"Meat City" 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 as the 12th and final track 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 also the B-side of the single of the same name, and is included on the 2010 album, ''

Gimme Some Truth "Gimme Some Truth" (originally spelled "Give Me Some Truth") is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon. It was first released on his 1971 album '' Imagine''. "Gimme Some Truth" contains various political references emerging from t ...

''.

Lyrics & music

Lennon began to write "Meat City" soon after he moved to New York City. The song began as a

boogie Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...

entitled "Shoeshine" but by late 1971 it began to take its final form, albeit with improvised lyrics. A demo was made by Lennon on 10 September 1971, called "Just Give Me Some Rock 'n' Roll", while Lennon was recording the soundtrack to an unreleased film, ''Clock''. By late 1972, Lennon had rewritten the lyrics and finished developing the melody. Authors Ben Urish and Ken Bielen suggest that "Meat City" "has no deep meaning but demonstrates that Lennon could still fashion a perfectly fine rocker if he wanted." The first part of the song reflects Lennon's excitement over the vitality of New York, America, and rock 'n' roll, despite being repulsed by some of the city's madness. 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. ...

interprets some of the lyrics as a parody on

jive talk Jive talk, also known as Harlem jive or simply Jive, the argot of jazz, jazz jargon, vernacular of the jazz world, slang of jazz, and parlance of hip is an African-American Vernacular English slang or vocabulary that developed in Harlem, where "ji ...

as well as on American consumerism. As an example, he gives the lines: :''Freak City'' :''Chickensuckin mothertrucking Meat City shookdown USA'' :''Pig Meat City'' The second part of the song reflects Lennon's view of China, which to Lennon was "the next frontier" of

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

, and possibly an opportunity to use rock music as a means of liberation, as Lennon discussed in a 1972 quote: :''I shall go there. I will take the opportunity to try to see Mao. If he is ill or dead or refuses to see me, too bad. But if I go there I want to meet people who are doing something important. I want to take a rock band to China. That is really what I want to do. To play rock in China. They have yet to see that.'' Lennon used some of the backward recording techniques from his Beatles days on the song. On the album version of the song, after the first refrain of "Just gotta get me some rock and roll" there is a "squeaky" vocal which when played backwards has been deciphered as "Fuck a pig." On the single version released in the US and UK, an alternative backwards message says to "check the album." The song begins with Lennon yelling "Well!" in

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

style. However, the rockabilly style is not continued. Rather, the song is driven by a

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

described by authors Ben Urish and Ken Bielen as "aggressive" and "funky." Authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter describe the song as "an absolute cacophony of sound," suggesting that this is a welcome contrast to the "mellow" tone of most of ''Mind Games''. Lennon developed the riff for his later

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

Beef Jerky Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...

" by toying with

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...

on the music of this song and " Tight A$."

Critical reception

According to rock journalist Paul du Noyer, "Meat City" is a "satisfying" complement to the single's A-side "

." Whereas "Mind Games" is "ethereal and contemplative," "Meat City" is "earthy and physical." Author John Blaney sees evidence of duality within "Meat City" itself. According to Blaney, "Meat City" shows Lennon excited and disturbed by the "abandonment of reason rock 'n' roll could elicit from its audience." Although Lennon tested the boundaries of convention, such as with sex and drugs, he was disturbed by "total abandonment to hedonism." Music critic

calls the song "playfully acerbic and thankfully rocking."

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 ...

describes the

as one of Lennon's nastiest.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine considers "Meat City" to be a "forced, ham-fisted rocker." Journalists Roy Carr and Tony Tyler do not regard the song highly, but suggest that it is "rescued" by its "peerless unison guitars and jived-up beat."

Personnel

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

– vocals, 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 '' Walkin ...

– guitar *

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. ''Dow ...

– drums *

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

– drums * Arthur Jenkins, Jr. – percussion

References

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