Borrowed Time
by John Lennon

Album: Milk And Honey (1984)
Charted: 32 108
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Songfacts®:

  • A reggae song written on holiday in Bermuda in 1980, this was inspired by Bob Marley's "Hallelujah Time." Lennon felt that he "was living on borrowed time, what we're all doing, even though most of us don't like to face it."

    Sadly, this proved prophetic, as Lennon was killed in December 1980. (from Fred Seaman's The Last Days of John Lennon) >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Jon - Sydney, Australia
  • According to Yoko Ono, Lennon considered his time precious, and was aware that his life could be cut short.
    This is a very lighthearted song, but it title became sobering when John was killed. "Now when we think about the title, it's just kind of chilling in a way, that he was very aware that it was a borrowed time," Yoko said in a 1998 interview with Uncut.
  • The Milk And Honey album was comprised of outtakes from the Double Fantasy sessions, which was the last John Lennon released in his lifetime. This was the second single issued from the LP, following "Nobody Told Me."

Comments: 2

  • Jim from Selinsgrove PaJulia,
    John & Yoko's holiday to Bermuda was earlier in the year, May or June I believe. He wasn't taken from us until December of that year. On the "John Lennon Anthology" (released 1998) there is an acoustic version that the sleeve says was quickly recorded June 22, '80 while they were in Bermuda.
  • Julia from Milton, PaHow?!?!? He, sadly, died in 1980.
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