The Beatles album Sean Ono Lennon admires most: “Hard to beat”
My favourite lyric in all of music, rather unsurprisingly, comes from John Lennon.
While part of me is desperate to align myself with something more offbeat as to create mysterious intrigue around my personality, I simply can’t help but obsess over a simple line from perhaps the most famous musician of all time.
“Life is what happens to you / While you’re busy making other plans,” the great musician sang on ‘Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)’, a song written in tribute to his newborn Sean Ono Lennon. While most of the lyrics deal with direct proclamations of love and stewardship, this one cuts through, serving as a piece of reflective philanthropy that perfectly describes the state of modern life.
But outside of that, the song serves as a brief glimpse into the life of Sean and Julian, who together lived their lives with their father being perhaps the most famous man in the world. Moments of parental intimacy must have been fleeting when the world was so intent on snatching him away from them, and so even in a song dedicated to Sean, he had to share the moment with us.
Ultimately, though, when the reality of what his father had given the world sank in, Sean became a fan, just like the rest of us. From Double Fantasy and ‘Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)’ to beyond, tracing his genius all the way back to The Beatles, where, rather ironically, he shares a deep love for the exact same Beatles album as me. I’m sorry for making your song all about me, Sean. Shall we now sit down and enjoy Revolver together?
Seems like it could be on the cards, for the young Lennon so eloquently described what made that 1966 record so special, capturing every essence of genius that makes it such a staple in my back catalogue.
“There’s a lot of good Beatles records, but Revolver is hard to beat,” he explained. “They were moving at an unbelievable speed, they’d hit their stride as individuals and were claiming their power as artists – but they haven’t got to Pepper yet.”
Adding, “Revolver is like bursting through a door. In a way, this transitional period is the most exciting. My dad and Paul are still writing together but they’re also individuated. It’s the best of both worlds. George has started writing incredible songs on his own. Their production is getting experimental. The technology is changing. They’re starting to listen to the mixes, they’re starting to have production input.”
It was the moment The Beatles walked through the door of innovation and never turned back. Touring was knocked on the head, creative tensions were resulting in musical genius, and the songwriting was as melodic as it was during their early chart romps. It was a record that had every element of Beatles brilliance from the entire decade, bundled into one project.
Really, ‘Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)’ is the sort of song that could have feasibly existed on Revolver, almost like the parental version of ‘I’m Only Sleeping’. Both tracks saw Sean’s dad performing at his very best, and so it’s no surprise that both hold such a special place in his heart.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.