Fascinating Songwriters, Part I

(DISCLAIMER: I am not a music critic. I don't write for Rolling Stone. I don't pretend to know all there is to know about music. Okay? :-))

I was listening to the John Lennon/Yoko Ono album Double Fantasy today and, as always, I was struck by the amazing lyric writing of John Lennon.

(Admittedly, I do skip over the Yoko Ono tunes--"Kiss Kiss Kiss" might be one of the most painful songs ever written. If someone wants to argue with me on this point, I'll be happy to go back and re-examine the Ono songs. Until then, I'll hit "skip.")

What woman wouldn't want lyrics like thse written for her?

Even if it's just one night, I miss you and it don't feel right,

I wish you were here tonight dear Yoko.

Even if it's just an hour, I wilt just like a fading flower,

Ain't nothing in the world like our love, dear Yoko.

And, of course, there's "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," Lennon's love song to his son:

Close your eyes

Have no fear

The monster's gone

He's on the run and your daddy's here

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy...

Ah.

This album is really a love song to Lennon's family. Even in "Watching the Wheels," Lennon writes of his satisfaction with the life he's chosen away from the spotlight:

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing

Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin

When I say that I'm o.k. they look at me kind of strange

Surely you're not happy now you no longer play the game...

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round

I really love to watch them roll

No longer riding on the merry-go-round

I just had to let it go

I know I'm not saying anything new here; Lennon wrote plenty of incredible lyrics during his lifetime. And Double Fantasy isn't the only album he released. Maybe it's particularly poignant because Lennon was killed the month after the album's release. But today, it really touched my heart. And for me, that's what matters.

For a complete review of Double Fantasy, visit rollingstone.com.