Friday, January 16, 2009

Lennon's Final Days


In his last days, was John the quintessential "househusband," as is commonly thought, or was this just a facade? In her book John, Cynthia Lennon says that during his visits to the Dakota, Julian did not see evidence of a Lennon who doted on Sean or spent his time in the kicthen. Rather, Cynthia writes that John was a recluse and spent most of his time watching television. Other biographical sources say that John was still into cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana at this time.

By the same token, it is well documented that John was terribly concerned when Sean developed ear infections and thought that Yoko took them too lightly. He had always been addicted to television, and it is established fact that he was beginning to call Julian in Great Britain to discuss tracks from Double Fantasy.

The answer is that Lennon was a complex man, and a single portrait of anyone is always dangerous. The two views are not necessarily exclusive. His love for Sean shouldn't be questioned, but he was probably not nearly as domestic as legend has portrayed him. All we can know for sure is that John was, like most, continuing to evolve in music and temperament. We can only be certain of the tragedy of December 8, 1980.

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