Out the Blue (John Lennon song)
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| "Out the Blue" | |
|---|---|
| Song by John Lennon | |
| from the album Mind Games | |
| Released | 16 November 1973 |
| Recorded | July–August 1973 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:23 |
| Label | Apple |
| Songwriter | John Lennon |
| Producer | John Lennon |
| Mind Games track listing | |
12 tracks
| |
"Out the Blue" is a song written by John Lennon and originally released on his 1973 album Mind Games.[1] The song is included on the 1990 boxset Lennon, the 2005 two-disc compilation Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon, the 2010 album Gimme Some Truth and the 2020 compilation album Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes.
"Out the Blue" is one of several songs on Mind Games devoted to Yoko Ono.[2] It was recorded at a time when Lennon and Ono were separated, and reflects Lennon's resulting self-doubt.[3][4] It states Lennon's gratitude for Ono appearing in his life "out the blue" and providing his "life's energy".[2][5] According to authors Ben Urish and Ken Bielen, the theme of the song is "the awe of finding true love unexpectedly".[6]
Music critic Johnny Rogan finds some of the metaphors "gruesome", such as "All my life's been a long, slow knife", and some of the similes "wacky", for example "Like a UFO you came to me and blew away life's misery."[7] Pop historian Robert Rodriguez regards the UFO line as "idiosyncratic" as well.[5] Andrew Grant Jackson, however, finds the UFO metaphor to be apt for Ono, since at the time Ono came into Lennon's life she was as surprising a love interest for him as anyone could be.[4] The UFO reference could be associated with May Pang as they saw a UFO together when they lived together.[citation needed] Urish and Bielen praise the "long, slow knife" image one of Lennon's most poetic of emotional anguish.[6] The title phrase has multiple meanings during the song; Ono came to him "out the blue" and also cast "out the blue" of Lennon's melancholy.[4]
"Out the Blue" moves through several musical genres, starting with a gentle, melancholy acoustic guitar and moving through gospel, country and music portions.[5][6][7] The sound grows as the song progresses, while Lennon's vocal becomes more assured, going from its original restraint to an expression of "joyful contentment".[6] After the initial acoustic guitar, the piano, pedal steel guitar, bass guitar and drums enter, and eventually a "heavenly choir" is included.[2][4] Author John Blaney describes the song's piano motif as "majestic" and compares the bass guitar line to those of Lennon's former bandmate Paul McCartney.[3] Rodriguez praises the way Lennon's vocal manages to "stay atop the waves" of sound, and project both gratitude and tenderness.[5] Keith Spore of The Milwaukee Sentinel described it as having a "haunting minor key melody in the best Beatle tradition".[8] Rolling Stone Magazine critic David Fricke praised the production as being "fascinating and moving", comparing it to Phil Spector's production of the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" but "with the emphasis on poignance".[9]
The backing instrumental part for the final released version was cut down from the original recording, eliminating the second break as well as all but the final coda of the reprise of the refrain.[10] The full recorded instrumental, with a guide vocal, was released as part of The Lost Lennon Tapes and on bootleg albums.[10]
