This song, released in December 1995 by the Beatles, was originally written and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon. In 1995, 25 years after their break-up and 15 years after Lennon’s murder, his then surviving bandmates, Paul, George, and Ringo released a studio version incorporating the demo. McCartney asked Yoko for unreleased material by Lennon to which the three remaining ex-Beatles could contribute. This was one of two such songs, the other being “Real Love”, for which McCartney, Harrison, and Starr contributed additional instrumentation, vocals, and arrangements. Leff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra fame and Travelling Wilbury partner) co-produced – a condition imposed by George for his participation in the project. Although Lennon had died in 1980, Ringo said they had agreed they would pretend John had “gone for lunch” or had “gone for a “cup of tea”. George Martin could not produce due to hearing problems. Here is “Free As A Bird”.
The first lines of this song tell the news of the narrator’s former flame finding someone new, putting him in a wistful, reminiscing mood. Henley muses about the tendency for even those who are seemingly at peace in a relationship to seek greener pastures. In the second verse, the writers broaden the focus to encompass the general malaise that seemed to be symptomatic of the times. In the chorus, they possessed the insight to boil it all down to a single word that sums up what we all should be striving for, which we once seemed to have in abundance, seems to slip through our fingers – forgiveness. This song strikes such a chord because the themes are universal, especially for those who have loved, and lost, a little. Most breakup songs get bogged down with pointing fingers, blaming, and generally mud slinging, but here is one that strives for something nobler, even if it’s hard to get there. Here is “Heart of the Matter”.
