How Do You Sleep?
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| "How Do You Sleep?" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by John Lennon | ||
| from the album Imagine | ||
| Released | October 8, 1971 | |
| Recorded | June 23, 1971-July 5, 1971 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 5:36 | |
| Label | Apple/EMI | |
| Writer(s) | John Lennon | |
| Producer(s) | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Phil Spector | |
| Imagine track listing | ||
| Oh My Love (7) |
"How Do You Sleep?" (8) |
How? (9) |
"How Do You Sleep?" is a song from John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, in which he implicitly disparages former Beatles songwriting partner Paul McCartney. It features a particularly intricate slide guitar from George Harrison (Harrison had his own song about McCartney, "Wah Wah", on his album All Things Must Pass). Despite the overtness of the attack, Lennon later claimed that the song was more about himself than McCartney, and certainly one or two lines, notably "jump when your momma tells you anything", sound as though they are directed more at Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono than Paul's with Linda.
The overwhelming impression of the song, however, is an attack on Paul, such as in the lines "The only thing you done was yesterday/And since you've gone you're just another day." Considering the puns involved, these two lines particularly stand out since it was Paul McCartney who composed the Beatles' song "Yesterday" and also later in his solo career wrote "Another Day". Besides making satirical reference to other McCartney songs (including "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"), the lyrics also refer to the Paul is dead hoax ("Those freaks was right when they said you was dead"). Due to the numerous McCartney-themed references made by Lennon, the song could be considered an example of a non-hip-hop diss song.
Lennon felt attacked by McCartney, who admitted that lines in the song "Too Many People" on the album Ram were intended as digs at John (though John and Yoko thought the whole album was intended as such).[citation needed] The song "How Do You Sleep?" was their reply. McCartney's song "Dear Friend" on the album Wild Life, set an end to their public battle (despite being recorded during Ram).
It has been said among fans that McCartney wrote two other answer songs for his Band On The Run album, "Let Me Roll It" and "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five".
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