John Lennon’s Lullaby

This year I stumbled upon a spectacularly good story about the often-overlooked song that concludes the White Album, a record that John Lennon thought included some of his best work with the Beatles. That song is “Good Night.”

You may recall the lush orchestration, the soothing, and Ringo — not John — singing with a gentle urgency, like father to son.

dreams — sweet dreams — for me
dreams — sweet dreams — for you

Writer Rob Sheffield, who has written more than one book about the Beatles, opens his lovely story on this song from a few years ago in Rolling Stone this way.

Sheffield argues that Lennon wrote the song for his five-year-old song Julian, struggling with his parents divorce. (He notes that Paul too tried to reach out to Julian in song, with “Hey Jude.”) But John never considered singing it himself, because at that time he didn’t want to be known for tenderness — he still thought of himself as a rocker. Sheffield thinks he couldn’t have sung it “sincerely.”

But as he said the revelation about the song is that besides the George Martin studio version, there’s a version of the Beatles performing it together, harmonizing behind Ringo’s lead, and although it’s still a little raw, a little ragged, more of a run-through than a finished production, it’s wonderfully warm, connected. Entrancing.

And, since it’s 2023, it’s readily available through YouTube. Worth a listen, from the man whose 83rd birthday it would have been today, December 8th, 2023.