God (John Lennon song)

1970 song by John Lennon

"God"

Cover to promo single issued by Odeon in Spain in 1988

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

Side one

1. "Mother"
2. "Hold On"
3. "I Found Out"
4. "Working Class Hero"
5. "Isolation"

Side two

1.   2. "Remember"
3. "Love"
4. "Well Well Well"
5. "Look at Me"
6. "God"
7. "My Mummy's Dead"

"God" is a song by English musician John Lennon, from his first post-Beatles solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album was released on 11 December 1970 in the United States and the United Kingdom.[2]

## Meaning

[edit]

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 list of things he does not believe in, ending by stating that he just believes in himself (individuality) and Yoko (his wife). He rejects magic, the I Ching, the Bible, tarot, Hitler, Jesus, Kennedy, the Buddha, mantra, the Gita, yoga, kings, Elvis, Zimmerman (Bob Dylan), and the Beatles.[3]

The final section describes Lennon's change since the break-up of the Beatles. While the Beatles were basically his family throughout the 1960s,[2] he refers to Paul McCartney's 1965 Beatles song "Yesterday", and states that he is no longer the "Dreamweaver" or "The Walrus", but just "John". The final line of the song, "The dream is over", has been seen as declaring the end of the 1960s quest for meaning. "If there is a God", Lennon explained, "we're all it".[4]

## Legacy

[edit]

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,[5] 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".[6]

## Personnel

[edit]

The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:[7]

* John Lennon – vocals, tack piano[8]
* Billy Preston – grand piano[8]
* Ringo Starr – drums
* Klaus Voormann – bass guitar

## See also

[edit]

* Religious views of the Beatles

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "God". 2 August 2010.
2. ^ a b "God". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
3. ^ Wiener, Jon. (1991). Come together : John Lennon in his time (Illini books ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06131-4. OCLC 21907530.
4. ^ Wenner, Jann S. (2000). Lennon Remembers. London: Verso. p. 48. ISBN 1-85984-376-X.
5. ^ Pegg 2016, pp. 373–379.
6. ^ Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated 2016 ed.). Titan Books. p. 5\. ISBN 9781785655333.
7. ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd. p. 61\. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X.
8. ^ a b "God (p. 2)". The Beatles Bible. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2020.

* v
* t
* e

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

Songs|

| Side one|

* "Mother"
* "Hold On"
* "I Found Out"
* "Working Class Hero"
* "Isolation"

|

Side two|

* "Remember"
* "Love"
* "Well Well Well"
* "Look at Me"
* "God"
* "My Mummy's Dead"

2000 reissue
bonus tracks|

* "Power to the People"
* "Do the Oz"

Related|

* John Lennon discography
* Plastic Ono Band
* Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band
* Primal therapy
* Lennon Remembers

* John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
* Imagine
* Some Time in New York City
* Mind Games
* Walls and Bridges
* Rock 'n' Roll

* v
* t
* e

John Lennon

* Discography
* Instruments
* Jukebox
* Song list
* Death

Studio albums|

* John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
* Imagine
* Mind Games
* Walls and Bridges
* Rock 'n' Roll

with Yoko Ono|

* Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins
* Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions
* Wedding Album
* Some Time in New York City
* Double Fantasy
* Milk and Honey

Live albums|

* Live Peace in Toronto 1969
* Live Jam
* Live in New York City

Compilations|

| Hits|

* Shaved Fish
* The John Lennon Collection
* Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon
* Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits
* Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon
* Power to the People: The Hits
* Icon

|

Themed|

* Menlove Ave.
* Wonsaponatime
* Acoustic
* Peace, Love & Truth

Box sets|

* Lennon
* John Lennon Anthology
* John Lennon Signature Box
* Gimme Some Truth
* Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes

Video|

* The John Lennon Video Collection
* Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon

Books|

* In His Own Write
* A Spaniard in the Works
* Skywriting by Word of Mouth

Films|

* Self-Portrait (1969)
* Apotheosis (1970)
* Fly (1970)
* Erection (1971)
* Up Your Legs Forever (1971)
* Live in New York City (1972)
* Imagine (1972)

Bootlegs|

* A Toot and a Snore in '74
* S.I.R. John Winston Ono Lennon

Associates|

* The Quarrymen
* The Beatles
* Plastic Ono Band
* David Peel
* The Lower East Side Band
* The Dirty Mac
* May Pang
* Harry Nilsson
* John Sinclair
* Rosaura Lopez

Fictionalised|

* Chapter 27
* In His Life: The John Lennon Story
* John and Yoko: A Love Story
* The Killing of John Lennon
* Lennon Naked
* Birth of the Beatles
* Nowhere Boy
* Backbeat
* Two of Us
* The Lennon Report
* Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed
* Yesterday

Tributes and
memorials|

* The 30th Annual John Lennon Tribute: Live from the Beacon Theatre, NYC
* "All Those Years Ago"
* Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music
* "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)"
* "Here Today"
* Imagine Peace Tower
* "The Immigrant"
* Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
* John Lennon Art and Design Building
* John Lennon Museum
* John Lennon Park
* John Lennon Peace Monument
* John Lennon Educational Tour Bus
* "The Late Great Johnny Ace"
* Lennon (musical)
* Lennon Bermuda
* Lennon Wall
* "Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)"
* Liverpool John Lennon Airport
* Non-Violence
* Strawberry Fields
* "Roll On John"
* Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon

Related media|

* Imagine: John Lennon
* soundtrack
* I Met the Walrus
* John (book)
* John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky
* Lennon Remembers
* LennoNYC
* The Lives of John Lennon
* The Lost Lennon Tapes
* Marx & Lennon: The Parallel Sayings
* Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon
* The Pope Smokes Dope
* Pussy Cats
* The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
* Roots: John Lennon Sings the Great Rock & Roll Hits
* "That's My Life (My Love and My Home)"
* The U.S. vs. John Lennon
* soundtrack

Other topics|

* 251 Menlove Avenue
* Kenwood
* Tittenhurst Park
* The Dakota
* Bagism
* Bed-in
* Imagine Piano Peace Project
* John Lennon Artificial Intelligence Project
* John Lennon UFO incident
* Lennon–McCartney
* LennonOno Grant for Peace
* Mark David Chapman
* "More popular than Jesus"
* Nutopia
* Toronto Rock and Roll Revival
* Sweet Toronto
* Psychedelic Rolls-Royce
* 4147 Lennon

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

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