How Do You Sleep? (John Lennon song)
| "How Do You Sleep?" | |
|---|---|
| Song by John Lennon from the album Imagine | |
| Released | 9 September 1971 |
| Recorded | 23 June–5 July 1971 |
| Genre | Rock, hard rock |
| Length | 5:36 |
| Label | Apple |
| Writer(s) | John Lennon |
| Producer(s) | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector |
"How Do You Sleep?" is a song by English musician John Lennon from his 1971 album Imagine. The song makes angry and scathing remarks aimed at his former Beatles bandmate and songwriting partner, Paul McCartney. Lennon wrote the song in response to what he perceived as personal slights by McCartney on the latter's Ram album. The track includes a slide guitar solo played by George Harrison.
Following the release of McCartney's album Ram in May 1971, Lennon felt attacked by McCartney, who later admitted that lines in the song "Too Many People" were intended as digs at Lennon. Lennon thought that other songs on the album, such as "3 Legs", contained similar attacks. The back cover of Ram, showing one stag beetle mounting another, has been described by McCartney as indicative of how he felt treated by the other members of the Beatles.
The lyrics of "How Do You Sleep?" refer to the Paul is dead hoax ("Those freaks was right when they said you was dead"). The song begins with the line "So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise", referring to the Beatles' landmark 1967 album. Preceding this first line are ambient sounds evocative of those heard at the beginning of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
The lyrics "The only thing you done was yesterday / And since you've gone you're just another day" are directed at McCartney, the first lyric being a reference to the Beatles' 1965 song "Yesterday". The second lyric is a reference to McCartney's hit single "Another Day", released earlier in 1971. Lennon initially penned the lyrics "You probably pinched that bitch anyway", as a reference to the many times McCartney had made claims that he was not sure if he "nicked" Yesterday, having asked Lennon, Harrison, George Martin and others if they had heard that melody before. Although Lennon receives the sole writing credit for "How Do You Sleep?", several reports indicate that Yoko Ono, as well as Allen Klein, Lennon's manager, also contributed lyrics.
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