THE ADVENT CALENDAR OF FILTH
6: JOHN LENNON & THE PLASTIC ONO BAND : Merry Christmas (War Is Over)
Much has been said on this very site about the utter wretchedness of John Lennon?s solo career. This track has escaped much lampooning so far pretty much because it takes the piss out of itself. Not only is it a Christmas record ? and a ropey one at that ? it is also a political record. On that worst of subjects, War.
The War Song by Culture Club is a stupid record, but even it does not posit the end of all war. Lennon does, from the safety of his well guarded (in retrospect not well enough) big white double bed. Six years before Lennon had said there was going to be a revolution. All he got were bed sores.
?So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun?
Eh? I think Johnno should take a quick look at his calendar ? albeit the one he has in hell. Christmas is December 25th. True another year is almost over, but a new one has certainly not begun yet. The week between Christmas and New Year is just that ? a week (and a fine one to go all drinking in I must add). Still, he was always a bit simple, as evidenced by the line:
?A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Let?s hope it?s a good one without any fear?
This nonsense ? without any fear? ? must have obviously been produced under the influence of alcohol. So much so that Yoko nicked in before his Top Of The Pops performance and changed the line to ?without any beer?.
Though in some ways Lennon was right. War was over. The Vietnam War. And to honour the dead man in the white suits memory there have been no wars since. Falkland Conflict, Gulf War Enfraction, the Bosnian Scuffle?. War is over indeed.