Jealous Guy
Encyclopedia : J : JE : JEA : Jealous Guy
| "Jealous Guy" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Single by John Lennon | ||
| From the album Imagine | ||
| Single Released | November 1985 (UK) | |
| Recorded | 1971 | |
| Song Length | 4:14 | |
| Record label | Parlophone | |
| Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector | |
| Chart positions | #65 (UK) #80 (US) (1988 release) | |
"Jealous Guy" is a song written and performed by John Lennon. It is one of the most commonly covered Lennon songs, with at least ninety-two recorded cover versions by musicians like the Black Crowes, Jeff Tweedy, Peter Criss (of KISS), and The Pahinui Brothers. The most notable of the non-Lennon recordings were by Roxy Music and the Faces. The Roxy Music version was issued as a tribute single in 1981.
Origins
The song's genesis came after The Beatles attended a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, when Paul McCartney wrote "Mother Nature's Son". Lennon's composition, "Child of Nature", was not selected for The Beatles (the White Album) but he continued to play it into the Get Back sessions. Eventually, the lyrics were scrapped and replaced by the now well known "Jealous Guy" lyric. Lennon's original lyrics were as follows:
On the road to Rishikesh,
I was dreaming more or less,
And the dream I had was true,
Yes, the dream I had was true.I'm just a child of nature,
I don't need much to set me free,
I'm just a child of nature,
I'm one of nature's children.Sunlight shining in your eyes,
As I face the desert skies,
And my thoughts return to home,
Yes, my thoughts return to home.Underneath the mountain ranges,
Where the wind that never changes,
Touch the windows of my soul,
Touch the windows of my soul.
Three recordings of "Child of Nature" are currently known. The first is a demo of the song recorded at the home of George Harrison in May of 1968. The second, on which George sings backing vocals, was recorded at Twickenham Film Studios on January 2, 1969. A third recording was made at Apple Studios on January 24. A snatch of the chorus from the second recording appears on the Fly on the Wall bonus disc packaged with Let It Be... Naked.
The release
"Jealous Guy" was released as a single with "Going Down on Love" (a track from Walls and Bridges) as the B-side in the United Kingdom in November 1985. It reached number 65 in the charts.Behind the song
Although self-explanatory, the subject of the song is Lennon not only apologising to Yoko for his jealousy, but also to explain it away by saying "That´s how I am..." The lyrics at the end reflect this: "I´m just a jealous guy - look out/watch out".The song first appeared on the Imagine album in 1971. Bryan Ferry has recorded the song both as a solo artist and as the singer for Roxy Music. The song was the only #1 chart hit for Roxy Music.
Though the relationship between John and Yoko is regarded by many as one of the greatest publicised romances of the 20th century, there was a period in the early 1970s - after the Beatles split - where John became entangled in a self-destructive downwards spiral. His drinking became more frequent and his relationship with Yoko became strained. It was during this period that John reworked "Child of Nature" to be "Jealous Guy" as a public apology.
John had jealousy problems with his first wife, Cynthia Powell, and when he left her for Yoko, the jealousy continued. Yoko commented, "(The song) said it all! ... After we got together he made me write out a list of all the men I'd slept with before we met. I started to do it quite casually – then I realised how serious it was to John. He didn't even like me speaking Japanese because that was a part of my mind that shut him out."
Although the song itself did not end his problems; the ability to speak openly with his wife – and indeed the world – about his problems allowed Yoko to see that, as John had spent the majority of his twenties in the public eye, he had not been able to enjoy the normal life experienced by most men in their twenties. It was therefore suggested by Yoko, in late 1973, that John should spend some time in Los Angeles with May Pang. John lived for over a year in Los Angeles, which he later called his "lost weekend." This was where his self-destructive attitude became worse. [Elliot Mintz] stated that Lennon thought of himself as being "alienated, lost, and consistently unhappy". Mintz also said, "The more he drank, the more depressed he became ... and he was a lousy drinker," (meaning he could not ´hold´ his alcohol; he got drunk fairly quickly and became very aggresive.)
Rather than releasing John´s pent-up aggression, it merely awoke in him the realisation that he truly missed his wife (Yoko), and further emphasised to him the foolishness of his flaws, which are highlighted in the song. The two were re-united in 1975 at an Elton John concert. Their son, Sean Taro Ono Lennon, was born in October 9 1975, which was also John's birthday.
Trivia
The bass guitar on the song is played by Klaus Voormann, a friend of the Beatles from their Hamburg days, and originally the boyfriend of Astrid Kirchherr, before she left him for Stu Sutcliffe. Klaus designed the cover of Revolver.In 1977, John sat in the presidential suite of the [Okura Hotel] in Tokyo and began singing and playing his old songs with his acoustic guitar. The gigantic hotel suite had elevators that arrived straight into the Lennon lounge. As John was playing "Jealous Guy" to himself, the elevator doors opened and a Japanese couple — who had arrived on the wrong floor — walked out. They sat and listened as John continued the song. When the song ended, they applauded and went back down the elevator. Little did any of them know it, but this was to be John's last ever 'public' performance. They were the last two members of the general public to ever watch John Lennon perform a song.
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