"Isolation" is a 1970 song appearing on

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 ...

's first official solo album release, ''

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' is the debut solo album by English musician John Lennon. Backed by the Plastic Ono Band, it was released by Apple Records on 11 December 1970 in tandem with the similarly titled album by his wife, Yoko Ono. At ...

''. It ends side one of the album, and is the fifth track. In the Philippines

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

released "Isolation" as the b-side to "

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

", the single off ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'', in contrast to most countries where the b-side was

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 ...

's "Why." It was also released on an EP in Mexico along with "Mother," " Look at Me" and "

My Mummy's Dead "My Mummy's Dead" is the closing song on the album ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' by John Lennon. The song was also released on a Mexican EP that also contained " Mother", " Isolation" and " Look at Me". Writing It is one of the songs Lenno ...

Lyrics and music

At the time, Lennon began to feel disillusioned with fame and where his life was heading, with the break-up of the Beatles, the attacks he and

were facing at the time, as well as acute insecurity and self-doubt brought on through his extensive drug use." "Isolation" reveals Lennon's feelings of vulnerability, despite his fame and fortune. Beatles biographer John Blaney sees this as continuing the theme of the album, as Lennon strips away another layer of myth that hides the true reality. Blaney sees this revelation as being particularly painful for Lennon, for whom belonging and acceptance was very important. The lyrics begin by stating that even though he and Ono seem to have everything, they are still as lonely and isolated as everyone else. The second verse focuses on the couple's political activism, which many oppose generating even further isolation. The third verse generalizes the situation further. Lennon acknowledges that the people who have caused his pain can't be blamed, since we are all part of the same irrational world, and thus we are all victims of the world's insanity. This verse borrows from an older song,

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfi ...

's "Oh I Apologize," the b-side to his 1959 single "

Money (That's What I Want) "Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, dist ...

." In "Oh I Apologize" Strong sang "I don't expect you to take me back/after I've caused you so much pain." The third verse of "Isolation" begins "I don't expect you to understand/After you caused so much pain" before noting that the listener is not to blame. The fourth and final verse puts people's fears of each other and even of the sun into the context of a universe in which the sun is permanent but our world may not be. Musicologist

Wilfrid Mellers Wilfrid Howard Mellers (26 April 1914 – 17 May 2008) was an English music critic, musicologist and composer. Early life Born in Leamington, Warwickshire, Mellers was educated at the local Leamington College and later won a scholarship to Dow ...

describes "Isolation" as an "Anglicized version of Negro piano

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

." The instrumentation begins with just drums and piano backing Lennon's vocals. When Lennon's vocals become more emotional, an organ is added to the instrumentation. The instrumentation also includes bass, played by

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...

. Mellers points out that the song's mood of isolation is intensified by the "bare, open fifths" played by the piano and by the silences incorporated into the sad melody. He also notes that the pain communicated by the song is enhanced by the dissonances in the music, particularly the use of

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to arbitrary partially ordered sets * A statistical level of measurement * Interval e ...

. According to Mellers, the portion of the third verse in which Lennon sings that "You're just a human/a victim of the insane" is effectively intensified by the contrasting semitones of F♯ against F and by harmonizing F with a

dominant seventh chord In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord, usually built on the fifth degree of the major scale, and composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. Thus it is a major triad tog ...

on C instead of with a D

major chord In music theory, a major chord is a chord that has a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a major triad. For example, the major triad built on C, called a C major triad, has pitch ...

Recording

Recorded at EMI Studios on 6 October 1970, Lennon double-tracked his vocals for the middle section, which were panned to each side in

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

. The song's organ part is heard most clearly immediately prior to the final verses.

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

plays the drums and

provides the bass guitar. An outtake of "Isolation", including a broken-down attempt, can be heard on the ''

John Lennon Anthology ''John Lennon Anthology'' is a four-CD box set of home demos, studio outtakes and other previously unreleased material recorded by John Lennon over the course of his solo career from "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969 up until the 1980 sessions for ' ...

'' box set.

Reception

Mellers regards Lennon's achievement in creating a Negro blues as an Englishman as being equivalent to that of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's creating such blues songs as a white American. Ben Urish and Ken Bielen describe "Isolation" as "direct and moving" and praise Lennon's vocal as being both "animated and nuanced." Music journalist Paul Du Noyer does not rank "Isolation" among Lennon's best songs but feels that it "transcends the well-worn 'lonely at the top' trap" by generalizing the emotions to those that many people feel at times.

References

{{Authority control John Lennon songs 1970 songs Songs written by John Lennon Matthew Sweet songs Harry Nilsson songs Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Songs about loneliness Blues songs Plastic Ono Band songs