John Lennon Went to His Mother’s Funeral ‘In a Daze’

John Lennon lost his mother at a young age, attending her funeral “in a daze” according to his ex-wife Cynthia Lennon. Even after her death, Julia Lennon continued to impact the Beatles member and his original music. Here’s what we learned from the 2005 memoir John.

John Lennon’s mother died suddenly in 1958

Lennon is one of the songwriters of the Beatles, co-writing hits like “Let It Be,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Come Together,” and “Twist and Shout.” He even created music as a solo artist, like 1971’s “Imagine.”

It was Julia Lennon that partly inspired Lennon’s love of music. She bought the artist his first guitar and taught him chords on the piano. Even if Lennon predominantly grew up in his Aunt Mimi’s home, he shared a close relationship with his mother until her death.

Cynthia Lennon detailed John Lennon’s reaction to his mother’s funeral

Julia Lennon was knocked down and killed in a car accident. She died in 1958 at 44 years old, with her son still in school at the time. John Lennon’s ex-wife, Cynthia, detailed the funeral in her 2005 memoir, John.

“John went to her funeral in a daze, unable to believe that his vibrant, laughing mother was inside the wooden coffin everyone was filing past,” Cynthia Lennon wrote. 

What made her death “worse,” was that it came at the hands of an off-duty police officer, who was acquitted of the charges. The only punishment he received was a reprimand and “a period of suspension from duty.” 

“After Julia’s funeral, John bottled up his grief, anger, shock, and pain, and didn’t talk about it to anyone,” she continued. “Mimi wasn’t the kind of person who discussed things, she simply carried on with her life, and John tried to do the same.”

Because John Lennon’s sisters were 11 and 8 years old, other family members kept their mother’s death a secret. Cynthia Lennon claims they were told their mother was ill. 

John Lennon wrote ‘Julia’ and ‘Mother’ about his late mother, Julia Lennon

Lennon’s love for his mother seeped into his songwriting. Lennon created “Julia” for the Beatles’ self-titled album, also known as the “White Album” by fans. Since its Spotify debut, this track has earned over 25 million plays. 

“Half of what I say is meaningless,” the lyrics state. “But I say it just to reach you, Julia / Julia, Julia / Ocean child calls me.”

This song was an obvious nod to his late mother, with Lennon also releasing “Mother” as a solo song. However, “Mother” didn’t become one of Lennon’s most popular originals, not even appearing on the Top 10 of Billboard’s music chart. 

“I was a bit surprised by the reaction to ‘Mother,’” Lennon said to author Robert Hilburn (via American Songwriter). “Can’t they see how nice it is?”