Why John Lennon Called 1 of His Songs ‘Embarrassing’

John Lennon was often publicly critical of the songs he wrote. He wrote many classic songs in both his solo career and with The Beatles. While many consider his songs excellent and meaningful, the British artist might disagree on a few. Later in his career, Lennon referred to one of his most political songs as “embarrassing.”

John Lennon was not afraid to write political songs

In his post-Beatles career, Lennon was an activist for the anti-war movement and worker’s rights. He wrote songs such as “Imagine” and “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” to voice his support for pacifism and peace. In 1971, John Lennon expressed his opposition to the Vietnam War with the song “Give Peace a Chance.”

The former Beatle wrote the song during his bed-in honeymoon with Yoko Ono. When asked by a reporter what he was trying to express by staying in bed, the singer responded, “just give peace a chance.” Shortly after this song, Lennon released the single “Power to the People.” He was inspired to write this song after giving an interview to Tariq Ali and Robin Blackburn, published in Red Mole. 

“I just felt inspired by what they said, although a lot of it is gobbledygook,” Lennon explained (shared via Far Out). “So I wrote ‘Power to the People’ the same way I wrote ‘Give Peace a Chance,’ as something for the people to sing. I make singles like broadsheets. It was another quickie, done at Ascot.”

John Lennon called ‘Power to the People’ ‘embarrassing’

While Lennon was initially proud of ‘Power to the People,’ his tune changed in later years. In his book Skywriting by Word of Mouth, the singer called “Power to the People” “embarrassing” because he felt he was out of touch with the worker’s movement. He acknowledged that he had a reputation for being an elitist and felt he wasn’t saying anything new in the song. 

“We’d got a bit of a reputation from hanging out with the Cambridge Graduate School of Revolutionaries in the UK,” Lennon shared. “They made us feel so guilty for not hating everyone who wasn’t poor that I even wrote and recorded the rather embarrassing ‘Power to the People’ ten years too late (as the now-famous Hunter ‘Fear and Loathing for a Living’ Thomas pointed out in his Vegas book). We kept the royalties, of course.”

Lennon refers to the novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, where two characters suggest Lennon’s songs do not reflect how many people felt during that time. 

‘Power to the People’ was commercially successful

Despite John Lennon’s regretful attitude toward the song, “Power to the People” performed admirably on the charts. In the U.K., the song peaked at No, 7 on the official charts and remained on the chart for nine weeks. In the U.S., “Power to the People” peaked at No. 11 and remained on the chart for nine weeks. 

It was released as a single but never appeared on an album. However, it was featured on the compilation album, Shaved Fish, which debuted in 1975.