‘How Do You Sleep?’: The song that proves John Lennon would have been a rapper in another life
It’s hard for us to imagine John Lennon as anything other than John Lennon. Regardless of your overall opinion about him, there is no denying the fact that he was one of the most influential musicians ever to walk the face of the Earth. He was responsible for a number of different musical movements and bands, many of which he didn’t get to see because of how early he died.
Given that he passed away in 1980, Lennon only got to see the early years of rap. ‘Rappers Delight’ was the first hip-hop song to make it in the top 40 and that was released in 1979, not to mention it hardly showcased the true power of rap, that would come much later. There have been a number of artists who have helped shape what we now know as rap. People like Rakim, Schoolly D, Andre 3000, 2Pac, Biggie and Kendrick Lamar have made rap one of the most versatile genres on the planet.
I do not doubt that John Lennon would have been a big fan of rap music. Two of the things that remained most consistent throughout his career were his love of storytelling and honesty within music. This is why he liked the work of Bob Dylan so much, and also why, when the Beatles broke up, he started writing songs like ‘Working Class Hero’ and ‘Mother’, which were much more honest reflections of who he was.
Rap is many things, but when you break it down to its core, it’s some of the most honest poetry in music. There is no escaping the harsh reality of the world when you listen to rap, as good rappers are storytellers who spill their heart and soul into a track. Lennon would respect the genre for these reasons, without a doubt. However, I will take it one step further. After recently listening to ‘How Do You Sleep?’ I think if Lennon had his time again, surrounded by modern music, he would be more inclined to write rap.
In his diss about Paul McCartney, Lennon does three crucial things which can all be considered quintessential parts of any good rap song. They showcase clearly that despite making a name for himself in the worlds of rock and pop, there was a hidden master of ceremony buried beneath those ballads.
Cultural references
Something that rap music does a lot better than other genres is cultural references. You don’t tend to find in rock songs that people make a direct reference to their previous works, or something that is directly affecting the world. You get this a lot in rap music, as people will talk about their previous works and the response those works got. People will also call out TV shows, characters, and political figures by name when rapping.
John Lennon broke this mould on your ‘How Do You Sleep?’ with the opening line. “So Sgt Pepper took you by surprise.” Not only is he referencing the old work that he did with McCartney, but he is also talking about McCartney’s response to said work and his impact on it. There are other cultural references throughout the track, but these are discussed under the next heading.
Double entendre
Rappers love a double entendre. Let’s look at Kendrick Lamar’s recent Drake diss track, ‘Euphoria’. One of the lines in the song is “How many more sob stories about your life till we’ve had enough? How many more black features till you finally feel like you’re black enough?” Lamar’s means two things here in his criticism of Drake not being “black enough.” The first is that he gets black artists on his songs, and the second is that he wears clothing and styles himself in ways that are commonly associated with black people. This is one double entendre in millions that you can see throughout rap music, but it made sense to use a diss, given what Lennon wrote.
In ‘How Do You Sleep?’ Lennon says, “The only thing you’ve done was yesterday.” With this line, he means two things. The first is that the only good song he has written was ‘Yesterday’. Fair enough, ‘Yesterday’ is arguably one of the best songs ever written, so it’s good of Lennon to acknowledge this. The second is that all of McCartney’s best days are behind him and that he’s peaked. It’s an interesting double entendre and certainly one that works as well as those you see in rap songs.
“I’m what the culture feeling”
We may as well continue using Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Euphoria’ as our go-to song for comparison. On that track, Lamar says “We hate the bitches you fuck cos they confuse themselves with real women, and notice I say ‘we’, it’s not just me, I’m what the culture feeling.” This was perhaps one of the most brutal jabs on the diss, firstly because it insinuates Drake sleeps with underage women, but secondly because it’s Kendrick saying that the entire rap game agrees with him.
Lennon did something similar with ‘How Do You Sleep?’ While no such accusations were made about McCartney, Lennon did insinuate that people agreed with his point of view, and he did this by having George Harrison play guitar on the track. This is the instrumental way of saying “I’m what the culture feeling.” By having Harrison on the song, that was essentially Lennon saying to McCartney, “It’s not just me who feels like this, look, George is here too.”
Whether Lennon would have actually dabbled in rap music in another life is impossible to call, but he was using the writing styles of rappers long before the genre had truly found its feet. It shows just how far ahead of his time Lennon was and how much of an innovative wordsmith the Beatle was.
