"Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" is a song written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

released on his 1973 album ''

Mind Games Playing mind games (also power games or head games) is the largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the a ...

''. The song is included on the 1990 box set ''

Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

''.

Lyrics and music

The song's lyrics have

apologising to wife

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. Aisumasen is a slightly corrupted version of the formal term ai sumimasen, which means "I'm sorry" in Japanese. The line "It's hard enough I know to feel your own pain" reprises a theme found in a line from Lennon's earlier song "

I Found Out "I Found Out" is a song by the English musician John Lennon from his 1970 album ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band''. Writing and recording The song expresses Lennon's disillusionment with a world dominated by what he saw as false religion and idol ...

." After the lyrics run out, a

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

is played. Authors Ken Bielen and Ben Urish interpret this solo as a continuation of the plea for forgiveness. The solo ends abruptly, which Bielen and Urish suggest symbolises the rejection of Lennon's plea. In fact, by the time "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" was released, Lennon and Ono had separated. Author John Blaney agrees that the song implies that Lennon will not get the forgiveness and comfort he needs from Ono, and further states that the song reveals just how much he needed her. "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" has some similarities to the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

song "

I Want You (She's So Heavy) "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney). The song closes side one of their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and features Billy Preston playing the organ. It w ...

," which was also written by Lennon and inspired by Ono. Bielen and Urish claim that "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" has a similar rhythm to "a slowed down, semi- acoustic version" of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" also ends abruptly. Lennon had been working on the

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

to "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" since at least 1971. A demo of the song was recorded during sessions for Lennon's ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

''. Originally, the melody belonged to a song whose working title was "Call My Name.", dating from a demo recorded in December 1971. In "Call My Name," Lennon was offering to comfort someone, but in the final version of the song Lennon is the one asking for forgiveness. In "Call My Name," the melodic line that became "Aisumasen" was sung to the words "I'll ease your pain."

Reception

Music critic

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

finds the song to be "occasionally powerful" and feels it "brings some depth" to the ''Mind Games'' album. Keith Spore of ''

The Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' called the song "a lovely ballad" which serves as a reminder of Lennon's past brilliance. Bielen and Urish consider it to be one of ''Mind Games'' strongest songs, although they think it may have been even stronger had Lennon stuck to his original lyrical impulses of "Call My Name."

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

feels that the song starts out well, "like classic Lennon blues," but that Lennon "never finds the conviction to carry the song across the finish line." ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Stephen Lewis rated "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" as Lennon's 8th greatest solo love song, saying that Lennon's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

singing of the line "All that I know is just what you tell me / All that I know is just what you show me" is a highlight of the song.

Personnel

The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows: *

– vocals, acoustic guitar *

David Spinozza David Spinozza is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album ''Walking ...

– guitar *

Pete Kleinow Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (August 20, 1934 – January 6, 2007) was an American country-rock musician. He is best known as a member of the band The Flying Burrito Brothers and as a session musician playing pedal steel guitar for such ar ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

Ken Ascher Kenneth Lee Ascher (born October 26, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres — in live venues, recording studios, and cinema productio ...

– keyboards *

Gordon Edwards Gordon Edwards is a Canadian scientist and nuclear consultant. Edwards was born in Canada in 1940, and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1961 with a gold medal in Mathematics and Physics and a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. At the Unive ...

– bass guitar *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

– drums

References

{{Authority control John Lennon songs Songs written by John Lennon 1973 songs Song recordings produced by John Lennon 1970s ballads Songs about Yoko Ono Rock ballads Plastic Ono Band songs