Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) (1980) – John Lennon

Beautiful Boy was written for Lennon’s son, Sean, his only child with Yoko Ono. Paul McCartney has stated this is one of his favourite songs composed by Lennon. It was used as the B-side of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) to promote the compilation album The John Lennon Collection in November 1982. I wrote about the impact of the Lennon Collection on my youth in the article – Jealous Guy.

I don’t know how many times I put the needle down on this record but it was a lot. We had one of those old wooden turntables which look like a dresser, and I remember sitting at the front of the fireplace and putting down the needle on this thing.

Beautiful Boy is another one of those songs from the collection I liked listening to. The song is devoid of any kind of ego – instead, it’s a heartfelt love letter to his son Sean, letting him know exactly how loved he was and how much joy he brought to John’s life. It’s quite a lot like a lullaby, and he’s really just a father comforting his son. I’m not sure how John’s first son Julian feels about the whole thing, but I hope he finds solace in it as well.

I also really liked the use of this song in Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995). In this movie, Beautiful Boy is sung and signed in American sign language by the title character (played by Richard Dreyfuss) to his deaf son, Cole.

[Bridge]
Out on the ocean sailing away
I can hardly wait
To see you come of age
But I guess we’ll both
Just have to be patient
‘Cause it’s a long way to go
A hard row to hoe
Yes it’s a long way to go
But in the meantime

[Verse 3]
Before you cross the street
Take my hand
Life is what happens to you
While you’re busy making other plans

[Chorus]
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Reference:
1. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) – Wikipedia

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand