It's So Hard
| "It's So Hard" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Record Plant East, New York | ||||
| Genre | Blues[1] | |||
| Length | 2:25 | |||
| Label | Apple | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Lennon | |||
| Producer(s) | Phil Spector, John Lennon and Yoko Ono | |||
| John Lennon singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"It's So Hard" is a song written and performed by
Lyrics and music
According to author John Blaney, the lyrics of "It's So Hard" represent a summary of Lennon's struggle with life's difficulties.
"It's So Hard" is a rocking blues-style tune.[3][4] Record World described it as "a rocker."[6]
Music critic
Recording
"It's So Hard" was recorded on 11 February 1971 at
The primary instruments are Lennon on guitar & piano,
Reception
Mellers praises the potency of the song's 'barrelhouse piano style' and the compulsiveness generated by the song's ostinato.[7] Music instructors Ben Urish and Ken Bielen describe "It's So Hard" as "enjoyable enough", claiming that it "makes its simple point without belabouring it".[4] John Blaney claims that in inferior hands the song could have been "a maudlin song of self-pity" but Lennon's "bouncy arrangement" and "snappy rhythm/lead guitar" avoids this issue.[3]
Author Robert Rodriguez calls it one of the "edgier tracks" on Imagine that forms the album's "real meat".[12] Music critic Robert Christgau describes it as an "unsung great song".[13] Jackson calls it "a funny rant about life that anyone who hasn't slept enough, before another day at work, can make his or her own", adding that "as banal as it is, no one before had ever kvetched in such a humorous way about how hard it was just to function as a human being."[5]
Other versions
On 14 January 1972, Lennon and Ono Lennon recorded "It's So Hard", backed by Elephant's Memory for an edition of The Mike Douglas Show which aired on 14 February.[10][12] Activist Jerry Rubin played percussion for this performance.[10] Lennon also played the track during a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden on 30 August 1972.[14]
The version from the album Imagine was included in the documentary Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's 'Imagine' Album.[10] It was also included in a version of the film Imagine: John Lennon for a scene where Lennon and Ono attended a party at the New York home of Allen Klein, but the scene was cut from the film.[10]
Chris Goss and Masters of Reality covered "It's So Hard" on their 2004 album Give Us Barabbas.[15]
Personnel
- John Lennon – vocals, electric guitar, piano
- Klaus Voormann – bass
- King Curtis – tenor saxophone
- Jim Gordon – drums, tambourine
- The Flux Fiddlers – strings
References
- ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9780954452810.
- ^ ISBN 9781906002022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-275-99180-7.
- ^ ISBN 9780810882225.
- ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 16 October 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ ISBN 0-670-73598-1.
- ^ a b Fricke, David (10 December 2010). "20 Underappreciated John Lennon Solo Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-63110-175-5.
- ^ ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-63110-175-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
- ^ Christgau, R. "John Lennon". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ISBN 9780313379383.
- ^ Prato, G. "Give Us Barabbas". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
