John Lennon didn’t just sing. He bled through the speakers.
If you’ve ever listened to John Lennon Well Well Well, you know it’s not exactly a "Yellow Submarine" situation. It’s loud. It’s abrasive. Honestly, it’s probably the closest the 1970s ever got to pure, unadulterated punk rock before the genre actually had a name.
The track sits on the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, often called the "Primal Scream" record. It wasn't just a creative choice; it was a literal byproduct of John and Yoko Ono’s time with Dr. Arthur Janov. Janov’s therapy was intense. We're talking about regressing to childhood trauma and screaming your lungs out to release repressed pain.
The Sound of a Larynx Breaking
The guitar work on this track is "clenched." That’s the word rock journalist Paul du Noyer used. It’s distorted, heavy, and weirdly funky. Ringo Starr, who was behind the kit, later mentioned that Lennon made him listen to Lee Dorsey’s "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" about a hundred times just to get the right "feel" for the session.
They wanted that swampy, heavy groove. They got it.
But the real story is the vocals. Near the middle and end of the song, Lennon stops singing and starts howling the title.
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"Well, well, well!"
It’s not a melodic shout. It’s a "tortured-larynx" performance, as historians Chip Madinger and Mark Easter put it. Critics have argued it sounds like a man trying to reach back into his infancy. It's uncomfortable to listen to in a quiet room.
What the Lyrics are Actually About
Despite the sonic violence, the lyrics are surprisingly mundane. They describe John and Yoko’s daily life.
- Eating a meal together.
- Taking a walk in a big field.
- Discussing "revolution" and "women’s liberation."
There’s a specific line that always gets people talking: "She looked so beautiful I could eat her." Some critics, like Wilfrid Mellers, took this way too literally, talking about "cannibalistic impulses." Others, more reasonably, saw it as a reference to oral sex. When Lennon performed the song at Madison Square Garden in 1972, he cheeky added, "and I did," after that line.
Early drafts were even weirder. One version had the lyric as "She looked so beautiful I could wee." Probably for the best that he changed that one.
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Why the Guilt?
There’s a layer of unease in the song that most casual listeners miss. John and Yoko were the biggest activists on the planet at the time. They were talking about changing the world, but the song captures a moment of guilt.
They’re sitting there, safe and wealthy, talking about the "revolution" while catching the English sky. They feel guilty because they can talk about it without having to face the immediate consequences that someone on the front lines might. It’s a very honest look at the "celebrity activist" trope long before it became a social media cliche.
The Technical Grit
Musically, the song is a bit of a beast. It’s built on a pentatonic melody and uses a "proper tritone"—often called the "Devil’s interval" in music history.
The lineup for the session was tiny but mighty:
- John Lennon: Vocals and that fuzzy, distorted guitar.
- Ringo Starr: Drums (some of his heaviest work, ever).
- Klaus Voormann: Bass.
Phil Spector co-produced it, but you wouldn’t know it from the lack of his famous "Wall of Sound." This is the opposite of a wall. It’s a stripped-back, raw nerve. In 2021, the Ultimate Collection box set released "Raw Studio Mixes" that make the track even more haunting. You can hear the air in the room. You can hear the moment Lennon’s voice starts to crack.
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Is It Punk?
Many people argue that John Lennon Well Well Well is a direct ancestor to punk and grunge. If you listen to Nirvana's early stuff, the DNA is there. The "quiet-loud-quiet" dynamic? Lennon was doing that in 1970.
The song wasn't a hit. It was never meant to be. It was the eighth track on a record that most people at the time found too "depressing" or "weird" compared to the Beatles' polished pop. But for anyone who has ever felt like they needed to scream just to stay sane, it’s a masterpiece.
How to Listen Properly
If you want to actually "get" this song, don't play it through laptop speakers.
- Get Headphones: High-quality ones. You need to hear the vibration of the bass and the way the echo pushes Lennon’s screams into the distance.
- Listen to the "Raw Studio Mix": It removes the polish. It’s just three guys in a room sounding like the world is ending.
- Read the Lyrics First: Understand that he’s talking about a simple walk in a field. Then, ask yourself why a walk in a field would make someone scream like that.
The answer is usually "Primal Therapy," but the deeper truth is that John Lennon was finally dropping the mask. No more "mop-top." No more "walrus." Just a man who was very, very tired of being a Beatle.
To truly understand the evolution of this track, compare the studio version to the 1972 live recording from the Live in New York City album. You’ll notice the live version is faster, more nasal, and lacks the sheer "bottom-end" weight of the studio original, but it proves Lennon wasn't afraid to bring that level of aggression to a live audience.
Check out the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band: The Ultimate Collection to hear the different takes and the "Evolution Documentary" audio track, which pieces together how the song grew from a simple riff into the heavy monster it became.