John Lennon’s song taught me to remember
My mom introduced me to the Beatles.
She grew up on Bailey Avenue in the Bronx in the 1960’s, a Cuban refugee, she was in her teens when she arrived in America and did not speak a word of English. She taught herself with music. Having to purchase a record player to play “Home English” records for language lessons, allowed my mom to indulge in her one obsession, music. It was a rare luxury.
When I was a teenager, I found her old record player and records stuffed in old boxes in the attic. She never talked about her childhood, so I listened and began trying to imagine her — making a vision of her free spirit in bell bottoms sitting on her bed with knees folded, dreaming. When she passed away, her music became an easy, direct connection to her, and so understanding its meaning became important to me. It taught me how she would want to be remembered.
“There are places I remember” is a song anchored in a sweet form of nostalgia. It is an autobiographical song about John Lennon’s life and the things he remembered about his childhood. You can lose yourself in his words and find a place of comfort and childlike joy. It’s brilliant storytelling. It’s hard not to feel moved.
According to Beatles author, Dave Rybaczewski,
[In] “ ‘There are places I remember’…” . . . John Lennon begins what most believe is a personal reflection of the first twenty-five years of his life. Although no “places” or “friends and lovers” are mentioned by name, the listener is drawn in by the reminiscent tone of his vocals along with the tender feel of the melody line and musical arrangement. By the end of the song we feel like we’ve been taken on a hand-sketched two minute and twenty-three second journey through the life of John Lennon.”
When I listen to this song, I feel Lennon invites us along like a long lost friend. He reminds us it’s ok to remember, but doesn’t allow us to be consumed by sadness.
Instead of focusing on the history of The Beatles everyone has heard in pop culture, Rybaczewski is obsessed with analyzing their music on a deeper level. In doing so, he creates an intimate portrait of their life and art.
From http://www.beatlesebooks.com/about
The story of the song is also explained by Lennon himself. Commenting about this poem, Lennon said in 1980:
“ ‘In My Life’ started out as a bus journey from my house at 251 Menlove Avenue to town, mentioning every place I could remember. I wrote it all down and it was ridiculous…It was the most boring sort of ‘What I Did On My Holiday’s Bus Trip’ song and it wasn’t working at all. But then I laid back and these lyrics started coming to me about the places I remember…I struggled for days and hours, trying to write clever lyrics. Then I gave up, and ‘In My Life’ came to me — letting it go is the whole game. . . .’In My Life’ was, I think, my first real, major piece of work. Up until then it had all been glib and throw-away. I had one mind that wrote books and another that churned out things about ‘I love you’ and ‘you love me,’ because that’s how Paul and I did it…It was the first song that I wrote that was really, consciously, about my life…a remembrance of friends and lovers of the past.”
Rybaczewski elaborates that after Lennon’s death, Yoko Ono had Elliot Mintz gather his possessions and he found “In My Life” in a book containing the informal manuscript for many Beatles songs. The poem was later adapted into a song, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney collaborated on writing it, although some controversy exists on who took primary ownership of the song-but to me it is evident the lyrics rest with John’s original poem and were the inspiration for the more general lyrics in the song we remember. The poem now rests in The British Museum. I would love to see it one day.
Here are the words of his poem:
“There are places I’ll remember,
All my life, tho’ some have changed,
Some forever but not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.
Penny Lane is one I’m missing,
Up church and to the clocktower,
In the circle of the Abbey,
I have seen some happy hours.
Past the tramsheds with no trams,
On the 5 bus into town,
Past the Dutch and St. Columbus,
To the Dockers Umbrella that they pulled down.
All these places have their memories,
Some are dead and some are living.”
According to Lennon’s biographer Peter Shotton,, “some are dead and some are living,” is said to refer to Stuart Sutcliffe, a former Beattle and friend who died of a brain tumor in 1962.
“IN MY LIFE”
“Beatles Music History” author — Dave Rybaczewski cited from http://www.beatlesebooks.com/in-my-life
Here we can see the writing process that occurred behind his songs — and understand a more intimate portrait of a man that includes his doubts and fears about sounding corny or contrived. It allows us to see how memory can be interpreted in different ways, depending on our tone and frame of reference. Although the song is nostalgic, it maintains a consistently light mood and tone through its composition — a valuable lesson for both writers and musicians. His music taught me a different way to grieve — one that let me balance and process my emotions in a different way.
John’s memory is ingrained in our culture. His music made us think a bit introspectively, and reconsider our vision of the world while not bogging us down with the heaviness of memory. His songs remind us to appreciate the great friends who have touched our lives, even momentarily, and to hold space for the ones we left behind.
In my life, his music taught me how to grieve, and how to keep memories alive.
Lennon’s genius is in making us feel — in all life’s complexities — the simple commonality of longing, love, and friendship-even when it is gone. His songs touched the very core of our fragile, shared humanity. It’s no wonder we are moved. It’s no wonder my mom stopped to listen whenever she heard his voice.
Lennon awakened joy in my mother’s eyes — the type of joy that existed before life settled in. If you asked her the best memory of her teenage years, she would mention all her favorite bands, and of course, the Beatles were almost like her friends — a personal memory she could return to over and over again. Even if life got ugly, she could put on those rose-colored glasses anytime. I can remember that anytime I listen to his song.
The song awakens a sense of attachment to the past, without holding on to it. It reminds us what’s most important-love and connection. The very things that define our life when we look back.
Lennon was a magnificent storyteller. His music taught me a way to remember — to sit in a soft nostalgia that doesn’t hurt or cause pain. When I listen to his music, I start to remember mom and I know in my heart that somewhere she is dancing and looking down with rose colored glasses.
Credits to Dave Rybaczewski for all Beatles History. You can find him at: http://www.beatlesebooks.com/about
