Bullshit, It was definitely about heroin (a lot of people in his circle were on the stuff back then). John's heroin habit is what broke up the Beatles, he went completely insane.
And, it's so damn encouraging to hear him liking it. He was always his own harshest critic. I love this song, one of my all time favorites of The Beatles. Of course, I really like Hey Bulldog and Cry, Baby Cry, and he's a bit dismissive about those. Oh, well, he can't dig 'em all. But, I can. 👍
The sexual innuendo of the last lyrics, "...and I feel my finger on your trigger..." always made me smile! Nice to hear John say they were falling about laughing. They had fun despite the trips they were going through at the time.
Even years before Uncle Albert or Band on the Run, John created a piece of music with several movements to it. It's also one of the best John Lennon vocals on record!
Yep, Paul as usual following in John’s footsteps. John did Strawberry Fields so Paul does Penny Lane. John does medley songs then Paul does medley songs
@hw343434 right, I don't have a problem with Paul copying the idea because he did it brilliantly. I just wanted to make sure John was recognized for doing it first.
Adore this song! That opening section, up until the term ‘National Trust’ is majestic - John said he wrote it with a little help from Derek Taylor - the imagery is sublime. Pure Lennon, pure genius… the title is so ironic, given how he met his end.
Imho, this might be John’s Best Vocal. I think it’s between this, Twist and Shout, & A Day In The Life. But I think ‘Happiness’ is the Best Display of what made him such a Great Vocalist. He was like the ‘Daniel Day Lewis of Vocalists’. He completely inhabited everything he Sang, in every part-of every Song
This has always been my favorite Beatles song, and I’ve never thought about it being about drugs. I’ve just enjoyed the song, but I find this story so fascinating.
I always thought this song was about sex. “His hands are busy working overtime”, “When I hold you in my arms and I feel my finger on your trigger”. A warm gun goes “bang, bang, shoot, shoot” and makes a man feel happy. Maybe it’s just me. Lol
Not just you. Music critics thought that as well. They thought it was Ono making a pass at John for the first time with "Mother Superior jumped the gun."
It's about the inherent sadness of someone finding happiness in shooting, somehow representing humanity desperately and pathetically looking for happiness. Well, you can interpret it freely that way, which is why these songs are so good.
Whether or not "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" is about guns, sex, love or drugs, it's an amazing song that shows John Lennon's songwriting genius at its peak.
When I heard John Lennon was shot and killed Dec. 9 Tuesday morning 1980 around 5:20 am my memory went straight to this song! And l thought WOW how ironic!
The funniest comment I heard about this was from the guy I used to play classical guitar with in college, Roberto. He said he played this song with a guy who didn't know all the words to. Instead of singing "mother superior jumped the guns" he said "Mother superior jumped the punks." That's rip roaring hilarious 🤣😂
John being a bit disingenuous saying he didn't know anything about heroin at the time - it is widely known that Yoko and him were getting into heroin right during that period. In my opinion this interview is like many others he gave at a time when he was struggling to get his US green card and any slip-up about drugs would have been pretty bad for him
yea and also interesting enough i heard that the Beatles didnt like the harder heroin references because of the lyrics he wrote. for example the song on the white album "everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey" monkey is another word for heroin and they said they didnt like when he wrote that cuz of the reference. And he says its about yoko but at the same time it could be the same thing that you said with this song. But at the same time if you look at the songs for his solo work, all the love songs he wrote he said himself were inspired and about Yoko which obviously would be the case since that was his wife. I guess its one of those things we will never know which adds something more to his music. And also if you look at sgt peppers and his psychedelic era he wrote alot of abstract lyrics that are up for interpretation. And use lyrics from other pieces he wrote. Another example on "A day in the life" The first verse was about his friend that passed, the second was from a news article he saw talking about the many pot holes on a certain street. This should be a question asked to yoko if his songs like this were about drugs or really about her and i hope she would be honest.
@@El_Pimpin_Shizz Monkey isn’t another name for heroin and nobody has ever referred to heroin as monkey. It probably refers to having a monkey on your back, which generally means addiction, primarily heroin, but it could mean any other burdensome nuisance in a wider sense other than addiction
Should've known better is one of the best songs on that album. His melodies are killer. I always liked his melodies better than Paul, even though Paul is called a better melodist than John. I think that is shit. John's voice and melodies and lyrics are so fucking Superior to Paul's
From what I could hear, the song that came on just afterwards was She Loves You. He even joins in on the 2nd of the intro's "Yeah, yeah, yeah"s. P.S./Edit: I Should've Known Better is a terrific Beatles song. One of scores of my favorites.
‘I Should Have Known Better’ is an absolute gem; the classic ‘Beatlemania’ period song, with harmonica, jangling Harrison guitar break and brilliant Lennon vocal delivery, singing of longing and love. If one song sums up what the Fabs were about at this point in their career it’s this.
This is a fascinating interview. I thought the song is about drugs. Now that John Lennon shared his writing process, it's much more interesting. Thank you for posting!
While listening this song, I can smell weed from speakers. Honestly. One of amazing Beatles tunes...in many lists underrated. In I'm so tired smoke is also dripping from speakers.
Happiness is diving deeper into what this song is all about. That's one of the best parts about music is that it be interpreted very differently between the artists and the listeners. The warm gun could be many different things, it could be in fact a warm gun, it could be a needle, it could be a person. What does the interpreters find happiness to be and what brings that happiness, the warm gun. Is happiness suicide by the warm gun, is it shooting drugs using a warm gun, a needle. What is the fix? The song has two parts, it has the hectic sound, the frantic pace of life, the chase for the fix, the happiness that the warm gun brings. Once that warm gun is used, the song takes a turn into a very mellow peaceful sound. It wouldn't sound that great if it wasn't for the frantic part in the beginning to contrast the end. I think John was honest with what the meanings behind the parts of the songs are. Sometimes as an artist, it really is just that simple and not as deep as listeners make it out to be. He denies that has anything to do with drugs, it could be true or he could be covering it up. On the flip side, artists like to make it deep, covering up true meanings by disguising them with other words.
When I was younger I never understood what it was about but I loved the song. Years later I was listening to it again and it "hit" me, 'it's about shooting up on heroin, omg - genius!'
Cuando escuché por vez primera esta canción me cambió por completo el concepto del sonido de los Beatles, ninguna canción se le parece a esta pieza, es laberíntica y se entrelaza sus partes de una manera armoniosa y perfecta. En tan poca duración la canción sufre una tremenda metamorfosis y te incita a volverla escuchar nuevamente. A ningún otro artista o banda de rock les he escuchado realizar una pieza tan innovadora y tan brillante. Esta pieza muestra lo que es innegable decir : John Lennon es quizás el compositor más genial del rock y con la ayuda de McCartney ( otro genio con una inspiración fenomenal )se convirtieron en el dúo más grandioso de todos los tiempos.
John Lennon has predicated his death In many different ways without even realizing it in many of his interviews talk shows , etc. Here and there. I think or believed that as much as John loved life itself,that he wasn't always much sure about his own long life on earth. He wanted it but was amazed that being 40 was the time he was like born again in starting out new things in his life once again,a refreshing time, new beginnings, getting back to working on new projects and music, etc. But BANG!!! 💥 Just like that, ( It was over ). That's why we gotta live our lives as our last because we just don't know when the end us coming for us.
Kinda eerie him talking about the strangeness of happiness being a gun thats just shot something or somebody and it ended up being his fate out of all the ways one can die
@@chrysalis72 No. Heroin use only becomes a suicidal thing in a illegal context. Addicts in the UK and Switzerland who have legal access to injectable pharmaceutical heroin for maintenance live fairly normal lives. Most of the problems associated with heroin are caused by illegality.
I never thought this song was about anything other than guns and shooting things. This song was new when I first heard it, I knew nothing about drugs but all the men and boys I knew went deer hunting. This song always reminded me of Elmer Fudd.
Who knew cold hard steel, could feel so warn in comparison. But it offers an out, it offers slumber to the unforgiving world and contorted image. And so right before I fall as I lay on the ground made gentle in final. Happiness is a warm gun infact the fire burns till melting of my cold, sad heart of hurt.
John digged “Day Tripper”, “I Feel Fine”, “Norwegian Wood”, “A Day in the Life”, “In My Life”, “Come Together”, “Help”, “Ticket to Ride” and many of his other masterpieces
Yeah what you think he would admit he was shooting up heroin in an interview, this song is obviously about shooting up, listen to the lyrics, collage my ass
It indicates 'Bank St', which is in Greenwich Village, NYC. Then, it has to be late '71 or '72, as they moved into the Dakota, Upper Westside, NYC in Dec of 73.
and Kurt Cobain sang "I don't have a gun".....oddly. Undecided if he actually committed suicide or was murdered. I think its been determined a person could not have put their pinky toe thru the trigger and gun in mouth being that the gun was so long and he was like 5'9'' (a guess). That's why they never released the picture of the gun till a couple years ago. Though people that commit suicide always mention it long before they do (Delores, Cornell) almost like they plan it 20 years in the future. Maybe he did it...people said he was optimistic and happy to be separated from his wife and ready to sign the final papers though. As for Lennon......40 is so young now that I'm older than he was. Damn that lunatic that shot him!
Ironically he wrote about guns and shooting with Happiness is a Warm Gun & Come Together where he says "Shoot me" over and over. Then that's how he was killed, so sad.
I LOVE "should have known better" . His melodies are better than anything Paul ever did. I hate to compare, but Paul is supposedly a better melodist, but I'll take John's voice and melodies any day over Paul
Very strange how Lennon describe what inspired him to write this song but yet years later it will be a nut job who would use a gun to kill him. On that horrible December night a warm gun turned into something that took John from us.
John after being crucified for his bigger than Jesus statement. Denied everything. Lucy in the sky with diamonds. I know what I believe. Happiness is a warm gun is a fantastic song. John had just got together with Yoko. And started their heroin periodthe white album through Abbey Road. When I hold you in my arm, he says! not arms. And i feel my finger on your trigger. Still a fantastic song. Then come together which starts with shoot me! Doesnt matter fantastic songs!!!!!
