run for your life - not a bad song but the lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzHXtxcIkg4
shareWhat's wrong with the lyrics? They depict something awful, yes, but it's not suggesting it as behaviour per se, it's just about a piece of real (despicable) life.
shareWell, I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or I won't know where I am
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Well, you know that I'm a wicked guy
And I was born with a jealous mind
And I can't spend my whole life
Trying just to make you toe the line
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Let this be a sermon
I mean everything I've said
Baby, I'm determined
And I'd rather see you dead
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or you won't know where I am
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Yes, I know the song. I have the album. I've listened to it a lot. As I said: it depicts the despicable, but that doesn't make the lyrics bad, just about something bad. I'm not sure what your point is...?
shareJohn Lennon said it was The Beatles worst song.
shareHe also said the only good songs he wrote during his work on The Beatles was In My Life, Strawberry Fields Forever, and a couple others (I think he talked about it during the Rolling Stone interview). He could be quite acerbic, so they say...
Lennon might not have liked the song, but I think it's pretty good. Maybe not up to his standards, but he was John Lennon - he had a right to high standards.
The only song he regretted writing, IIRC. It's written from the first person, and they lyrics don't make it clear that the person is in the wrong.
Reading about what Lennon was like when he was a young guy, I think he might have genuinely felt that way at times. He could be very jealous and could get physical with his girlfriends. He admitted to that and was very apologetic about it, tried to make up for it.
I'd say that you're right. He believed in being honest in his songs, and that included showing his flaws & bad qualities, as well as his best qualities & aspirations. And as he grew older, he obviously developed greater personal insight & could criticize his younger self. Which he did without hesitation or excuses.
shareWell put. I agree.
share