For me this is a tough one,  I love them all.  But if I had to choose I would pick George harrison-All those years ago.  It has a bit of a cheery tune, but when I listen to the words it all seems to fit perfectly, I get a little emotional listening to the words sometimes.

I like Here Today because it's just so sad and mournful over John, after what the two had put eachother through during the 70's with their little feud... and it has such a beautiful melody.

btw, never without you was about geroge, not john, although i suppose, it could be about john as well.so yeh, ringo starr-never without you

For me it would be "Watching The Wheels"...straight from the horse's mouth.

But for this poll, "Here Today"..

Crap, I heard from this forum that Never without you was about John.  Did Ringo ever write a song about John?

'Here Today' is my favorite, 'Empty Garden' by Elton is a nice tribute, but 'Murder' by David Gilmour is probably the best. For our younger members who weren't born yet when the album "About Face" came out, I've pasted the lyrics:

Murder

Some of them standing, some were waiting in the line
As if there was something that they thought they might find
Taking some strength from the feelings that always were shared
And in the background, the eyes that just stared

What was it brought you out here in the dark?
Was it your only way of making your mark
Did you get rid of all the voices in your head?
Do you now miss them and the things that they said?

On your own admission you raised up the knife
And you brought it down ending another man's life
When it was done you just threw down the blade
While the red blood spread wider like the anger you made

I don't want this anger that's burning in me
It's something from which it's so hard to be free
But none of the tears that we cry in sorrow or rage
Can make any difference, or turn back the page

If that IS a tribute to John, I find it odd that he sings about knives.

Quoted from Jake

If that IS a tribute to John, I find it odd that he sings about knives.

It was metaphorical not literal.

Here Today has to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written by anyone.  I was on a bus when I was first listening to the Tug of War album and I cried when I heard Paul's tribute.

MURDER was a tribute tune to John? Get the hell out. I never knew that. I always said that 'Murder' was Davids best solo tune. I've never really listened to the lyrics closely as I learned the drum part to it and always listened to the guitar solo. Great song. For tributes, i'd probably rank 'Empty Garden' just a notch higher than 'Murder'.

As for the songs listed above, i'll take 'Here Today' for the John tribute, but 'Never Without You' is a better song than the other two. It should have been a hit and saw plenty of radio time, but todays music shuns Ringo.

Empty Garden

What happened here
As the new york sunset disappeared
I found an empty garden among the flagstones there
Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And now it all looks strange
It’s funny how one insect can damage so much grain

And what’s it for
This little empty garden by the brownstone door
And in the cracks along the sidewalk nothing grows no more
Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And we are so amazed we’re crippled and we’re dazed
A gardener like that one no one can replace

And I’ve been knocking but no one answers
And I’ve been knocking most all the day
Oh and I’ve been calling oh hey hey johnny
Can’t you come out to play

And through their tears
Some say he farmed his best in younger years
But he’d have said that roots grow stronger if only he could hear
Who lived there
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
Now we pray for rain, and with every drop that falls
We hear, we hear your name

Johnny can’t you come out to play in your empty garden

Empty Garden.....brilliant and tragic.   Thanks for posting the lyrics tk.

the "we're crippled and we're dazed" line is right on

This isn't necessarily a song about the death of John, but the last verse is about it. Its a great sad song by Paul Simon about the fall of Johnny Ace and kind of moves up the timeline to John. For what its worth--called "The Late Great Johnny Ace":


I was reading a magazine
And thinking of a rock and roll song
The year was nineteen fiftyfour
And I hadn't been playing that long
When a man came on the radio
And this is what he said
He said I hate to break it to his fans
But Johnny Ace is dead, yeah, yeah, yeah

Well, I really wasn't
Such a Johnny Ace fan
But I felt bad alI the same
So I sent away for his photograph
And I waited till it came
It came all the way from Texas
With a sad and sim-ple face
And they signed it on the bottom
From the Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah

It was the year of The Beatles
It was the year of The Stones
It was nineteen sixtyfour
I was living in London
With the girl from the summer be-fore

It was the year of The Beatles
It was the year of The Stones
A year after J.F.K.
We were staying up all night
And giving the days away
And the music was flowing amazing
And blowing my way

On a cold December evening
I was walking through the Christmas tide
When a stranger came up and asked me
If I'd heard John Lennon had died
And the two of us went to this bar
And we stayed to close the place
And every song we played
Was for The Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah

u 4got elton's "empty garden" but i voted 4 paul's

Well I just wanted to include the songs that His former band members wrote for him.  Except I messed up with Ringo's song,  That is about George.  I listened to the words of Never without you and it makes more sense that it is about George.  I wonder if Ringo ever wrote a song for John.