John Lennon: Between The Lines

complete home recordings 1975–1980

Disc 7: June 1980 (Bermuda) [63:19]

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LYRICS for disc 7

Guide to the track notes

  1. Dear Yoko [take 1 (fragment with voice-over)] PLAY
    • length: 0:07
    • recorded: June 21, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.121, #7.1:a.1
    • source: Unbootlegged 9 [89-24]
  2. Dear Yoko [takes 2-3] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 5:32
    • recorded: June 21, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.121, #7.1:b-c.1
    • source: LLT 34 [89-24]
    • It appears that 'Dear Yoko' was the first composition John attempted at Bermuda, recording five takes, of which we have numbers 2 and 3 (and a fragment of take 1 with voice-over). The overdubbed version on track 11 is not based on any of these, so must be either 4 or 5. Take 2 was a breakdown; the next attempt has now been issued on the official Acoustic.
  3. Borrowed Time PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 5:09
    • recorded: June 21, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.120, #4.1:a.1
    • source: Watching The Wheels [89-24] + Unbootlegged 9 [92-05]
    • After 'Dear Yoko', Lennon made at least four passed at a completely new composition (although he went on record stating that he carried the basis of the melody in his head for some years). This only available single tracked version is in the earlier stages of development, and could well be the first that was taped. Watching The Wheels is the best bootleg source, but a later airing on episode 92-05 is slightly longer at both ends.
  4. I'm Stepping Out [take 1] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 1:40
    • recorded: June 21, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.124, #20:a.1
    • source: LLT program 90-19
  5. I'm Stepping Out [take 3] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 6:12
    • recorded: June 21, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.124, #20:b.1
    • source: LLT program 90-19
  6. I'm Stepping Out [take ?] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 2:55
    • recorded: June 21, 1980
    • 8 Arms ID: p.124, (#20)
    • source: Milk and Honey (remastered)
    • A good deal of the activity in Bermuda consisted of polishing up old compositions rather than writing them up from a scratch. 'I'm Stepping Out' is somewhere in the middle ground — it has its origins in 'Real Life' but has been drastically recasted. The verse comes from that song, and the middle-eight was also heard briefly in that context, altough it ultimately spans from 'That's The Way The World Is'. What is completely new here is the chorus. The inspiration for this reworking was a visit to two local discotheques shortly after moving into Villa Undercliff. John had a few beers too many and got sick, but the experience prompted him to write "Stepping Out". It can be noted that the first take was performed a semitone higher than the other passes, John apparently switched to a more comfortable range after that. Track 6, the take number of which is unknown, only became available as a bonus track for the remastered Milk And Honey.
  7. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) [take 1] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 2:49
    • recorded: June 22, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar/percussion
    • 8 Arms ID: p.120, #3:a.1
    • source: Dreaming Of The Past [88-41]
  8. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) [take 2] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 4:12
    • recorded: June 22, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar/percussion
    • 8 Arms ID: p.120, #3:b.1
    • source: LLT program 89-41
    • These single tracked takes feature Fred Seaman on percussion and were probably taped on June 22 just before the overdubbed one, on the same sitting.
  9. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) [take 2 with overdubs] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 4:20
    • recorded: June 22, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar (double tracked)/percussion
    • 8 Arms ID: p.120, #3:b.2
    • source: Your Daddy's Here [tape]
    • This double tracked version of take 2, the previous track, was also broadcast in LLT, but is more complete and in stereo on Your Daddy's Here. It's worth noting that the third verse has yet to be finalized.
  10. Borrowed Time PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 5:06
    • recorded: June 22, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar (double tracked)/(faint) percussion
    • 8 Arms ID: p.120, #4:b.1
    • source: Anthology + Your Daddy's Here [tape]
    • The "welcome to Bermuda" intro was edited to the version of 'Dear Yoko' on the next track when broadcast in LLT; it, however, actually belongs to this double tracked take of 'Borrowed Time' as Anthology demonstrates. The tape source on Your Daddy's Here is longer at the end than the official release.
  11. Dear Yoko PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 3:41
    • recorded: June 22, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar (double tracked)/percussion
    • 8 Arms ID: p.121, #7.1:d.1
    • source: LLT program 88-25
    • These overdubbed versions of 'Dear Yoko' and 'Borrowed Time' were likely recorded, assisted by Fred Seaman, on the same sitting as that of 'Beautiful Boy' on the evening of June 22.
  12. I Don't Wanna Face It PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 2:06
    • recorded: June 22-27 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar (double tracked)
    • 8 Arms ID: p.123, #16:c.1
    • source: Your Daddy's Here [tape]
    • The single tracked original of this overdubbed Bermuda demo of 'I Don't Wanna Face It' has yet to surface.
  13. Girls And Boys [take 6 with overdubs] PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 2:44
    • recorded: June 22-27 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar (double tracked)
    • 8 Arms ID: p.127, #31:c.4
    • source: Your Daddy's Here [tape]
    • This time, as on with the demos on tracks 16 and 17, John didn't bother taping new "basic tracks" for the overdubbing purposes, but used an earlier Dakota recording from the stack of cassettes he had brought with him to Bermuda. Check disc 4, track 10 for the original, undubbed version of take 6. The exact date of the taping of this and the previous track is not clear, but must have been no later than June 27.
  14. Watching The Wheels PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 3:06
    • recorded: June 27, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.129, #35.3:d.1
    • source: Anthology + Your Daddy's Here [tape]
    • Close listening of this acoustic guitar demo of 'Watching The Wheels' reveals that Yoko appears to be present, hence the recording would seem to come from the same occasion as 'Serve Yourself' below. The tape source utilised on the Your Daddy's Here bootleg contains one and half seconds of pre-take noise that is not found on the official release. Lennon apparently couldn't decide which approach he wished to use for the composition in studio, as he included both this and a piano version on his Bermuda demo compilation given to producer Jack Douglas, who later recalled: "'Watching the Wheels' was like boom-jang, boom-jang, it was like fast, and almost Dylany and stuff. And he wrote me a letter saying, 'Can you make it sound circular?'"
  15. Serve Yourself PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 3:54
    • recorded: June 27, 1980
    • instrumentation: acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.128, #32:i.1
    • source: Anthology + Your Daddy's Here [tape] + Yin Yang [tape]
    • This infamous acoustic version of 'Serve Yourself' first surfaced in the collector community around 1985 after Albert Goldman began to hand out copies of it (from a copy of the Bermuda demos he had received from Fred Seaman) to some of the persons he interviewed for his biography, and was soon bootlegged. It appears that the ending has been patched from a second generation, possibly offline overdubbed tape on the official Anthology release; it's not clear why the master couldn't be used throughout. The bootleg appareance on Your Daddy's Here doesn't solve the mystery, as the majority of the track has there been copied from Anthology — the very end and beginning are, however, very slightly longer and from a tape source. Bag's vinyl bootleg Yin Yang has an even longer, otherwise unavailable introduction.
  16. Nobody Told Me PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 3:20
    • recorded: June 27 – late June, 1980
    • instrumentation: piano/drum machine/acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.125, #29:a.1
    • source: LLT 33 [91-47]
  17. Memories PLAY | LYRICS
    • length: 6:26
    • recorded: June 27 – late June, 1980
    • instrumentation: piano/acoustic guitar
    • 8 Arms ID: p.124, #26:b.1
    • source: LLT 33 [91-48]
    • These double tracked demos of 'Nobody Told Me' and 'Memories' utilize piano versions recorded at the Dakota before the Bermudan holiday. In the former case, the original 'Everybody' demo John dusted off was taped at least four years earlier before he added an acoustic guitar part and new lyrics for the chorus. The undubbed version of 'Memories' wasn't aired in LLT, but must be later than the piano demos heard on disc 6, as the lyrics are more developed.