God (John Lennon song)
"God" | |
---|---|
Song by John Lennon | |
from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | |
Released | 11 December 1970 |
Recorded | 26 September – 9 October 1970[1] |
Length | 4:09 |
Label | Apple/EMI |
Songwriter(s) | John Lennon |
Producer(s) | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector |
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band track listing | |
11 tracks
|
"God" is a song by English musician
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 chants a
The final section describes Lennon's change since the
Legacy
The Irish rock band U2 wrote and recorded the song "God Part II" as an answer song to Lennon's "God". Included in U2's 1988 album Rattle and Hum, "God Part II" reprises the "don't believe in" motif from Lennon's song and its lyrics explicitly reference Lennon's 1970 song "Instant Karma!" and American biographer Albert Goldman, author of the controversial book The Lives of John Lennon (1988).
English musician David Bowie, a friend and one-time musical collaborator with Lennon, wrote and recorded the song "Afraid", which was included in his 2002 album Heathen; one of the song's lyrics, "I believe in Beatles", is a rejoinder to Lennon singing "I don't believe in Beatles" in "God".
Personnel
The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:[5]
- John Lennon – vocals, tack piano[6]
- grand piano[6]
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Klaus Voormann – bass guitar
See also
Notes
- ^ "God". 2 August 2010.
- ^ a b "God". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- OCLC 21907530.
- ISBN 1-85984-376-X.
- ISBN 0-9544528-1-X.
- ^ a b "God (p. 2)". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2020.