![]() Watch for me in the sky,'” John remembers. “She would write things like 'I am a cloud. For instance, the opening line of “Julia,” namely, “ Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it just to reach you” is derived from Gibran's book of writings and drawings “ Sand And Foam” (1926) which includes the line “Half of what I say is meaningless but I say it so the other half may reach you.” Another line from “Julia,” “ When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind” is inspired by Gibran's line “When life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind.”ĭuring John's stay in India, Yoko would send letters to him with phrases that would also be an inspiration for the song. Other lyrical ideas contained in the song were derived from Lebanese poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran, his writings from the 1920's gaining popularity in the 1960's. This is reflected within his lyrics, “ Ocean child” referring to the Japanese meaning of the name Yoko (literally, “child of the sea”). With this in mind, one can see how easy it would have been for John to combine his sentiments for the two most influential women in his life into one song. During this time, and throughout their marriage, John was known to refer to Yoko as “Mother,” this reflecting the matriarchal influence she had on his life. During the recording of the “ White Album,” John insisted on Yoko's presence in the studio with him, both of them wanting to be involved in each others lives as much as possible. John describes first meeting artist Yoko Ono in November of 1966 during an art exhibit she was holding at Indica Gallery in London, thereafter becoming involved artistically and romantically which resulted in their marriage on March 20th, 1969. “I lost her twice,” John stated, “once as a five year old when I was moved in with my auntie, and once again when she physically died.It was the worst thing that ever happened to me. Her tragic death by automobile accident on July 15th, 1958 devastated young John. In contrast, Julia bought him his first guitar, taught him his first chords to play on that guitar (although they were banjo chords), and supported him in his aspirations as a musician, sharing his love for rock 'n' roll. It was his mother that encouraged him greatly to pursue his love of music, unlike his Aunt who viewed it as more of a distraction from developing toward a 'proper' career choice. John Lennon was raised for most of his formative years by his Aunt Mimi but developed a strong and loving relationship with his mother Julia, especially during his teen years. The song was actually a combination of an imagery of Yoko and my mother blended into one, you see." In John's Playboy interview of 1980, he gave this explanation when asked about the song: "Julia was my mother. However, with a full double-album's worth of material already recorded, and with encouragement from fellow bandmate and longtime friend Paul McCartney, John did record one completely solo performance to finish off the album, his only solo performance in The Beatles catalog, this being his beautifully touching and deeply personal ballad “Julia.” With George and even Ringo having already recorded Beatles tracks containing only themselves and outside musicians (“ Within You Without You” and “ Good Night” respectively), one might think that John Lennon would have jumped on this bandwagon much sooner and in earnest, especially with his confidence on a big high during the “ White Album” sessions of 1968. ![]() ![]() One of these, " Mother Nature's Son," features Paul with outside musicians while the other two, " Blackbird" and " Wild Honey Pie," feature Paul as a solo performer. An absent Beatle happened very rarely through 1964 but officially became part of their routine on June 14th, 1965, when Paul McCartney boldly took the spotlight as the only Beatle performing on his composition " Yesterday." Paul gained confidence enough to continue this practice from this point on, three tracks on the " White Album" featuring himself as the only band member performing. The days when all four Beatles played on every Beatles song were long gone by 1968.
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