with apologies to John Lennon

This song became an obsession for me during the 2016 election season. Not exactly a natural affinity for my "style," it proved to be almost impossible to sing, not to mention that while I recorded it, my right arm and hand were partially incapacitated due to a nerve condition. Playing caused tremendous pain, which became a positive challenge because of the subject matter of the song and my feelings about the state of our country, dialogue, and social interactions. I recorded it on December 8th, the day John Lennon was murdered in 1980.

Nerds might notice that my arrangement is in the key of C rather than Lennon's G, and the chord changes are all wrong too. The arrangement was mostly cobbled together by accident, as I purposefully did not consult any other versions until after I recorded mine. Most of all, my mental reference was Harry Nilsson's recording of the song and Lennon's original of course. I also knew Marianne Faithfull's stunning treatment. I'm glad I had only shadowy recall of hers and Nilsson's (incredible texture to his vocals), because had I re-listened to them, I would have dropped my attempt altogether.

I only offer the document here as a testament that something resulted from my efforts... now go listen to the greats.

More nerdy stuff: recorded live with a Zoom H1 portable recorder, above a Roland RD-700GX using KRK 5" studio monitors. No effects or anything.