And God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he's no longer God... They'll turn on him, and I hope he survives it.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the fleeting nature of public adoration and the challenges faced by those in the spotlight.
John Lennon points out the precarious position of celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, who can easily shift from being idolized to being criticized once the public mood changes. This highlights the inherent instability in fame and the potential for a drastic change in public perception, urging compassion for those who are subjected to such volatile emotions from fans.
In practice
During a panel discussion on the pressures of fame, this quote encapsulated a musician's struggle in the limelight.
When I get older losing my hair many years from now. Will you still be sending me a Valentine. Birthday greetings, bottle of wine? If I'd been out till quarter to three would you lock the door? Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm sixty-four?
The writing of the Beatles, or John and Paul's contribution to the Beatles in the late sixties - had a kind of depth to it, a more mature, more intellectual approach. We were different people, we were older. We knew each other in all kinds of different ways than when we wrote together as teenagers and in our older twenties.
I put things down on sheets of paper and stuff them in my pockets. When I have enough, I have a book.
Guilt for being rich, and guilt thinking that perhaps love and peace isn't enough and you have to go and get shot or something.
I regret profoundly that I was not an American and not born in Greenwich Village. It might be dying, and there might be a lot of dirt in the air you breathe, but this is where it's happening.
I've been baking bread and looking after the baby...Everyone else who has asked me that question over the last few years says. 'But what else have you been doing?' To which I say, 'Are you kidding?' Because bread and babies, as every housewife knows, is a full-time job. After I made the loaves [of bread,] I felt like I had conquered something. But as I watched the bread being eaten, I thought, Well, Jesus, don't I get a gold record or knighted or nothing?
Without Tony Allen, there would have been no Afrobeat.
If we were all determined to play the first violin we should never have an ensemble. therefore, respect every musician in his proper place.
There's been times when I've been standing in a line at a movie and someone's hit me with something really heavy about someone really close and how our music has helped them get through it. Even in our darkest moments we try and find something beautiful.
I'll never be Bob Dylan. He's the master.
I always felt rock and roll was very, very wholesome music.
First of all, I swore it was two people playing. When I finally admitted to myself that was one man, I gave up the piano for a month. I figured it was hopeless to practice.
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