How do you Sleep?
Daniel E. Evans
to John's song about Paul, 'How Do You Sleep?' If John and Paul were
on good enough terms to see each other socially in the 70s (the SNL
episode and the possible project that would have included Harry
Nillson) were these events before or after the song 'How Do You Sleep'?
Paul's capacity for forgiveness must have been stretched by that song.
Perhaps May Pang has some comments. Thanks for any info or opinions.
--
Dan Evans - ac...@sactoh0.sac.ca.us agrees with Mantan Moreland,
who once said:
'If there's one thing I wouldn't want to be twice -
ZOMBIES IS BOTH OF 'EM!'
David Matarasso
> I am wondering about the timing of a few things and their relation
> to John's song about Paul, 'How Do You Sleep?' If John and Paul were
> on good enough terms to see each other socially in the 70s (the SNL
> Paul's capacity for forgiveness must have been stretched by that song.
paul and john were sniping at each other on their lp's, or at least
sending messages to each other , in '71 and '72. the snl stuff
was earliest '75, because that is when snl debuted.
as to *paul's* capacity for forgiveness... the fact is paul sniped
at john perhaps even more than john, or at least first. that
is what john always insisted.
john, in plastic ono band
(1970) simply said to *all* the beatles, "and so, dear friends,
you'll just have to carry on" (and, of course, by "dear friend"
he might have meant *all of us*, not just his colleagues.
paul, on the other hand, deluged us (and john) with anti-john
and anti-beatles "messages" on Ram, the first mccartney album,
in '71, to follow lennon's plastic ono band. the cover art
showed two (real) beatles screwing (each other). too many people
was a knock on lennon (too many people preaching practices,
don't let them tell you what you want to be ) (ie., you don't
wanna be a working class hero now, do you?) , that was your
first mistake, you took your lucky break and broke it in two.
one could also make the case for Dear Boy and 3 Legs as messages
to john and the other 3 beatles.
john *followed up* with a stinging parody of the Ram cover art
on a postcard enclosure to the original Imagine album (he holds
a pig (or hog?) by the ears, the way paul holds the ram, and
john is feeding the pig/hog assorted pills. how do you
sleep was bitter and stinging. george played guitar on it. (as
he did on other tracks).
paul followed up (in later 1971) with Wild Life. wild life -
we're breathing a lot of political nonsense in the air.
some people can sleep at night time, believing that love is
enough. i'm only a person like you, and who in the world can
be right all the right times? i know i was wrong make it right.
and, of course,"Dear Friend". tow the line. is this really the
borderline? did it really mean so much to you? are you afraid?
or is it true? are you a fool? or is it true? i
that's about it for the vitriol. after that, paul saved his
vitriol for his critics (and censors). and john was quiet
and gradually, i think got healthier. whoops! actually he got even
more "crazy" with his radical period. didn't have time for beatle
nonsense, only political nonsense!
so the fighting, on *record* (pun intended!), at least, ended in
1971 and arguably started in 1971, earliest 1970. of course,
paul being paul (?), he had a little fun with john on Band on
the Run, with his
Let Me Roll It, complete with a primal scream as the song fades out!
talking about messages between beatles on record. i kind of liked
ringo's Early 1970, which is the back side, i believe, of the
It Don't Come Easy (1971) single. quite poignant, and fittingly
ringo-esque.
i think george stayed above the "fray". at least on record.
whoops! there was Sue Me, Sue You Blues. but that was george
carrying on about money and taxes, again. :) .
edward s. chen
>Daniel E. Evans (ac...@sactoh0.sac.ca.us) wrote:
>> I am wondering about the timing of a few things and their relation
>> to John's song about Paul, 'How Do You Sleep?' If John and Paul were
>> on good enough terms to see each other socially in the 70s (the SNL
>...
>> Paul's capacity for forgiveness must have been stretched by that song.
>
>paul and john were sniping at each other on their lp's, or at least
>sending messages to each other , in '71 and '72. the snl stuff
>was earliest '75, because that is when snl debuted.
>
>as to *paul's* capacity for forgiveness... the fact is paul sniped
>at john perhaps even more than john, or at least first. that
>is what john always insisted.
Rather than "sniping in the music," I think a more appropriate question
would be of public displays of bitterness. Immediately following
the breakup, both John and Paul were not happy campers, with John
taking more vicious shots ("Lennon Remembers"), and Paul making
more oblique, casual references (The "McCartney" self-interview).
Shortly after "Imagine," things got pretty quiet publicly between the
two. Paul was busy launching Wings, and John was embroiled in
both US residency problems, and his deteriorating marriage. May Pang
details friendly encounters between the two during John's so-called
"Lost Weekend" in her book. Based upon that private relationship
(if not friends again, they were at least able to hang around together),
the SNL incident a few years later seems quite plausible.
> how do you sleep was bitter and stinging. george played guitar on it.
> (as he did on other tracks).
Except that John has repeatedly said that he *didn't* feel that way
about Paul all the time. He might've occasionally hated him (we are
after all emotional beings whose feelings can change on a whim), but
it wasn't a constant barrage as the song would make one believe.
>talking about messages between beatles on record. i kind of liked
>ringo's Early 1970, which is the back side, i believe, of the
>It Don't Come Easy (1971) single. quite poignant, and fittingly
>ringo-esque.
A much underrated song that perfectly captures the feel of that
era.
<ESC>
--
"You know, if you break my heart I'll go, but I'll be back again"
-- Houston Rockets, NBA Champs, 1994
Bruce Dumes
>Those "snipes" at each other started so long ago amongst themselves.
>It started off with "Back Off Boogaloo." Then the buildup started.
>It was "brothers" having a go at each other. John's feud with Paul
>was very public but his love for all 3 guys were very private.
>
>If John thought at any one time that one of the other 3 needed him,
>he would have been there. Remember this is during the time I lived
>with him. I cannot say what his thoughts were outside of my time.
>
This is a terribly nice thing to hear after all of the "John was a
great musician, but a loathsome person" talk. I must've been awfully
strange to have your entire life on public display to the point where
every fit of temper is front page news. And the irony is that John
carried that over to his songwriting; that is, his inner feelings
really were the genesis for his songs, and he became his own National
Enquirer by publishing his own feelings. "Sometime in NYC" indeed! :-)
Bruce
--
Bruce Dumes | Here's a song by Peggy Leg from the
b...@sw.stratus.com | musical "The Muscle Man".
Stratus Computer, Inc. | -- John Lennon
James Ciminera
Remember, "How Do You Sleep At Night" is an answer to Paul's attack on John
& Yoko in the sond "Too Many People". If any one had to show forgiveness it
was John. John's song just turns out to be more brutal because of his honesty
and lack of subterfuge.
Jim Cim
Phil Miller
: Remember, "How Do You Sleep At Night" is an answer to Paul's attack on John
: & Yoko in the sond "Too Many People". If any one had to show forgiveness it
: was John. John's song just turns out to be more brutal because of his honesty
: and lack of subterfuge.
If "How Do You Sleep" lacks subterfuge, what does the line -- "So Sgt. Pepper
took you by surprise" -- mean.
philll
Daniel E. Evans
going for the throat that I do not think Paul or George would have
done. He may have been provoked, to be sure, but this does not
necessarily mean his response was justifiable. If someone pinches your
cheek, does this mean you can justifiably launch ICBMs?