DM's Beatles forums
Beatles forums => Songs => Topic started by: Casbah on October 06, 2016, 05:42:33 AM
-
Here is the TL;DR
I think the song Julia is about letting go of Julia and the pain from her loss and Yoko taking over that role as his soulmate.
I never gave this song much thought. To me it was just a throwaway John song about his mom but also about Yoko and to me it wasn't that deep or interesting. And I thought that way for about 30 years until yesterday when I heard it in my car and it became very clear to me.
There is something in the adoption world known as the "primal wound" when a child is removed from their mother and placed with another. I am going to guess John suffered something like this as a child which caused his behavior as a youth. John had a very close spiritual and cosmic bond with his mother, it's pretty obvious from all that we've read about him. We also know he lost her for good the night a drunk driver killed her.
So here is John, going through life as a Beatle, never totally happy and I suspect it had something to do with missing a soul-mate (a role Cynthia could not fulfill). Yet, Julia was always in his heart. She was the one that could not be replaced and he thought of her constantly. UNTIL, Yoko came along and John realized this was the one that could actually fill the void.
-
That's pretty much my take on the song too, Casbah. It's one I've always been able to relate to. When John sings "Julia, sleeping sand, silent cloud" I get choked up.
-
Unfortunately for Joh he was given terrible parents , they made him decide who he wants to live with at the age of about six , he decided on Julia and his dad goes as far away as it's possible New Zealand never to be seen again (until John was famous) and his mother commences to give John away to her sister showing John that she didn't want him at all , Julia always comes out of these films and documentaries has some kind of victim when in fact she was a terrible mother who just gave her son away
This i imagine can have a catastrophic effect on any human and can completely screw them up for life
Unfortunately John then repeated the process with his own son not only leaving his mother but moving to another country instead of living nearby where he could have had a closer relationship with Julian moving to America showing Julian that he didn't really care about seeing him
John Absolutely loves his mother and this is what song is about in my opinion , he is professing his love for her and his deep sadness that she is not it is life anymore .....but he also had much anger towards her as shown in the song Mother on his first solo album
-
I like the line "When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind". I think it summarizes the whole song.
-
I like the line "When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind". I think it summarizes the whole song.
Me too, Andrés.
-
Despite his waspish wit and the armour-plating within which he emotionally coccooned himself, John could open up in song and bravely reveal his vulnerability more candidly than almost any other artist. "Julia" is a good example of this. Like so many of his songs, it's very heartfelt, direct, personal and rather beautiful in its simplicity.
Taken in isolation though, literally just as a song (lyrics delivered vocally set to a melody with instrumentation) it doesn't do much for me at all. Appropriate for the track I suppose but those wispy, gossamer vocals are almost too irritatingly wishy-washy lightweight and the tune itself is wafer-thin. Like "Dear Prudence" it lacks the meaty vocal bite we had become accustomed to from Lennon.
As a classic slice of soul-bearing and in the guard-dropping context of its author's reflections on his fractured relationship with his mother (and subsequently the presence of his older muse) it does make sense. But it would be bland if not to say meaningless, in my opinion, if covered by any other artist. A song which for me carries no validity unless John Lennon happens to be singing it.
I'm afraid it would be among the first to get the chop were I to play the "what if the White Album was a single album" game with which we are all familiar.
-
I have to agree with you on this song (and of course 'Dear Prudence') Mr.M. I think its gorgeous in its simplicity and somewhat haunting. It would make my single White Album cut.
-
I have to agree with you on this song (and of course 'Dear Prudence') Mr.M. I think its gorgeous in its simplicity and somewhat haunting. It would make my single White Album cut.
I think mr m was saying it would end up on the cutting room floor and you are saying it gets pressed into vinyl. Or did I misread?
-
It's got a great beat and it's fun to dance to, but I don't understand the words.
:P
-
I think mr m was saying it would end up on the cutting room floor and you are saying it gets pressed into vinyl. Or did I misread?
I meant to say disagree. My lifes in a shambles right now, you'll have to excuse me. ha2ha
-
I went back to our white album thread and saw that I did indeed include this on my single album white album track listing.
So I must like it.
-
I went back to our white album thread and saw that I did indeed include this on my single album white album track listing.
So I must like it.
Did you notice whether it made my single album by any chance
-
Did you notice whether it made my single album by any chance
I did actually. And no it didn't. Our choices had a lot of crossover. So my comment only noted that I'd substituted in a few songs including Julia in place of ones you'd selected.
-
I did actually. And no it didn't. Our choices had a lot of crossover. So my comment only noted that I'd substituted in a few songs including Julia in place of ones you'd selected.
I didn't think it would be on there but I was being too lazy to look lol
I'm not crazy about the song I think it's a wee bit boring just seems to hang on one note most of the time
-
One of John's finest songs. That melody is so poignant. I feel like he's really laying his soul bare, especially with the way he sings it. He's calling out to his mother, telling her how he feels even though she's no longer alive. He's carrying this mental burden but he's helping himself by letting it out.
-
Unfortunately for Joh he was given terrible parents , they made him decide who he wants to live with at the age of about six , he decided on Julia and his dad goes as far away as it's possible New Zealand never to be seen again (until John was famous) and his mother commences to give John away to her sister showing John that she didn't want him at all , Julia always comes out of these films and documentaries has some kind of victim when in fact she was a terrible mother who just gave her son away
This i imagine can have a catastrophic effect on any human and can completely screw them up for life
Unfortunately John then repeated the process with his own son not only leaving his mother but moving to another country instead of living nearby where he could have had a closer relationship with Julian moving to America showing Julian that he didn't really care about seeing him
John Absolutely loves his mother and this is what song is about in my opinion , he is professing his love for her and his deep sadness that she is not it is life anymore .....but he also had much anger towards her as shown in the song Mother on his first solo album
This is absolutely true, she was wild and made some terrible child-rearing decisions. But it seems like she was coming around a bit at the end when her life was tragically cut short leading to that John quote about losing his mother twice.
-
The most interesting part of this to me is the guitar work. It actually seems to overpower his voice which seems more like background singing by comparison. It almost sounds like an acoustic with the mike up close. It also sounds kind of unpolished to me - like they pretty much left the song alone and didn't try to do anything to enhance it.