John Lennon being interviewed in Los Angeles on 9/29/74
image by Tony Barnard, LA Times
Lennon died on 12/8/80. Milk and Honey was released on 1/27/84.
When I think of this song, I can’t help but wonder if John knew his life was close to ending. It wouldn’t surprise me, as he was wise beyond his years, and such wisdom can assist in tuning into energy beyond the veil. In the context of his assassination, one cannot miss the irony of the title. If he sensed it, a paradox exists.
I love The Beatles and think of them mostly as a group. After they broke up, I followed Paul a little. After retirement in 2018 I started learning more about George’s music. John and Ringo fell off my radar. A couple of Lennon tunes stay with me, including, “Whatever Gets You Through The Night.” And this one. I miss you, John.
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon) b. 10/9/40 – d. 12/8/80) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon’s songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.
“Milk and Honey” is the sixth and final collaborative album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released on 1/27/84, three years after Lennon’s murder. It is Lennon’s eighth and final album overall, and the first posthumous release of new Lennon music, having been recorded in the last months of his life during and following the sessions for his 1980 album Double Fantasy. It was assembled by Yoko Ono in association with the Geffen label. On the original release of the album, 6 songs were written by Lennon and 6 by Ono. The 2001 release has 2 more tracks by Lennon and 1 more by Ono, and a John and Yoko interview recorded in December of 1980.
The ‘Milk and Honey’ title came from Ono, who explained that, “it referred to their journey to the US, ‘the land of milk and honey.’ But also, in the Scripture, the land of milk and honey is where you go after you die, as a promised land…”
“Nobody Told Me” is the 5th track on Side 1.
wiki notes on some of the lyrics:
The lyrics reference the yellow idol in J. Milton Hayes’ poem The Green Eye of the Yellow God. The first stanza of the poem runs: “There’s a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Kathmandu.”
Another line in the song is “There’s UFOs over New York and I ain’t too surprised.” In the liner notes to his 1974 album Walls and Bridges, Lennon wrote: “On the 23rd August 1974 at 9 o’clock I saw a U.F.O. – J.L.” May Pang, John’s girlfriend at the time, described the event in her book Loving John, when both of them saw a “saucer-shaped object surrounded by blinking white lights gliding through the sky.“
Nobody Told Me
Three, four
Everybody's talking and no one says a word
Everybody's making love and no one really cares
There's Nazis in the bathroom, just below the stairs
Always something happenin' and nothing goin' on
There's always something cooking and nothing in the pot
They're starving back in China so finish what you got
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed, strange days indeed
Everybody's runnin' and no one makes a move
Everyone's a winner and nothing left to lose
There's a little yellow idol to the north of Katmandu
Everybody's flying and no one leaves the ground
Everybody's crying and no one makes a sound
There's a place for us in the movies you just gotta lay around
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed, most peculiar, mama
Everybody's smoking and no one's getting high
Everybody's flying and never touch the sky
There's a UFO over New York and I ain't too surprised
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed, most peculiar, mama, roll
Songwriter: John Lennon
Jim Adams is the host of Song Lyric Sunday. This week Jim wants us to share a song by an artist that was released posthumously.
Tao Talk 
Great choice, Li. And thanks for the informative write-up.
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Thanks and you are welcome, Fandango. He was exceptional light in the world.
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A great choice for the theme. I always liked this song! Taken far too young, sadly, in a country where guns are far too readily available.
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Clive, thank you. I remember seeing a video where James Taylor talked about talking to the shooter, who had been loitering in the area where he and John had their apartments. If we took mental health even a little seriously, the shooter would have been locked up, assessed, and maybe admitted to care. Guns are a symptom in a very sick society.
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Yet another sad story of ‘too little, too late.’ The rest of the world can’t comprehend the American obsession with their guns.
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Like I said before, it is a symptom of a sick society. Also, you need to know not all Americans are obsessed with them; the vast majority is not. Think of it like a rash on your arm but it doesn’t cover the whole body.
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A good description. For those of us over here the perception is created by coverage of the very vocal minority who support them, and of governments having been bought by the NRA.
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Gret song choice for the theme. My great grandmother died on the same day as John Lennon so he holds a special significance in my world. It was a pleasure to wake up to this.
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Thanks, V. Sorry you have that association with the song. I like the idea they may have taken the elevator together <3
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Some things we never forget; the day John was ripped out of our lives is one of them. All the others who went before him, all those souls in the ’27 Club’ …. not one of them hurt quite as much as this. This is a wound that won’t heal. Thank you for honoring John today and for sharing his music with us. You’re write up was wonderful. Thanks, Lisa.
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Nancy, thank you so much. In 1980 I was in the haze of my party animal phase so only remember it vaguely. As I get older and have time to absorb the horror of his life ending, it affects me much more. You are welcome and my honor to honor John.
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Believe it or not, “Nobody Told Me” is among my favorite Lennon solo songs. I’m not sure I mentioned it to anyone previously. New I told you! :-)
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Christian, it and Whatever Gets You… are my 2 favorites from his solo career. Happy to know you have it as a favorite also.
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I also love “Whatever”, along with “Imagine”, “Jealous Guy” and “Watching the Wheels.” There’s at least one or two songs on each of John’s solo albums I really dig. :-)
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Oh my, I love those also. I need to do a Lennon marathon and listen to all of his solo albums.
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:-)
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Nice selection Lisa as it has been way too long since I last listened to this song and this is my first time watching the video.
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Thank you, Jim. It’s inspired by a good prompt. This video has clips from other videos I’ve seen, but it’s a first for this montage for me also.
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I thought Yoko looked pretty good in that video, unless it was May Pang.
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Definitely Yoko. I hope one day someone does an indepth essay on what Yoko symbolized to John and John’s relationship with the rest of the band.
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Li, this was a great choice. I love the lyrics to this song. We have all been in a room where everyone is talking but they are not really saying anything. I am sure John was surrounded by people like that in the early days of the Beatles. I am like you. To me they were a group and I found it difficult to follow them individually. I did not always agree with other’s opinions of one particular Beatle over the others and their individual talent. To me the true talent was the songwriting of Lennon-MacCartney. I loved their individual personalities plus they were all so cute! ❤️☺️
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Christine, as a group they brought magic that continues to sparkle. George is the only one I feel linked to, but I appreciate them each as individuals. In those old clips the way they owned the interviewers makes me laugh. And yes, all so cute! Each one had a twinkle in their eye.
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Yes, I always admired George’s commitment to an eastern religion. Paul, I guess is the one I followed most closely from the very beginning until now. We got to see all his ups and downs in his marriages and relationships, and watch his children grow and become stars in their own right. Funny I was watching something on YouTube the other day and the show had finished and then it jumps straight into a James Corden Carpool Karaoke episode with Paul McCartney. It was a few years old, but it was absolutely hysterical. If you’ve never seen it, it is worth a watch! 🥰👍
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<3 :)
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Good choice by the legend Lisa
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Glyn, thank you.
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Great choice for today’s challenge. Love the song. I never saw the video, which I enjoyed. Beautiful write-up!
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Marina, thank you very much <3
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I think I lost Paul as he became predictable, I think Band on the Run was his last real effort. Ringo – just the hits, John the political activism but he fell off the creative wagon for a while, George stayed with me can’t shake him – a deep and thoughtful person with a heart.
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Appreciate your sharing your threads with each of them. It doesn’t surprise me that Geo (I call him Geo because he is a world to me) is the one you most connect with. It’s what you say also for me, and it is his ongoing struggle with, “living in a material world.”
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John is my Beatle…my guy. The harsh truth teller…if I could have met any rock star…he would have been the one. He was the architect, muscle, CEO, and troublemaker of The Beatles.
He was going to give this song to Ringo! Ringo could have done this one great as well but I’m glad John’s version was released…his lyrics in this one remind me of All You Need Is Love…
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I can see all of those things in him. I also think he is much more suited to singing it than Ringo. Reading on how this was put together, WHY did Yoko have to add so many of her songs to it? Did she write a lot of songs for Double Fantasy? Is DF a double album? How long was John with May?
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No it’s not a double album. Lisa…there were rumors at the time that John and Yoko were heading for a divorce…and I believe them. She hooked up with a guy right after that she had seen off and on.
He was with May around 18 months and still talked to her till the end. I still think he would have been much happier with her.
Lisa I would like to link to you coming up. Could you give me a link to your favorite George post you did? I’m doing my top George songs. ..and I talk about how bloggers have made me delve into his catalog even more than I did. Would that be alright?
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OK, I will listen to DF at some point and the sooner the better, along with his solo discography. Didn’t Bailey see May at an art exhibit? My memory may be off on that. OK, will send you link to Geo song in email when I find it.
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Oh yea! We went to that April 2024 and I made a post on it. Thank you no hurry. I’ll probably post it Friday and if not I can wait to the following Friday. It’s a good album. My favorite albums by him are his first two…Thank you for the link!
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My memory is just good enough to be dangerous ;)
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LOL…love that line…mine as well!
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I didn’t answer your question. It was setup that way…instead of Yoko releasing a solo album she negotiated with her songs on there. I don’t think many people would have bought a Yoko solo album. The album probably would have been John’s songs on DF and Milk and Honey.
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Ah!
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The opening line echoes Richard Fariña’s “House Un-American Blues Activity Dream”, which opens with, “I was standin’ on the sidewalk/Had a noise in my head/There were loudspeakers babbling/But nothing was said.”
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Steve, thank you for sharing that. Do you think John purposely wrote them as reference to Farina’s song? Now I need to go out and listen to it.
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Oh wow, just listened to it. Excellent!
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He’s always felt like the most famous Beatle to me.
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Boy, those two were a pair, weren’t they? Very avant garde. So quirky and whimsical. What a huge blow for her to lose him like that.
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Yes, they were, Stacey. Joined at the hip. Like weird Siamese Twins. I’m not sure how she managed to recover from John’s death.
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