Mind Games - John Lennon (1973) 6/29/22

John Lennon was known to tinker with a song--sometimes for years--before releasing his final take to the public.

In the case of "Mind Games," today's "Great Song of 1973, he ended up with sort of a patchwork affair. It started in 1969 with a song called "Make Love, Not War" (a typical Lennon sentiment). but then he incorporated some things from a song called "I Promise."

Finally, in 1972, after reading the book "Mind Games: The Guide to Inner Space" by Robert Masters and Jean Houston, John mixed in some of the ideas from the book with a dash of mysticism and some hippie sentiments about love and unity, and the song was ready for release--as the lead single from his album of the same name.

"Mind Games" charted in 8 countries...reaching #8 in Australia, #11 in Canada and #16 in the US. It wasn't his biggest hit...but it's still worthy of the title: "Great Song of 1973!"

"Make Love, Not War" (Demo):

"I Promise:" (Demo):