Born in a Prison
| "Born in a Prison" | |
|---|---|
| Song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono | |
| from the album Some Time in New York City | |
| Released | 12 June 1972 (US) 15 September 1972 (UK) |
| Recorded | 1972 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 4:05 |
| Label | Apple/EMI |
| Songwriter(s) | Yoko Ono |
| Producer(s) | John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Phil Spector |
| Some Time in New York City track listing | |
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16 tracks
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"Born in a Prison" is a song written by Yoko Ono and first released on her 1972 album with John Lennon Some Time in New York City.
The lyrics to "Born in a Prison" use prison as a metaphor for the constraints society places on individuals. To music critic Johnny Rogan, the song reiterates themes from Lennon's earlier song "Working Class Hero" and equates all of life to a prison sentence. Author John Blaney gives an alternative view that with "Born in Prison" Ono abandons the abstract metaphors of her earlier work, feeling that "Born in a Prison" represents "simple leftist dogma." Cinema professor Jonathan Kahana claims that with lyrics such as "born in a prison/raised in a prison/sent to a prison called school," the song anticipates the disciplinary institutions suggested by Michel Foucault in works such as 1975's Discipline and Punish. In the verses, the lyrics complain about how humans are constrained by unjust social conventions which not only limit individuals, but also the society that imposes the constraints. Blaney finds the verses full of despair, replacing Ono's earlier ability to imagine a better world with a view that human existence is meaningless. But the refrain provides some hope:
To Kahana, this suggests that institutions can be transformed just as objects can, although when making these transformations it is critical to "use both love and violence creatively."
On Some Time in New York City, Ono provides the lead vocals with Lennon providing harmony during the refrain. Lennon also plays guitar, Jim Keltner plays drums, and Elephant's Memory provides the remaining backing instruments. The song is particularly propelled by the saxophone playing of Elephant's Memory's Stan Bronstein, which links the verses, and which Rogan describes as "creating a cocktail lounge feel."
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