My Favorite John Lennon songs

Since I listed George’s songs…I have to finish what I started. This one is the hardest to write of any of them because I’m leaving off a lot of great songs. 

John is the Beatle I favor; on the surface, the reasons are many. The man’s voice was one of the best rock voices I’ve ever heard. I preferred his voice to that of McCartney, Harrison, and Starr. He probably could write better pure rock songs than the other Beatles, and he also had a great sense of melody that could keep up with Paul and, at times, surpass him on ballads. Yes, he could be witty, sharp, and downright hateful at times, but he was the truth guy for them. 

One of the worst days in my teen years was December 9, 1980. I was 13, and that morning I found out that John Lennon was murdered on the 8th. It really hit me hard and changed me in many ways. At that age, this showed me that the world could be an awful place.

When John was murdered, a very unfair thing happened. John was elevated almost as a Saint, which he would have readily admitted he was not. Paul became the sidekick and sank lower in people’s perception of the band. John became the cool one and Paul the square, which was totally unfair to both of them. It didn’t start changing until the Anthology came out in the mid-90s. People started to see Paul as an equal, which he was, and George started to get recognized more and more, as I said last week. And, most people loved Ringo anyway. 

My favorite John songs won’t include The Beatles, as I explained last week in the George Harrison post. This will be just solo John. My favorite albums by him were the first two official albums he released. Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. His Mind Games and Steel and Glass albums are great as well, but he had an edge on those first two that he didn’t have on the rest.

  1. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) – This song is so damn fresh-sounding. It sounds like it was recorded yesterday. It’s so electric-sounding and live. 

2. Working Class Hero – This song was a favorite of mine of John Lennon when I was younger. He took some flak about this one, and also the song Imagine.  When it came to being a Working Class Hero and having all of his possessions. His answer was

“What would you suggest I do? Give everything away and walk the streets? The Buddhist says, “Get rid of the possessions of the mind.” Walking away from all the money would not accomplish that. It’s like the Beatles. I couldn’t walk away from the Beatles. That’s one possession that’s still tagging along, right?”

3. Mind Games – This is around the time Lennon started to mellow out a bit musically and personally. I bought this single in 1979…6 years after it was released. 

4. I Know (I Know) – Yep…this one is not as well known, but it was reportedly about either Yoko or Paul. It was released on the 1973 album Mind Games. 

5. GOD – He pours out his feelings on the Beatles and everything else. 

6. Watching the Wheels – When listening to Double Fantasy, I like it, but not as well as his early seventies output. This one, though, fits in nicely with his best songs. 

7. Jealous Guy – He wrote this melody with the Beatles, but later added some more words to describe himself. 

8. How? – What makes “How?” stand out for me is its vulnerability. Lennon doesn’t pretend to know the answers; instead, he shares the questions most of us keep to ourselves. That honesty is what drew me to music in the first place.

9. Nobody Told Me – This one he wanted Ringo to do and had planned to give it to him. I think Ringo would have done a great job of it but I’m glad we have John’s version. 

10. Mother – It seems John was looking for a mother for all of his life. His real mother left him with his aunt Mimi, and years later, when he finally started to get to know his mother, she was killed in a hit-and-run accident. 

*Bonus! – How Do You Sleep? – It’s the song about Paul when both were angry at each other. Forget that for a minute…it’s a great melody and song on its own. It’s a brilliant piece of rock and roll with George’s snarling slide guitar and an irresistible groove, but its venom can be hard to swallow. Lennon’s line “The sound you make is muzak to my ears” still makes me wince. 

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

66 thoughts on “My Favorite John Lennon songs”

  2. Definitely if you wanted ‘rock’, John was your Beatle. No debate there! You’re right too in how his senseless murder totally changed people’s perception of him. I think he and Paul were yin and yang, both good but capable of making something greater than the sum of the parts working together. For me ‘Mind Games’ and ‘#9 Dream’ are interchangeable top picks, nearly perfect art pop songs. ‘Watching the Wheels’, ‘Starting Over’ and the oft-forgotten ‘Nobody told me’ from his later work. And the one you don’t much care for now, ‘Imagine’ is up there but, yes, overplayed. I like his Christmas song too at the appropriate time of year. More and more I like’Now and then’ which I know was released as Beatles but sounds like solo John.

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    1. Imagine is probably his greatest song per success…I guess I’ve heard it too many times. 9th Dream would have made it around 12 or 13…I do love that song as well.
      I always thought Real Love was basically a solo John song…he pretty much finished it. I love Now and Then as well.
      It was so many to pick from here for me…because I like so many of his album tracks.

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  4. John’s solo career never equaled what the Beatles did, but Paul, George and Ringo also never reached that same height. John was a rocker that loved peace, and he always said what was on his mind, so he was true to his beliefs.

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    1. He was the truth teller of them for sure. I can relate to his songs more than the others…I guess it comes down to that….I still like the others solo stuff…but his songwriting and that voice.

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  5. I don’t know John’s solo work very far beyond the singles. I think the only actual album I have is Plastic Ono Band. I would probably put “Mother” at #1, just because the first time I heard it I was stunned, and couldn’t believe the raw emotion of it. “#9 Dream”, “Mind Games”, and the singles from Double Fantasy would be up there for me. I couldn’t believe it when “Just Like Starting Over” came out, especially with the 50’s sound of it. After not hearing from him in so long, it was life-affirming. Then to have him gone so shortly after, well there just aren’t words for it. Very good list.

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    1. #9 Dream almost made my list…it was really hard to make this. The other Beatles were much easier…I like a lot of John’s album tracks like How? Love, and others. Just Like Starting Over…was almost on this as well. That one and Watching The Wheels were neck and neck…
      You said one of the big reasons I like him so much…raw and honest…you might not like what he is saying but you have to respect it because it sounds geniune.

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  6. Instant Karma for sure and for me his version of Stand BY Me seems always on my itunes playlist…but I have to say, his come back, Just Like Starting Over woke me up. not sure if it was the timing or the shock afterwards..it felt like, yeah I raised the kid now it’s time…and to have the Cheap Trick crew involved was perfect…they’ve got an album I think just called Cheap Trick (not their debut) that couldn’t sound more Beatles…

    as for Paul, he rocked, Helter Skelter and Why Don’t We Do It In the Road…the guys a song writing machine, which means some stuff, um, not everyone’s cup of tea, and other for specific audiences..the two of them seemed like kids that wrote songs like some kids here play hockey..

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    1. Yea Instant Karma sound fresh…you know what I mean? It sounds like it was recorded yesterday…
      Yea I like Paul…but it was something about John that had more of an edge to it and his voice was great. Paul did write some rockers no doubt…in fact next week when I do Paul…two of his rockers are at the very top.

      I do like more of Lennon’s album cuts than I do the rest of them…I like his deep cuts. I think that is what separates him and the rest to me.

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  7. Pingback: My Favorite John Lennon songs – MobsterTiger

  9. Ohhh! I loved John too, Max! I love your song list! I wasn’t as familiar with some, but listening to again now. Wow!
    Okay, I had just had my daughter in the summer of 1980, so yes, Mother was such a favorite of mine, as well as for my own mother.
    John’s murder really upset me too, especially since he was such a man of peace. He refused to live in fear, which is why he and Yoko chose purposefully to live in NYC. He knew the risks, but faced them anyway!

    As for his statement, “What would you suggest I do? Give everything away and walk the streets? The Buddhist says, “Get rid of the possessions of the mind.”” I agree. To me, the whole point is not to be led around by the nose by our possessions. Don’t let money rule us.
    Thank you for such a poignant post.

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    1. Thanks so much Sheila… it was a hard list to make…so many I left off…like #9 Dream, Imagine, Whatever Gets You Through The Night, etc…
      People begged him to get a body guard but he wouldn’t do it, he said if someone died trying to protect him he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
      Yea I agree with his quote as well.

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  10. Pingback: My Favorite John Lennon songs – Integrating the Spirals

    1. I guess I’ve heard it too much…I still like the song though…I just don’t pull it out and listen to it as much as the others.

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    1. Wow! There is one Beatle cover you liked before…when they covered “Bad Boy” … yea I like both of those. He had that voice I love so much.

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      1. ‘Bad Boy’ is a good one. Comes from that era when they were that rocknroll club band. Lennon did have a good voice. i liked when he cut loose. Even on ‘Baby’s It’s You’ he lets it sneak out. There’s even some Buddy Holly influence in that one. I have to thank my older Sis for playing that one for a young CB.

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      3. Yes it is…One of my favorite covers by them. His voice is really on display there. If I were doing Beatles songs…that would have been on this list. It’s whats I imagine they sounded like in Germany.

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  15. I don’t know all of the songs on your list but am listening to the playlist right now. Thirteen is a tender age to lose a big hero. I do like John and his music and for his fearlessness in speaking truth to power. I still don’t see his attraction for Yoko, but I don’t have to. I’m sure he and George are having a grand time in the next realm.

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    1. The one song I was wondering if you knew was the last one…Mother. Lisa…it’s so raw, open, and honest that it makes you uncomfortable listening on his relationship with his mother…”Mother, you had me but I never had you
      Oh-oh-oh, I wanted you, you didn’t want me”
      Thats your answer to Yoko…another mom.

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      1. No, I didn’t know that one. I was working on POPO postcards while listening to the playlist and it definitely got my attention. I’m glad he was able to express that anguish and get it out of his system. Interesting about Yoko!

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  16. Yes, I put aside ‘Imagine’ aside ‘just because’🙄 of the overplaying, but ‘Instant Karma’ still kicks hard and yep, still fresh. I liked a lot off his ‘Rock And Roll’ album too. The raw voice he could bring- as in’Twist And Shout’ is stellar. I’ll lob in his and Nilsson’s ‘Many Rivers To Cross’ as well, though that album and its indulgences ruined Harry’s voice. That collaboration did neither any favours! John was sporadically brilliant as a writer and a singer. And no, no saint but when you are martyred people see you as one.

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    1. I’m glad you understood why Imagine is not on here…I would not pull out my Lennon songs for that one anymore.
      Yea that pairing helped ruin Harry’s career. The one song on there I like listening to is Rock around the Clock…the drummers, Keith, Ringo, and Jim Keltner…are going as fast as you can go….because all the drummers were on poppers… alkyl nitrite.

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  17. ‘Pussycats’ veers (pops?) erratically from the near sublime to the doped-out coked-out pissed outta their minds juvenilely ridiculous. That stage when if two are in the zone it sounds fab, fun, great. To the others, looking on, it’s all a bit of a joke.

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    1. Oh it’s not a good album…but that song…knowing the history makes sense. Didn’t Lennon get Nilsson to scream? I think that shot his voice or that with all of the drugs.

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  18. Great list, Max. I know this sounds silly, I didn’t know “I Know (I Know)” – nice pick. “Watching the Wheels” and “Jealous Guy” are among my top favorite Lennon solo songs. I also dig “New York City,” a nice rocker from “Some Time in New York City.” I also love “#9 Dream.” The more you think about it, the harder it gets to keep the list to 10 picks only!

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    1. Oh John’s list to me was much harder than the rest. The reason being is because I like more of his album tracks than the other three. I Know (I Know) I really like. I like New York City from album as well and The Luck of the Irish.

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      2. I almost put Stand By Me on here…I have to admit…that is my Goto version…I love the original but Lennon just made it come alive for me.

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  20. Love this list, and your rationale for the order. Not sure if Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) would have been at the top for me but you are so right about that freshness and you feel like you are in the studio somehow. He was a remarkable songwriter and for me he and Paul are right at the top. Saving that Spotify playlist.

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    1. Thanks Randy…the Lennon list was my hardest list to make because I like so many album cuts by him. Lennon had some kind of inner rhythm built into his songs that I liked with the Beatles and without.

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  22. You certainly piqued my interest with these top 10 breakdown by the Beatles as solo artists.
    The surprise packet for me was the Dylanesque – ‘Working Class Hero’ and ‘I Know (I Know)’, both which I had not heard before. I like ‘Mother’ too which I think you introduced me to. Cheers.

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  23. My favorite thing about John Lennon?…his voice. His voice is like the acid in a chef’s dish…it cuts through the fat. Yes, it can be brash and he can scream, i.e., Mother, but–to me–it’s mostly beautiful and perfectly pitched.

    And of course, he’s a fantastic songwriter; that goes without saying.

    I agree that he was over elevated after his death as to his role in the Beatles. But Paul occupied that space before John died. Paul was the cute one. Paul had hit after hit with Wings, not to mention the Paul was the nice one; Paul was the best songwriter…all of this was the public consensus (although not so much with the critics, perhaps) before John died–at least that’s the way I remember it.

    As far as I’m concerned, there were three musical geniuses in the Beatles–that’s why their artistry will never be eclipsed.

    I love your list. I would add #9 Dream to it. It’s so lush…it’s got that God Only Knows feel to it.

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    1. Thats the one I hated to leave off….that one and Just Like Starting Over. I have never been a huge fan of Double Fantasy…but I liked it just not as well as the others. I took two off of Mind Games but yea I could have put it on there. With Paul’s list coming next week…I raided Band on the Run.
      Oh yea…Paul was in that spot…I just think it got more pronounced. After the Anthology it seemed to cool off a little. People like Jann Wenner didn’t help. He worshipped John.

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      1. Honestly I never read too many album reviews of the Beatles. To me their music was perfect and easily to digest. It cracked the code of simple yet complex.

        I read some reviews of Paul McCartney’s RAM and I couldn’t believe the animosity. I think RAM is brilliant and Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey is a magnum opus.

        I really like Double Fantasy. I listened to it back to back to back and again on a 1,200 mile road trip and I grew to really appreciate it. Even the Yoko Ono stuff. 🫥 Woman is another John song that I love…their are so many.

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      2. Oh I love Ram as well…it’s been described as the first Alternative album…it’s great. It got bad reviews when it was released…now it’s a hailed as a great album.
        I think with me…it’s a time period sound I really like and John’s first two albums had that.

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  26. I echo what you say about John, and as Ive said before, when John was shot my life and the world entered a dark alternate universe and childhood days were definitely over! I think it’s fair to include the three Beatles reunion tracks in the list, in which case my ten would be a bit different: #9 Dream is my fave, Mind Games def too, Happy Xmas War Is Over, Give Peace A Chance, Instant Karma too, Beautiful Boy, Free As A Bird, Starting Over, Real Love, Now & Then for me. I like his melodies and soundscapes a lot, though his Beatles work well outstrips the solo stuff, but who knows what he could have done with more time, and not taking the 5 years off.

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    1. Yea when he got murdered…I was shocked…who shot a musician?
      That is true about the 5 years off… Free As A Bird is probably my favorite song they worked on but I liked them all. Now and Then I always liked since I heard the demo.

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