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 the time it was written, during the latter years of the Vietnam War.

For the box set, see Gimme Some Truth (box set).

"Gimme Some Truth"
Song by John Lennon
from the album Imagine
Released9 September 1971 (US)
8 October 1971 (UK)
Recorded25 May–5 July 1971
Ascot Sound Studios, Berkshire and Record Plant, New York, NY
GenreRock
Length3:18
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)John Lennon, Paul McCartney (uncredited)
Producer(s)John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Phil Spector
"Gimme Some Truth"
Single by John Lennon
A-side"Love"
Released15 November 1982
Length3:16
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)John Lennon, Paul McCartney (uncredited)
Producer(s)Phil Spector, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono
John Lennon singles chronology
"Watching the Wheels"
(1981)		 "Gimme Some Truth"
(1982)		 "Nobody Told Me"
(1984)
"Jealous Guy"
(1988)
""Love""
"Imagine"
(1999)

Origins

Work on the song began as early as January 1969 during The Beatles' Get Back sessions, which would eventually evolve into Let It Be. Bootleg recordings of the group performing songs that would eventually go onto the members' solo recordings feature a few performances of "Gimme Some Truth".

Lyrics

The song expresses Lennon's frustration with deceptive politicians ("short-haired yellow-bellied sons of Tricky Dicky"), with hypocrisy, and with chauvinism ("tight-lipped condescending mommy's little chauvinists"). The song encapsulates some widely held feelings of the time, when many people were participating in protest rallies against their governments.

"Gimme Some Truth" uses a reference to the nursery rhyme "Old Mother Hubbard" (about a woman going to get her dog a bone, only to discover that her cupboard is empty) as verb. The song's mention of "soft-soap" employs that slang verb in its classic sense − i.e., insincere flattery that attempts to convince someone to do or to think something, as in the case of politicians who use specious or beguiling rhetoric to quell public unrest or to propagandise unfairly.

According to Robert Christgau, the song "unites Lennon unmasked with the Lennon of Blunderland wordplay as it provides a rationale for" a preceding track on the album, "Jealous Guy".[1] Lisa Wright of NME ranked it as Lennon's 5th greatest solo song, stating that in the song Lennon "tried to sift through the maelstrom of media bullshit to find the light at the end of the tunnel" and concluding that "scorn never sounded so good.[2]

Recording

Lennon recorded "Gimme Some Truth" on 25 May 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios. Overdubbing of his lead vocal on 28 May 1971 was also captured on film. [3]

Personnel

Cover versions and performances by other artists

Other works named after the song
  • A 2000 direct-to-video documentary film showing the recording sessions and evolution of Imagine took its title, Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album, from this song.
  • Jon Wiener took the title of this song for his 1999 book, Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files, about Nixon's attempt to deport Lennon in 1972.[14]
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References
  1. Christgau, Robert (1981). "John Lennon: Imagine". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  2. Wright, Lisa (9 October 2019). "John Lennon – his 10 greatest solo tracks". NME. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. Madinger, Chip; Raile, Scott (2015). LENNONOLOGY Strange Days Indeed - A Scrapbook Of Madness. Chesterfield, MO: Open Your Books, LLC. pp. 239–240. ISBN 978-1-63110-175-5.
  4. "Generation X [US] – Generation X : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  5. Ankeny, Jason. "Martinis & Bikinis – Sam Phillips : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  6. "Pearl Jam – Gimme Some Truth (Live at the Garden'03) – John Lennon – cover". youtube.com. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  7. "Five Horizons ] 2003 Concert Chronology part 3". Five Horizons. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  8. Thomas, Stephen. "Under the Covers, Vol. 2 – Matthew Sweet : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  9. "Gimme Some Truth"—Lydia Canaan
  10. "CHEAP TRICK Singer Confirms New Album Is On The Way". Blabbermouth. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  11. "CHEAP TRICK Gimme Some Truth". Record Store Day. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  12. "Gimme Some Truth - 2019 Charity Single". Beyond the Pale. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  13. "'Gimme Some Truth' - The Full Story, feat KT Tunstall". YouTube. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  14. Wiener, Jon (3 February 2000). Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files. University of California Press. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-520-21646-4.
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