Julia (2:52)
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“Julia” is a song by The Beatles. It is the final song on side two (and disc one, in the CD era) of the band’s 1968 album, The Beatles (The White Album). It was written by John Lennon, and features Lennon on vocals and acoustic guitar. It was written during the Beatles’ 1968 visit to India, where they were studying under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was here Lennon learned the song’s finger-picking guitar style (known as ‘Travis-picking’) from the Scottish musician Donovan. No other Beatle sings or plays on the recording. While Paul McCartney made several “solo” compositions attributed to the group, dating back to his famous song “Yesterday”, this is the only time that Lennon played and sang unaccompanied on a Beatles track.
“Julia” was written for John’s mother Julia Lennon (1914-1958), who was knocked down and killed by a car driven by an off-duty police officer when John was still only 17 years old. It was also written for his future wife Yoko Ono, whose first name, which literally means “child of the sea” in Japanese, is echoed in lyrics such as “Oceanchild, calls me.” An alternative theory suggests that the song was written for Julian Lennon, John’s son.
The first two lines of the song – “Half of what I say is meaningless/ But I say it just to reach you, Julia” – were adapted from the poem “Sand and Foam,” by the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran. The original line is: “Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you.
“Julia” was written for John’s mother Julia Lennon (1914-1958), who was knocked down and killed by a car driven by an off-duty police officer when John was still only 17 years old. It was also written for his future wife Yoko Ono, whose first name, which literally means “child of the sea” in Japanese, is echoed in lyrics such as “Oceanchild, calls me.” An alternative theory suggests that the song was written for Julian Lennon, John’s son.
The first two lines of the song – “Half of what I say is meaningless/ But I say it just to reach you, Julia” – were adapted from the poem “Sand and Foam,” by the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran. The original line is: “Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you.
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Added by VickLennon
This is just a video test...my friend told about YOUTUBE and we uploaded this video just for fun. And I know it's the original song im not trying to fool anybody. Look my VIDEO RESPONSE to the video
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‘Julia’ Lyrics
Half of what I say is meaningless
But I say it just to reach you, Julia.
Julia, Julia, oceanchild, calls me
So I sing a song of love, Julia
Read full ‘Julia’ lyrics…
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Shouts
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Nicoeitor wrote:
no hay cancion mas relajante que esta
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c_lombard wrote:
Beautiful.
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marcelodylan wrote:
metade do que eu digo é besteira mas é só para te conquistar, Julia.
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sourJane wrote:
and this one is just beautiful.
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teamsquid wrote:
a gem.
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Starless_night wrote:
I am surprised John got assassinated buy Yoko hasn't. So many people hate her.
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Uncle_Max wrote:
johnny: wow, it seems like you have a bit of unresolved anger against Yoko. As pixieshey already quoted, John has said this was about his mother AND his future wife. And depending on how the characters are written in Japanese, "Yoko" can mean "Child of the Sea" or "Ocean Child". The song can be about more than one person, that doesn't make it any less meaningful or gorgeous. Which is why it's not just my favorite Beatles song, but favorite song of all time.
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TooLegitVolz wrote:
Gorgeous....
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johnny7gun wrote:
i dont believe for a minute he confused the two,he wrote enough about Yoko anyway without her needing a credit for this........its about his mother...even if he is on record as saying oherwise!!!!!!
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pixieshey wrote:
LENNON: "Julia was my mother. But it was sort of a combination of Yoko and my mother blended into one."
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RockAnDieMacht wrote:
I love it. but the 'Ocean Child' is not Yoko, it's his mother! xD
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Seahorseshins wrote:
such an amazing song!
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BarelyBe wrote:
So deep. That what I love about Lennon. He was phenominal. Paul was great, but John was the greatest.
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FridaLouise wrote:
'Ocean Child' is Yoko. Its about the women in his life. A beautiful song with honesty and beauty... Paul McCartney could never write a song like this. When I cannot sing my heart I can only speak my mind, Julia
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raphiniert wrote:
i like all julias in the world a little bit more now, only because of this song =) trying to learn this on guitar ;)
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treelover77 wrote:
so beautiful but heartbreaking at the same time
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daialvarado wrote:
beauty song
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mariana_maj wrote:
<3
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spacefaceinfurs wrote:
i can feel this one resonating in my bones
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Recent Activity
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Jerinaa, whodoctor and Hravan loved The Beatles – Julia. 6 hours ago
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allegramofono, FarfPanda, johanbrook and 3 other people loved The Beatles – Julia. Friday evening
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allegramofono added Julia to the playlist. Friday evening
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nicolera added Julia to nicolera’s library. Thursday morning
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nicolera added Julia to a deleted playlist. Thursday morning
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kikiyeah added Julia to her Loved Tracks. Thursday morning
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SenorAnderson tagged Julia with ‘makes me cry’. Wednesday evening
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mikegraves added Julia to his Loved Tracks. Wednesday evening
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LION-MAN and bjorciite added The Beatles – Julia to their libraries. Wednesday evening
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alexmeeus and DmitriiRo loved The Beatles – Julia. Wednesday afternoon
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