Remember When John Lennon Had a Posthumous Top 5 Single?

John Lennon tragically passed away in 1980, when he was murdered by Mark David Chapman. Lennon’s death brought an abrupt end to his historic music career, first as part of The Beatles, followed by his own solo career.

But perhaps surprisingly, one of Lennon’s biggest solo hits came after he passed away. In 1984, “Nobody Told Me” was posthumously released. The song is on Milk And Honey, a collaborative album between Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono. “Nobody Told Me” was written by Lennon.

The chorus of “Nobody Told Me” says, “Nobody told me there’d be days like these / Nobody told me there’d be days like these / Nobody told me there’d be days like these / Strange days indeed.”

Lennon reportedly first recorded a rough demo of “Nobody Told Me” in 1976. He originally thought it might be on Double Fantasy, also a record with Ono. Ironically,  Lennon ultimately didn’t plan on keeping “Nobody Told Me” for himself. Instead, he suggested it go to his former Beatles bandmate, Ringo Starr.

The Story Behind “Nobody Told Me” by John Lennon

“Nobody Told Me” was going to be on Stop and Smell the Roses, Starr’s eighth studio album, out in 1981. After Lennon passed away, Starr didn’t feel right recording “Nobody Told Me”. But when Ono was creating Milk And Honey, she felt “Nobody Told Me” was the perfect addition to the record.

Later, Ono said “Nobody Told Me” was born of a personal struggle Lennon was going through when he wrote the song.

“I think that especially around that time he felt that again, the world had lost its course, its direction,” Ono says. “I really think that it’s to do with, not confusion but starting to learn that life is always gonna be a mystery.”

Lennon may have had a rough version of “Nobody Told Me” in 1976. However, part of the song came from even earlier. In 1974, he believes he saw a UFO in New York City. His supposed sighting is what led to the line, “Everybody’s flying and never touch the sky / There’s UFOs over New York, and I ain’t too surprised.”

After “Nobody Told Me”, Lennon had one final Top 40 single with “Borrowed Time”. That song is also part of Milk And Honey. In 1995, The Flaming Lips recorded a version of this song for Working Class Hero: A Tribute To John Lennon.

Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images

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