John Lennon Said The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ Was About How He Was ‘Awake’ All His Life
TL;DR:
- John Lennon explained a famous lyric from The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
- He said he was “awake” for his entire life.
- “Strawberry Fields Forever” appeared on the soundtrack of one of The Beatles’ movies.
John Lennon was asked if The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” represented a “new awakening” for him. Subsequently, John said the song was about being “awake” his whole life. He said his claim wasn’t “egomania.”
John Lennon said he still believed a lyric from The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono has an interview from 1980. In the interview, John was asked about the line “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see” from “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
“It still goes now, doesn’t it?” John replied. “Aren’t I saying exactly the same thing now?”
John was asked if the lyric was a “new awakening” for him. “No, it wasn’t a new awakening,” he responded. “It was the fact that I was putting it on paper. I was awake all my life. You understand? I’ve always been, all my life.”
John Lennon said he wasn’t an egomaniac
John elaborated on his feeling of understanding. “It isn’t egomania,” he said. “It’s a fact. If somebody gave me a pair of glasses that makes me see through walls, I can’t help it.”
“So the awareness that is apparently trying to be expressed in ‘Strawberry Fields’ … ,” he said. “Let’s say, in one way, I was always ‘hip,’ man. I was hip in kindergarten. I was different from others then.”
John said drugs didn’t cause an awakening in him. “I was different all my life,” he said. “It’s not a case of, ‘Then he took acid and woke up,’ or, ‘Then he had a marijuana joint and woke up.’ It’s not that at all. Everything is as important as everything else.”
How The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Strawberry Fields Forever” was a hit in the United States. On the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at No. 8 and stayed on the chart for nine weeks. The track appeared on the soundtrack album for Magical Mystery Tour. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for eight weeks, remaining on the chart for 93 weeks in total.
The Official Charts Company reports “Strawberry Fields Forever” was a double A-side with “Penny Lane” in the United Kingdom. The songs hit No. 2 in the U.K., remaining on the chart for 11 weeks. The Beatles included both songs on Magical Mystery Tour. The album reached No. 31 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 10 weeks.
“Strawberry Fields Forever” was a hit and it has interesting connections to John’s childhood.
