John Lennon Connected The Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’ to His Move to the United States
TL;DR:
- A reporter brought up The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” to John Lennon.
- John connected the song to George Harrison’s feelings regarding the weather.
- “Here Comes the Sun” inspired covers by Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Nina Simone, Cat Stevens, and others.
John Lennon connected The Beatles‘ “Here Comes the Sun” to his own life. In addition, he contrasted it with George Harrison’s living situation. Notably, the song never hit the top 40 in the United States or the United Kingdom.
John Lennon said his move to the United States had nothing to do with taxes
During a 1980 interview with Rolling Stone, John discussed going to see an astrologer. “I remembered that astrologer in London telling me, ‘One day you’ll live abroad,'” he said. “Not because of taxes.
“The story was that I left for tax reasons, but I didn’t,” he added. “I got no benefit, nothing, I screwed up completely, I lost money when I left. So I had no reason to leave England.”
John Lennon said The Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’ related to George Harrison’s desires
John contrasted himself with George Harrison. “I’m not a person who looks for the sun like a lot of the English who like to get away to the South of France, or go to Malta or Spain or Portugal,” he revealed. “George was always talking about ‘Let’s all go and live in the sun.'”
A reporter connected John’s comment to “Here Comes the Sun.” “Right, he’s always looking for the sun because he’s still living in England,” John responded. “And then it clicked on me, ‘Jesus, that guy predicted I was going to leave England!’ Though at the time he said that to me, I was thinking, ‘Are you kidding?'”
How ‘Here Comes the Sun’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Here Comes the Sun” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s surprising considering how famous the song is today! The tune appeared on the album Abbey Road, The Beatles’ most popular studio album in the United States. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks, staying on the chart for 488 weeks in total.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Here Comes the Sun” became a minor chart hit in the United Kingdom. There, it reached No. 58 and stayed on the chart for four weeks. Notably, the tune reached the U.K. chart in 2010.
Abbey Road was a lot less popular in the U.K. than it was in the U.S. The album reached No. 1 for 17 of its 97 weeks on the chart.
While “Here Comes the Sun” wasn’t a chart-topper, it inspired a lot of covers. Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Nina Simone, Sheryl Crowe, Cat Stevens, and numerous others put their own spin on the track. It also appeared in the Fab Four jukebox musical Yesterday.
“Here Comes the Sun” is a famous track and John connected its lyrics to his life.
