Remember Love

I've been a Beatles fan for well over 40 years now and I don't think I'm just flattering myself when I say I'm a pretty hardcore fan at that. And yet today is the first time I've heard this utterly gorgeous song.

Obviously, John Lennon's trademark guitar picking behind Yoko Ono's diaphanous vocals certainly helps make the recording more immediately appealing to a Beatles fan. But the minimalist lyrics, Ono's vocals and, most of all, her billowy melody are the highlights of a song that should be far, far, far better known. 

36 years later

I love the LP version of "Woman" and think it truly is one of the best and most beautiful love songs ever written. Such a perfect love letter from John to Yoko, written, tragically, just before the end. I love the lushness of the song, the fullness in his voice and instrumentation that almost hearkens back to the Wall of Sound.

But I think I love this stripped down version even more. It's still tender and lovely, only now it's raw, bare. Like these are words he doesn't just want to say but has to say.

And thankfully he was able to say them.

"So let me tell you,
again and and again and again...
I love you, now and forever."

We miss you, Beatle John.