John Lennon spends most of his life by asking for help. “Help!” song released in the 60s is one of the best examples. “Help Me to Help Myself” that he made in the last period of his life was another Lennon song with the same theme. The most striking, idealist and inspiring member of the Beatles had the most traumatic and dark inner world. But this inner world was at the same time inspiring.
It is said that unhappiness is a strong emotion and the greatest fire in the world comes from there. You can see this fire best in Janis Joplin. This singer with a strong voice left unhappy moments with her early death. Although he made us happy with his songs, he was not happy at all.
The Beatles also made songs that influenced us but their difference from Joplin was that they were more universally known. The musical, cultural and social effect of The Beatles was incredible. But only a few people can see the sadness and unhappiness hidden inside the most famous member of the band.
The people who knew him to know what was hidden inside Lennon. This suicidal shadow caused Lennon to isolate himself from other people for almost 6 years.
Weirdly, a song he made before he was killed by Mark David Chapman was full of signs that showed his willingness to exit this dark well. Lennon was actually looking for a second chance in his life; he was full of hope and he started to believe himself again:
John Lennon and his never-ending cry for help
When John Lennon wrote the lyrics of “Help!”, the other band members were a bit surprised but they did not repose on it. The song sounded good and the song was going to a popular song in the best-selling album.
This song will even have the name of a movie in 1965. But the lyrics were about stress and pressure that Lennon was trying to cope with. He felt this pressure due to fast development around him.
Years later, in a Playboy magazine interview, Paul McCartney said that he did not know how Lennon and other members of the band felt at that moment.
Lennon asked for help. But people were unable to hear him in that world. Lennon clearly mentions lack of self-confidence, depression and his need to someone else is his songs. He frequently said that he needs something to bring him back to earth.
John Lennon’s trauma
Some people claim that this hidden unhappiness of Lennon came from his childhood. Because Lennon was left by his marine father when he was young. Even his mother left him to his uncle and aunt to take care of him.
When he was about to make things good with his mother year later, he lost her and he witnessed her death. A drunk police officer hit Lennon’s mother and his mother died in the scene. This left a deep mark in his life and he carried this mark until the end of his life.
The author of John Lennon’s biography said the artist devoted himself to music to overcome this issue. The main reason for Lennon’s passion for art is his mother. His mother showed him how to play various instruments. His mother gave him this passion for the first time. Therefore, he wrote one of his most emotional song Julia for his mother.
John Lennon and primitive screaming therapy
When The Beatles was disbanded in 1970, Paul McCartney, George and Ringo continued to make albums and sustained their successful musical careers. But Lennon did not follow this path.
There was too much injustice, noise and “movement” around the world. All of them made John tired and made him feel bad. This enraged him. He hated the duplicity in the policy. He was afraid of attacking young fans that made him and other rock stars their idols.
In one album, he clearly said the following on this topic: “I don’t believe in magic… I don’t believe in Elvis… I don’t believe in the Beatles… The dream is over. I was a seahorse, now I am John…”
Making music no longer motivated him. Music neither brought joy nor happiness to him. Music has become a job and therefore, he felt trapped. He wears himself with alcohol and LSD in this world he was trapped in.
But there is something most people do not know about Lennon. Neither music nor alcohol nor drugs worked. Nothing could stop the unhappiness in him. At this point, John started to see psychotherapist Arthur Janov. This well-known psychologist of that time developed primitive screaming therapy for him. The purpose of this therapy was to eliminate existing psychologic trauma with primitive screams and psychodrama.
Just like other impressive therapies, this discipline argues that you need to reveal all your suppressed pain. For this therapy, you can only resolve these suppressed emotions by expressing yourself in different ways.
John Lennon continued this therapy for years and he achieved great results. By looking at the songs that Lennon made in his final years, you can see the effect of this therapy.
Is English your second language? Your post is full of grammar issues, notably fragmented sentences where a number of words are missing or you use a word suggesting future tense instead of past tense, such as saying “Will have a movie in 1965”.