, Alf Lennon, who was invited by Lennon for lunch. The meeting was unsuccessful, as Lennon went into a primal therapy inspired tirade against his father, which left him scared and shaken.[10] Alf Lennon later recalled the meeting in a hand-written four-page statement, saying:

He launched into an account of his recent visit to America, and as the story unfolded, so the self inflicted torture began to show in his face, and his voice rose to a scream as he likened himself to Jimi Hendrix and other pop stars who had recently departed from the scene, ending in a crescendo as he admitted he was 'Bloody mad, insane' and due for an early demise. There was no doubt whatsoever in my mind, that he meant every word he spoke. His countenance was frightful to behold.[7]

"Remember" is one of several songs on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band that regards "a litany of letdowns."[8] Music critic Wilfrid Mellers regards the theme of "Remember" to be the debunking of parents' dreams for their children as being as phony as television or movie scripts.[4] Music critic Johnny Rogan raises similar issues, stating that the song addresses childhood years when morality is black and white and heroes and villains fit into their predefined roles with inevitable results.[3]

According to Mellers, the song "literally" blows up the past with the Guy Fawkes Day explosion.[4] Rogan believes that the quicker tempo and more prominent piano and drum playing leading up to the conclusion increase the drama and humour of the Guy Fawkes explosion.[3] Rogan's interprets the explosion as being Lennon dramatizing an alternate history in which the radical Fawkes succeeds.[3] Authors Ken Bielen and Ben Urish consider the explosion "a stark ending to a surprisingly poignant song, the rupture of childhood trauma echoing in the adult in the form of half-recalled nursery rhymes."[9]

The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:[11]

• John Lennon – vocals, piano
• Ringo Starr – drums
• Klaus Voormann – bass guitar

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics