While doing a bit of ritual cleaning I came across a stack of old LPs. Double Fantasy was among them. This is one of a handful of albums I bought new when it came out. I was never as big a music fan as I could have been. Oh, I love music, but I tend to love it after it’s been around for a while. For example, I was really into the Beatles when John Lennon was murdered.
Like most Beatles fans, I was never very fond of Yoko Ono. As far as his Asian women went, I always thought he did his best work while he was with May Pang. But he ended up back with Yoko, as if nothing had happened.
Double Fantasy is John and Yoko thumbing their noses at the world. You hate Yoko? Tough. Think I wasted the last five years? What you think doesn’t matter to me. It’s my life and I’m living it the way I want to.
Of course, there was at least one person who did take afront to John Lennon coming out of seclusion. It still boggles the mind that John Lennon walked home at midnight every night and everyone in New York seemed to know about it. Maybe all those rap stars with their thug body guards have the right idea. Though it’s hard to imagine a body guard could have done anything.
So I listened to Double Fantasy, all the way through, just as I did when I first bought it and how I pretty much listened to it every time. I do the same thing with my Beatles albums, though I do tend to skip Revolution #9.
Double Fantasy is a damned good album, even with Yoko doing the occasional dying chicken impression. In fact, my favorite track on Double Fantasy is by Yoko Ono, Hard Times Are Over. It still reaches out and grabs me. The whole album has taken on this odd prophetic feel, as if they knew John was going to die and they wanted this to be their last statement.
It’s been very hard
But it’s getting easier now
Hard times are over, over for awhile
The leaves are shining in the sun
And I’m smiling inside
You and I watching each other on a street corner
Cars and buses and planes and people go by
But we don’t care
We want to know
We want to know in each other’s eyes
That hard times are over, over for some time
Hard times are over
Hard times are over
Hard times are over, over for awhile
It’s been very rough
It’s getting easier now
Hard times are over, over for awhile
The streams are twinkling in the sun
And I’m smiling inside
You and I walking together ’round the street corner
Hard times are over
Hard times are over
Hard times are over, over for awhile
Hard times are over
Hard times are over
Hard times are over, over for awhile
Hard times are over
Hard times are over
Hard times are over, over for awhile
