John Lennon: Between The Lines

complete home recordings 1975–1980


LYRIC TRANSCRIPTIONS FOR DISC 1

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track 1: Tennessee [take 1]

Tennessee, O Tennessee, what you've shown to me
Your words like water, pure and clear
The sadness of your soul reveals the music of this sphere
Conceal it behind your spirit mind, your poet's love and feel


track 2: Tennessee [take ?]

Tennessee, O Tennessee, tell me what you see
Your words like water, pure and clear
The sadness of your soul reveals the music of this sphere
Conceal it behind your spirit mind, poetry of tears

America, America, your heroes are alive
Your faded men and glory will survive
The madness of your soul supplies the all-consuming fire
Beneath your spreaded chestnut lies A Street Car Named Desire

Tennessee, O Tennessee, your southern bell will ring
Music travelled far from New Orleans
Slings an arrowed mirror in the magic of your dreams
Reflected, echoed harmony of the naked human being
Reflected, echoed harmony of the cold and lonely, naked human being


track 3: Tennessee [take 4]

Tennessee, O Tennessee, tell me what you see
Your words like water, pure and clear
The sadness of your soul reveals the music of this sphere
Conceal it behind your spirit mind, the poetry of tears

America, America, your heroes are alive
Your faded men and glory will survive
The madness of your soul supplies the all-consuming fire
Beneath your spreaded chestnut lies the Street Car Named Desire

Tennesee, O Tennessee, your southern belle will ring
Music travelled far from New Orleans
Sling an arrowed mirror in the magic of your dreams
Reflect the age-old harmony of the naked human being
Reflect the age-old harmony of the cold and lonely, naked human being


track 4: Everybody

Everybody's talking and no one says a word
Everybody's making love and no one really cares
There is a green hill far away, just below the stairs

There's always something happening, but nothing going on
There's always something cooking, but nothing in the pot
There's a little yellow idol to the north of Katmandu

You can't tell no one nothing never, no way
You just got to let them do it their own way
Can't tell no one nothing never no way
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah

Everybody's running and no one makes a move
Everyone's a winner and no one left to lose
There's a place for us in movies, but we haven't got the shoes

Everybody's smoking and no one's getting high
Everybody's flying and never see the sky
There's a UFO in the garden, and I ain't too surprised

No, you can't tell no one nothing no way, never
Just got to let them do their own way, yeah, yeah
Can't tell no one nothing, no way
No way, yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah


track 5: Sally And Billy [take 2]

Sally was proud and ran with the crowd
Independent and beautiful, oh how beautiful
Spent all her days and most of the day
Drinking coffee and reading plays, oh how beautiful

Oh now Sally, Sally now don't you cry
Oh how she cried, wiping the tears from her eyes
Heart running dry, she's never satisfied

Billy's a man and he sings with a band
On the road doin' one night stands, oh what a man
Spends all his time playing games with his mind
Chasing women and drinking wine, hell of a lucky guy

Oh now Billy, Billy why do you cry
Oh how he cried, wiping the tears from his eyes
Heart running dry, he's never satisfied

Too late now to make it up somehow
Too late now, they missed the boat somehow

Sally and Billy are over the hill
Neither one of them understands, I guess they never will
Both of them dreaming of what might have been
Pray that Jesus will intervene, oh dear Lord!

Too late now to make it up somehow
Too late now, they missed the boat somehow

Billy and Sally don't cry
Billy and Sally don't cry
Billy and Sally don't cry


track 6: Sally And Billy [take 3]

"Take three"

Sally was proud and ran with the crowd
Independent and beautiful, oh how beautiful
Spent all her days and most of the day
Drinking coffee and reading plays, oh how beautiful

Oh now Sally, Sally now don't you cry
Oh how she cried, wiping the tears from her eyes
Heart running dry, she's never satisfied

Billy's a man and he sings in a band
On the road doin' one night stands, hell of a lucky man
Spends all his time playing games with his mind
Chasing women and living high, hell of a lucky guy

Oh now Billy, Billy now don't you cry
Oh how he cried, hiding the tears in his eyes
Heart running dry, he's never satisfied

It's too late now to make it up somehow
Too late now, she missed the boat somehow

Sally and Billy are over the hill
Neither one of them understands, I guess they never will
Both of them dreaming of what might have been
Hoping Jesus will intervene, I guess they're hoping still

It's too late now to make it up somehow
Too late now, they missed the boat somehow

Sally and Billy don't cry
Billy and Sally don't cry
Sally and Billy don't cry
Sally and Billy don't cry


track 7: Mucho Mungo

Mucho mungo, sweet thing
Sweetest little thing I've ever seen
Must have been a sweet dream brought you here
Brought you through the sorrow and the tears

C'est la, c'est la — c'est la vie
Sail in from the ocean, sail with me
Sail into the moment, everyday
Sail into the sunshine, through the haze

I saw it in your eyes, you're a blessing in disguise
On the *** of the sky
And I saw it right there in your face
And I saw it da da outer space

Mucho mungo, sweet thing
Sweetest little thing since sweet sixteen
C'est la, c'est la — c'est la vie
Sail into tomorrow, sail with me


track 8: Cookin' (In The Kitchen Of Love) [take 1]

I'm cookin'...
I'm cookin'...

"No, that's a..."

I'm cookin', I'm cookin'...

"No, no, no, no, don't panic, don't panic now..."

I'm cookin'
I'm cookin'
I'm cookin'
Yes a-cookin'
There's nothing to it...
There's nothing to it
Nothing to it, do it in the kitchen of love

Yes, I'm cookin'
Well, I'm cookin'
Yes, I'm cookin'
Nothing to it, you can do it in the kitchen of love

I'm cookin'
Yes, I'm cookin'
Well, I'm cookin' in the kitchen of love
Cookin' in the da-da-da-daa
So I'm cookin'
There's nothing to it, you can do it in the kitchen of love

Nothing to it, you can do it in the kitchen love

There's nothing to it, you can do it in the kitchen of love
Nothing to it, you can do it

"Huh!"


track 9: Cookin' (In The Kitchen Of Love) [take ?]

Well, cookin', just a-cookin'
Well, I'm a-cookin' in the kitchen of love
Cookin' in the kitchen of life
Lord, Lord, there's nothing to it
You can do it, I'm just a-cookin'

Well, I'm rockin'
Just a-rockin'
Well, I'm a-rockin' in the da-da-da-dum
Rockin' down the road of life
Lord, Lord, there's nothing to it
You can do it, I'm just a...

Yeah, we're gonna have a party
Well, we're gonna have a party, and do some layin' down

Well, I'm truckin'
T-t-t-truckin'
Well, I'm a-truckin' in the name of love
Ridin' down the highway of life
Lord, lord, there's nothing to it
You can do it

We're gonna have a party
Yes, we're gonna have a party
Well, we're gonna have a party, do some layin' down

Well I'm a-dancin'
J-just a-dancin'
Well, I'm a-dancin' in the streets of love
Dancin' in the death of our ***
There's nothing to it, and you can do it

We're gonna da da da...

Doo do do do doo, doo do doo, doo do do doo

Well, we're gonna have a party — bring your own stuff
Yeah, we're gonna have a party — can't get enough
Gonna have a party...
Well, we're gonna have a party and do some layin' down


track 10: Cookin' (In The Kitchen Of Love) [take 8]

Well, I'm cookin'
Just a-cookin'
Well, I'm a-cookin' in the kitchen of love
Cookin' in the kitchen of life
Lord, lord, don't wanna do it
You can do it, I'm a-cookin'

I'm cookin'
Just a-rockin'
Well, I'm a-rockin' in the cradle of love
Rockin' in the cradle of life
Lord, lord, don't wanna do it
You can do it, just a-rockin'

Well, we're gonna have a party
Yeah, we're gonna...

Oh well, we're gonna have a party
Oh well, we're gonna have a party
Ah yes, we're gonna have a party and do some layin' down

Well I'm a-dancin'
J-just a-dancin'
Well, I'm a-dancin' in the streets of love
Dancin' in the streets of life
Lord, lord, don't wanna do it
Ain't nothing to it, I'm just a-dancin'

Well, I'm truckin'
J-just a-truckin'
Well, I'm a-truckin' down the highway of love
Truckin' down the highway of life
Lord, lord, ain't gonna do it
Ain't nothing to it, just a-truckin', truckin'

Well, we're gonna have a party — bring your own stuff
Yeah, we're gonna have a party
Well, we're gonna have a party, and do some layin' down

It's gotta be high or it's gotta be low
And in between we just don't go
Don't wanna sing, dont' wanna dance
You can do it anytime, da-daa-nan-nan-naa

Doo do do do do do doo

Well, we're gonna have a party
Yeah, we're gonna have a party
Well, we're gonna have a party
We're gonna have a party, do some layin' down


track 11: She Is A Friend Of Dorothy's [take 2]

Up on the underworld
Bar and basement girl
Art deco decadent
TV dinner elegant
All balls and no chains
All fun and no games

She is a friend of Dorothy's, mmm
She is a friend of —
A friend of Dorothy's — I know it
A friend of Dorothy's — she shows it
A friend of Dorothy's — who is she?
Whoever she is

Queen of her inner space
Sheik of Arabesque
Red hair and yellow roots
French jeans and fly boots
Frederics of Hollywood
Maiden Mary and Robin Hood

She is a friend of Dorothy's, mmm yeah
She is a friend —
A friend of Dorothy's — she knows it
A friend of Dorothy's — she shows it
A friend of Dorothy's — who is she?
Whoever she is, she's gone for days

Oo-oo, oo-o-oo, oo-o-oo
She's willing and she'll provide
She'd keep you satisfied

Hmm, hmm
D is for divine
O is for on my mind
R ready, steady, go
O in wonderful
T is tea and sympathy, honey
H is heebie jeebies


track 12: She Is A Friend Of Dorothy's [take 7]

John: "Okay, I try to keep me foot off the pedal"

Yoko: "Yeah, it may be clearer"

John: "Maybe I should play it higher up, you see"

Come to the underground
Sure know her way around
TV pretty elegant
Art deco decodent
Hot lips and no shame
All fun and no game

She is a friend of Dorothy's
She is a friend of —
A friend of Dorothy's — she shows it
A friend of Dorothy's — I know it
A friend of Dorothy's — who is she?
Whoever she is

Queen of the discotheques
Sheik of Arabesque
French jeans and nasty boots
Red hair and yellow roots
Frederics of Hollywood
Forty-second and bloody good

She is a friend of Dorothy's, ah
She is a friend indeed
A friend of Dorothy's — I know it
A friend of Dorothy's — she shows it it
A friend of Dorothy's — who is she?
Whoever she is

Trust in God and she will provide
She'll keep you satisfied
Oo-oo, oo-o-oo, oo-o-oo

Goodbye, so long baby
Keep dancin'

She is a friend of Dorothy's, ah yes
She is a friend —


track 13: I Don't Want To Lose You

I know it's true
It's all because of you
And if I make it through
It's all because of you

And now and then
If we must start again
Well we will know for sure
That I love you

I don't want to lose you, oh no no no
Lose you or abuse you, oh no no no, sweet darling
But if you have to go away
If you have to go do do do do do do do

Now and then I miss you
Oh, now and then I want her to turn to me
I know return to me

I know it's true
It's all because of you
And if you go away
I know you're there, stay

I don't wanna lose you, oh no no no
Abuse you or confuse you, oh no no no, sweet darling
But if you have to go
Well I'll stop you then
If you have to go do do do do do do do


track 14: Free As A Bird [take 1]

"Free, as a bird"

Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I'll fly
As a bird on wings

Whatever happened to
The life that we once knew
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Whatever happened to
The life that we once knew
Hmmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm

Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I'll fly
A bird on wings

Free as a bird
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo
Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird


track 15: Free As A Bird [take 3]

"Hello, hello, 'Free', three"

Free as a bird
It's the nearest thing to be
Free as a bird
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I'll fly
Like a bird on the wing

Whatever happened to
Doo-don do-don-doo
Doo-don do-don-doo doo-doo doo-doo
Doo-don do-don-doo
Doo-don do-don-doo
Doo-don do-don-doo doo-doo doo-doo

Free as a bird
It's the nearest thing to be
Free as a bird
Free as a bird
It's the nearest thing to be
Free as a bird


track 18: Whatever Happened To...? [take 2]

"Other way 'round version."

"2-3-4"

"Eh!"

Well she used to be an artist, but she threw away the key
Got a job, you know, 9 to 5
And the most peculiar people hang around her everyday
Bunch of slobs, you know the kind

Now she's coming from nowhere, keeps herself in the dark
Hides her head in a scarf, got her books in a shawl

Whatever happened to the woman we once knew, the river's rising fast
And if she hears me now, trying to get a message somehow, don't burn the boats till last

Well, she used to be a swinger, now the rope's around her neck
Such a shame, ain't that a shame
And her mother was a lawyer, taught her how to read a check
You know the game, who's to blame

Going nowhere, she keeps herself in the dark
Hides her head in the scarf, got her hooks in the shawl

Whatever happened to the woman we once knew, the river's rising fast
And if she's listening now, trying to get a message somehow, don't burn the boat it's built to last

Well she used to be an artist, but she threw away the key
Got a job, you know, 9 to 5
Got a job, job, you know, 9 to 5
The most peculiar people hang around her everyday
Bunch of slobs, you know the kind

Going nowhere, ah, she keeps herself in the dark
Hides her head in the scarf, got her books in the shawl

Whatever happened to the woman we once knew, the river's rising fast
Ah, if she's listening now, trying to get a message somehow, and the boat is burning fast