(Just Like) Starting Over

From the very first day I listened Lennon's (Just Like) Starting Over, I understood that this piece was nothing but John's invitation to his early days partners to join him again. I will try to describe my thoughts, but I know you may say I'm a dreamer.

Preamble

1. Many of Lennon's compositions where based on real daily facts.
2. Several of Lennon's lyrics as a Beatle were cryptograms with hidden messages. Or at least they (the Beatles) used to play a lot with such things.
3. John spent five years out of the studio being a househusband.
4. John claimed that he composed (JL)SO for Yoko.

The Song Title

(Just Like) Starting Over

In the song title I can see the four Beatles.
(Just Like)
In parenthesis I see "JL", John Lennon the one who is inviting the rest.


Starting
Two guys! We all know who is Star... Of course, Ringo Starr.


Well, "ting" might be tin G the container, the canister, musically speaking: the lead guitar: George Harrison. If we agree that ting, sound just like "thing" or "think" it might also be the composer of Something, the album All Things Must Pass

(All Things Must Pass)

or even Think For Yourself. Or might it be "tiny", the smallest, the youngest. Yes, George is the youngest. Remember Hamburg?


Over
Did anyone knows who was over? The dead guy, from Revolver -1966 (Oh boy! they have no more photos... ) to Abbey Road - 1969 (The shoeless one...)

(Revolver) || (Abbey Road)

was Paul McCartney.

The lyrics & the music

Our life together is so precious together
When I look for the meaning of "precious" the synonymous that I can find are valuable, costly, expensive, that is: money making, financially outrageous, etc. Yes, that is what a Beatle reunion in the 80´s would have been, priceless! And John stress it adding and extra "together" at the end of the sentence.
We have grown, we have grown.
John said that he write (JL)SO for Yoko. That is impossible. That is not a phrase to be said to someone that years back he sang:
"Cause I'm the fish and you're the sea... Cause I'm the apple and you're the tree... Cause you're the teacher I've come to school... " (One Day - At A Time, John Lennon - 1973)

(Mind Games)

or to someone he was also singing:
"Woman, I know you understand the little child inside the man, Please remember, my life is in your hands... I will try to express my inner feelings and thankfulness for showing me the meaning of success..." (Woman - Lennon, 1980)
On the other hand, the phrase fit OK when you think about the four guys from Liverpool!
Although our love is still special,
I see nothing special in the love of a man and a woman who were living a dream family live, with John househusbaning. The image they were giving the world at that time was the image of a happy, normal couple willing to raise a kid or two.
On the other hand the love of four guys is something very special, strange. Remember the jokes on the interviews during the tour years? How do they sleep? And so on....
Let's take a chance and fly away somewhere alone.
How come that he would ask Yoko to take a chance and fly alone? They have spend so many recent years alone. Fly? See below.
It's been too long since we took the time.
Yes it's been too long since we t..t..t.. (same note, like a musical composer playing with his instrument). No it hasn't been too long for John and Yoko.
No one's to blame I know that time flies so quickly!
Blaming for what? The separation was so long ago. John and Yoko were living such a beautiful live together. But if we think about the four guys, yes, then this phrase has a meaning. No one to blame for Beatle's breakdown.
But when I see you darlin' is like we both are falling in love again.
We both falling in love again..... No comment.
Every day we use to make it, love.
Composing together every day. Making love lyrics, music and songs.
Why can't we be making love nice and easy!
Why can't we be composing love songs the way we used to, nice and easy?
It's time to spread our wings and fly.
Oh boy! This one is heavy. Spread our wings! Taking "spread" literally, like spreading butter on a piece of bread, it means: to take apart, to diffuse to disperse, to separate or make unattached. So what is to be separated or disperse? Wings! Sound familiar? Yes, Paul's band was named Wings in the 70's. So we should disconnect our bands and do what? We should FLY. Did anyone remember "Flying"? It is in the Magical Mystery Tour album (or EP in U.K.)

(Magical Mystery Tour)

It is an instrumental piece and the first composition to bear all their names. Credited to all four guys: Lennon, McCartney, Harrison & Starr. It is also a very jamming and easy going piece, the way musicians love to play when they haven't played or practice together for a long time.
Don't let another day go by my love.
Things keep on going very literal. Don't let what happens? Another Day, Paul's first solo single (February, 1971) for which "Paul would continually receive the wrath of the critics and sometimes even of the public for many years to follow" (Mark Wallgreen - The Beatles on Record, Fireside book, 1982). So don't let such a failure happen again. Instead of that what? My Love, Paul's second # 1 single in Billboard, Cash Box and Record World (April, 1973). Just for the records, Paul's first # 1 single in all three pools was Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, backed with Too Many People (August, 1971).
Why don't we take off alone, take a trip somewhere far far away.
We'll be together all alone again, like we used to in the early days.
Together all, all together as in the early days!! No comments on this middle eight, but take a look at the main phrase:
It'll be just like starting over.
Let It Be, the song as well as the album,

(Let It Be)

became an icon of Beatles breakdown. May be because of the motion picture and it's explicit content showing how things were with the Fab Four those days. So it was ... let it be... In that piece, "let it be" is said in several musical phrases and is followed by either a chorus or second voices repeating "let it be". In (JL)SO "It'll be" sound very close and use a similar musical phrase but is followed by a short pause, like if the chorus or second voices were missing. Then it goes to a very happy and rich "just like starting over" as if the chorus had join again.
There is also this: If you take a good look at Let It Be album cover and watch the photos in the (JL)SO order, you will get a counterclockwise rotating motion. Going back on time?

Remarks

If we agree on the "Let it be" similarity, we might as well think John was asking to let it be ... another way. Did you notice how I do abbreviate the song title? Like when writing a dialog:
(JL) SO
so John Lennon is saying "so", or might it be "so?"
Finally, it is true that John write it for Yoko. Yes, for Yoko to read it.
Japanese is read from right to left instead as from left to right like English. If we can see John Lennon, Ringo Star, George Harrison and Paul McCartney in the song title and we read it backwards (from right to left, like in Japanese), then we'll see: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon. What is the point? This order was the most usual formation of the Beatles in the early days.

Winona

By the way, did you realize that "Free As A Bird" (FAAB), is "fab" written with four letters? Fab four?... Well, that's another story...

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