John Lennon: Between The Lines
complete home recordings 1975–1980
Disc 3: September 1979 [69:24]
PLAY the whole disc
- [audio diary 1] PLAY | TRANSCRIPT
- length: 12:55
- recorded: September 5, 1979
- 8 Arms ID: p.118, #1:a.1
- source: Filming The Fantasies [tape]
- The infamous diary tape.
- Serve Yourself PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 3:21
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.128, #32:h.1
- source: LLT 33 [91-17]
- Serve Yourself PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 5:15
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.127, #32:a.1
- source: LLT program 90-27
- This composing session evidently followed very closely the above September 5, 1979 audio diary, where John makes references to both the phrase "that's the way the world is" and, disparagingly, to Bob Dylan's latest hit 'Gotta Serve Somebody', which would be the immediate inspiration for the first number here, 'Serve Yourself', an attack on organized religion and uncritical belief — later versions would move into a somewhat more general direction. Indeed, in the Fall 1980 Playboy interviews with David Sheff, John would downplay the apparent shock he felt when "Bobby boy went that way": "[I was] very surprised. But I'm not distressed by the fact that Dylan is doing what Dylan wants to do." It has been alleged that Lennon had himself espoused Christianity for a short while in 1977; it could be speculated if that had anything to do with his somewhat violent reaction. But one has to also bear in mind that these demo recordings (like the needlessly maligned 'Satires') were private efforts, not intended for public consumption as such, and that John also clearly had his tongue firmly in cheeck while having some fun denouncing what he did not believe in, taking Dylan's composition as the springboard. In any case, the three original takes opening this cassette were only the first of several versions taped over the next year — in all, the demos contained in the archives probably amount to something close to two hours! Not an insignificant amount of work. These two early attempts available here sport a sort of gospel introduction which would return a year or so later in the versions recorded just before the Double Fantasy sessions (see disc 9).
- That's The Way The World Is PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 3:04
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.128, #34:a.1
- source: Free As A Bird: The Dakota Beatle Demos [tape]
- 'That's The Way The World Is' would spark an interesting and very convoluted evolution which ultimately begetted 'I'm Stepping Out' and 'Real Love'. The verse here would ultimately end up as, via 'Girls And Boys', as the chorus to the latter composition, but not before appearing first in 'Real Life' — which would more or less be the precursor to 'I'm Stepping Out'. The "if it don't feel right" middle-eight heard here would also finally find its rightful place in that song.
- Don't Be Crazy [take 1] PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 3:11
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.121, #8:a.1
- source: Free As A Bird: The Dakota Beatle Demos [tape]
- Don't Be Crazy [take 2] PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 1:39
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.121, #8:b.1
- source: A Heart Play [88-25] + LLT program 88-25
- Providing some parts for 'Staring Over' later on, John played two takes of 'Don't Be Crazy' during this fruitful composing session. Take 1 wasn't broadcast in LLT and comes from a tape source; take 2 was bootlegged, slightly incomplete, from its 88-25 on A Heart Play,
- Baby Make Love To You PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 2:16
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.120, #2:a.1
- source: Free As A Bird: The Dakota Beatle Demos [tape]
- Baby Make Love To You / Girls And Boys PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 3:59
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.120, #2:a.1 [–2:40]; p.126, #31:a.1 [2:40–]
- source: Hidden Archives [91-27]
- Besides 'That's The Way The World Is', another important song germ makes an appaearance here. This cassette contains several attempts on this first incarnation of 'Real Love' which over their course evolve from what has been titled 'Baby Make Love To You' to 'Girls And Boys', the transition taking place somewhere during track 8, which presents several fragments as aired in LLT. The end of track 7 was also part of that broadcast, but surfaced much more complete directly from tape on The Dakota Beatle Demos (it appears that the folks at Vigotone had a copy of this cassette). The LLT narration erroneously reports the the last fragment is 'That's The Way The World Is', which is obviously not the case. Track 9 was aired in another episode and follows the other takes.
- Girls And Boys PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 1:23
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.126, #31:b.1
- source: Unbootlegged 7 [91-16]
- Real Life [take 1] PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 0:56
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.125, #30:d.1a
- source: LLT program 88-21
- Real Life [take 2] PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 5:27
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.125, #30:c.1
- source: LLT program 92-10
- Real Life [take 3] PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 2:45
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.125, #30:d.1b
- source: LLT program 88-21
- Real Life PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 0:40
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.125, #30:d.1c
- source: LLT program 88-21
- Real Life PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 0:32
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.125, #30:d.1d
- source: LLT program 88-21
- Real Life PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 3:32
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.125, #30:b.1
- source: Look At Me [89-35] + LLT program 92-10
- Real Life PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 3:19
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.125, #30:a.1
- source: LLT program 90-14
- This cassette containing several takes of 'Real Life' was very likely taped soon after the composing sessions which produced 'That's The Way The World Is' and 'Baby Make Love To You'/'Girls And Boys'. From LLT narration and internal evidence it can deduced that tracks 10-12 are takes 1-3 and that the fragments on tracks 13-14 follow them. Inspecting the lyrics and documentary evidence also makes clear that tracks 15-16, the "let go" versions, are the final takes (the 92-10 airing of track 15 is slightly longer at the beginning than the 89-35 one).
- Serve Yourself PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 8:18
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.128, #32:f.1
- source: LLT program 89-51
- Serve Yourself PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 2:31
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.127, #32:c.1
- source: LLT program 88-31
- By internal and documentary evidence, these piano takes of 'Serve Yourself' (and 'Girls And Boys' below) appear to come from the same tape as 'Real Life'.
- Girls And Boys PLAY | LYRICS
- length: 3:10
- recorded: c. September 1979
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.126, #31:c.1
- source: LLT program 90-14
- As this (earliest available coherent) piano version of 'Girls And Boys' was taped at the same time as 'Real Life', the latter song's "why must we be alone" chorus has yet to be transferred to it. After that, the current chorus ("I don't expect you to understand") would be used as the middle-eight; cf. the acoustic demos on disc 5.
- Girls And Boys [with voice-over] PLAY
- length: 1:11
- recorded: 1979–80
- instrumentation: piano
- 8 Arms ID: p.126, #31:d.1
- source: Unbootlegged 9 [88-07]
- This piano demo of 'Girls And Boys' was only aired as a bed, and as the voice-over makes closer examination and determining of the recording date impossible we have included it here; it was in any case presumably taped following track 19 above.