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TL;DR:

  • One of John Lennon’s songs was inspired by “an overwhelming feeling of loss” he felt his whole life.
  • He discussed how his relationship troubles with Yoko Ono inspired the track.
  • He discussed seeing Yoko again after being away from her for some time.
John Lennon wearing a hat
John Lennon | Rowland Scherman / Contributor

One of John Lennon‘s songs was inspired by “an overwhelming feeling of loss.” In addition, he discussed how his relationship with Yoko Ono impacted the song. Subsequently, John and Yoko’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, discussed his reaction to the track.

1 of John Lennon’s songs was inspired by terrible feelings the former Beatle had since he was in the womb

The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon contains an interview from 1980. In it, John was asked about his song “I’m Losing You” from Double Fantasy. “It came out of an overwhelming feeling of loss that went right back to the womb,” he said. “One night, I couldn’t get through to Yoko on the telephone and I felt completely disconnected.”

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features another interview from 1980. In it, John discussed “I’m Losing You” at greater length. “‘Losing You’ is apparently about our separation, but it was actually written when Sean and I were in Bermuda and I couldn’t get through to her.” For context, John and Yoko separated only to get back together.

What John Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon thought after being away from Yoko Ono

John revealed how he and his son, Sean, reacted to being separated from Yoko when they were in Bermuda. “She was in New York and was coming in for the weekend,” he said. “We were like, ‘Mummy’s coming! Mummy’s coming!’

“You know, it’s the role reversal, like ‘Daddy’s coming! Daddy’s coming!’ as if Daddy were abroad to Germany or something — only instead of Daddy going away and the family staying home, the family went away and Daddy stayed home, ’cause Daddy/Mommy was in the office,” he said.

“We were, ‘She’s coming! She’s coming for the weekend!'” he added. “So we were thrilled to see her, but she was on the phone the whole time she was with us.”

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What Sean Ono Lennon had to say about the track during a 2020 interview

During a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Sean said “I’m Losing You” was one of his favorite songs from Double Fantasy alongside “Watching the Wheels.” He said the tune was “sexy” and praised his father’s vocals on the track.

Sean said “I’m Losing You” was about John’s fear of losing his relationship and the following song on the album, “I’m Moving On,” was about Yoko’s fear of losing her relationship. He said both of the songs were honest because they admitted love can be very difficult. In Sean’s opinion, John and Yoko had an incredible love story because they were willing to be honest.

“I’m Losing You” came from an uncomfortable place but Sean feels it’s a classic song.

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