I dag fandt jeg John Lennons album Imagine frem i musikbiblioteket. Titelnummeret har lidt den triste skæbne at blive spillet ihjel; det er desværre efterhånden blevet en sang jeg undgår at høre. Det er synd, og albummet som helhed er et af de bedste soloalbums af et Beatles-medlem. “Crippled Inside”, “Gimme Some Truth” og “How” er solo-Lennon, når han var bedst. Der er nu også en veludført men samtidig rigtig ubehagelig sang på Imagine som bestemt ikke bliver spillet ret tit, og det er “How Do You Sleep”. Se bare:

So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise
You better see right through that mother’s eyes
Those freaks was right when they said you was dead
The one mistake you made was in your head
Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?

You live with straights who tell you you was king
Jump when your momma tell you anything
The only thing you done was yesterday
And since you’re gone you’re just another day
Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?

Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?

A pretty face may last a year or two
But pretty soon they’ll see what you can do
The sound you make is muzak to my ears
You must have learned something in all those years
Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?

Der er meget langt fra titelnummerets ønske om fred og fordragelighed til denne ætsende hilsen til Paul McCartney. Og Lennon var nok ikke helt alene om sin hilsen. Guitarsoloen er nemlig af George Harrison.

Ringo Starr var også i studiet, men spillede ikke med. Hans reaktion var efter sigende: “That’s enough, John”.

Og det var det vel egentlig også. I interviewet er det temmelig tydeligt at John selv endte med at tage afstand fra sit angreb på Paul.