SONG OF THE DAY

“Watching The Wheels” – John Lennon (Double Fantasy, Geffen Records, 1981). Written by John Lennon.

“Watching The Wheels” – Matisyahu (Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, Warner Bros./Amnesty International/Art for Amnesty, 2007). Written by John Lennon.

INTERESTING FACTS (from wikipedia)

– The single was released posthumously after his assassination the year before.
– It was from Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy album.
– It reached #10 in the U.S.
– “Watching the Wheels” concerns Lennon’s dismissal of those who were confounded by his “househusband” years, 1975-1980. During this period, he stayed away from the music industry and raised his son Sean with Yoko.
– The song’s second verse seems to contain an allusion to Plato’s “Allegory of the cave”.
– The song features a hammered dulcimer accompanying the lead piano.
– The acoustic demo of “Watching the Wheels” is featured in the ending credits to the 2009 film Funny People.
– The song has been covered by Matisyahu (featured on Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur), Charly Garcia, and Gwen Guthrie.
– The photograph for the album cover of this single shows Yoko and John walking out of the Dakota building, into the exact place where he is later assassinated.

MY TAKE

I love John Lennon’s later period, basically after from the time when he met Yoko until his death. I think he was brilliant before Yoko, but he was truly smashing down sound barriers and genres after he met her. I did not know this song was his. I found it listening to my music on shuffle, and though you’re probably saying “Joanee how can you not know music YOU OWN?!”, I’ve got an answer: “Hey, it’s apt to happen, since I have over 700 GB of music and hundred of CDs. Gimme a break.”

Anyhow, the song. Turns out, I have the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. So, I discovered a cover of the song first. Then about 6 months later, when I looked at the title of the album the Matisyahu song was on, I realized “hey this is a cover song; this is really a John Lennon song” [yes, I realize with semi-colons]. I went in search of the John Lennon original, and discovered a much quieter, piano-melody-driven song recorded with much more emphasis on the lyrics, and with an entirely different rhythmic feel. I can’t tell you which one I like better. The Lennon version has a place close to my heart because when he sings it, I think you can just tell that he lives and means the lyrics. But Matisyahu is an American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician, so how can I not give props to his cover just by the very nature of his act (though his retelling of the song is, in fact, BRILLIANT)? Make the choice for yourself.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

This is the September 2009 video playlist—track #6 is “Watching The Wheels” by John Lennon:

MP3 DOWNLOAD

Matisyahu’s Version – m4a