God (John Lennon song)

Song infobox
Name = God


Artist = John Lennon
Album = John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Released = 11 December 1970
track_no = 10
Recorded = September 26 - October 9 1970
Genre = Rock/Pop
Length = 4:09
Writer = John Lennon
Label = Apple/EMI
Producer = John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector
prev = "Look at Me"
prev_no = 9
next = "My Mummy's Dead"
next_no = 11"God" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band". The album was released on December 11, 1970 in the U.S. and the UK.

This song was very controversial upon its release, dealing with religious themes.

Meaning

The first movement of the song discusses Lennon's disdain for popular religious belief. He believed that God was something different to everyone, and that most people did not focus enough on the moral lessons of religion.Fact|date=August 2007 He describes God as "a concept by which we measure our pain".

In the second section of the song, Lennon lists many idols that he does not believe in (including The Beatles), ending by stating that he just believes in himself and Yoko. The idols he lists are:
magic, I Ching, the Bible, tarot, Hitler, Jesus, Kennedy, Buddha, mantra, Gita, yoga, kings, Elvis, Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) and The Beatles.

The final section of the song describes Lennon's change since the breakup of The Beatles. 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," represents Lennon's stance that the myth "the Beatles were God" had come to an end. "If there is a God," Lennon explained, "we're all it."cite book |first=Jann S. |last=Wenner |title=Lennon Remembers |year=2000 |pages=48| publisher=Verso |location=London |isbn=1-85984-376-X]

Personnel

The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:cite book |first=John |last=Blaney |title=John Lennon: Listen To This Book |year=2005 |pages=61| publisher=Biddles Ltd. |location=Guildford, Great Britain |isbn=0-9544528-1-X]
*John Lennon - vocals
*Billy Preston - piano
*Ringo Starr - drums
*Klaus Voormann - bass

Appearances in popular culture

* The line "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me" was referenced in the 1986 film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".
* The song has been performed by Queen guitarist Brian May. [ [http://www.pemcom.demon.co.uk/queen/covers/god.html God (the dream is over) ] ]
* Irish rock band U2 wrote a song entitled "God Part II", referring to the original Lennon song. The lyrics, written by lead singer Bono, continue the pattern of stating things he doesn't believe in.
* "God" (and the album "Plastic Ono Band" generally) was mocked in the National Lampoon Comedy Radio song "Magical Misery Tour". This parody reportedly consists entirely of actual quotes from Lennon's famous "Rolling Stone" magazine interview following the breakup of The Beatles. It ends with "Lennon" crying out, "Mother! They're trying to crucify me!", followed by a heavily-echoed fadeout of repeated primal screams "Fuck! Fuck!". ["Magical Misery Tour" appears on the compilation CD "Greatest Hits of the National Lampoon", and can be heard in its entirety at this site: http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/0512/Magical_Misery_Tour.mp3]
* "God" was covered by Jack's Mannequin and Mick Fleetwood, released on "" (2007).

Notes