She Is A Friend Of Dorothy's - John Lennon

[LoudSoda]

This guy below me is a dick.

[KingAbacus2009]

This song is ok.

[Stube437]

Wow! This sounds good. Pity John ddn't write a musical while he was in his reclusive period!

[Aydee2020]

Dorothy Gale,is a massive gay icon.If you watched or knew the story of the Wizard Of Oz,you would realize that she accepts different kinds of characters.This was derived by one woman whose name is also Dorothy,who was famous in UK in the past(gay icon).Then people realized that Dorothy is a coincidental reference to homosexuality.

[Otisxsnotbset]

Sure doesn't sound like John Lennon. I admit that the voice is similiar but like many "fake" beatles outfakes the vocal is hidden or in the background. I've never really heard him sing with a vibrato in his voice. That's my opinion though but on the other hand I'm aware that after John was shot that many recordings were stolen by "friends".

[SgtOBrien]

Sounds like an ABBA song.

[BellBottomBlues07]

I could SO picture Jack White singing this. Very, very cool!

[Stube437]

@BellBottomBlues07 more like Rufus Wainwright!

[LethalExistence]

Everyone whose said anything about how this song is similar to a Paul song is correct. John's style changed dramatically over the years he left the Beatles, and in part of his own self discovery he had to fill the void or gap in his writing style that Paul used to fill ;D ... which is why John went from writing Strawberry fields and many transcendental trips back to more basic forms like this ... every once in a while ;D

[EricDymond]

Damn that's catchy!

[NinthRevolution]

Does anyone know where it's possible to get a copy of this song, or even the album from somewhere? I've hunted and hunted, but to no avail. Anyone know anything?

[jldraw]

"She Is A Friend Of Dorothy" was actually composed for a proposed play entitled "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" which never went anywhere. So Lennon is presumably singing about a character in the aforementioned play.

[taxbluesman]

excelente cancion... merece ser versionada por los grandes... lastima que no la escuchen.

[azjeff1971]

Friend of Dorothy's = LESBO

[kurtmamones]

Notice that at 3:30 he says "Bryan" referring to Bryan Epstein, their long dead gay manager.

[junaid1]

no offense, but I think what he says is "ah yes" not Brian.

[JackGBowman]

yep he says "ah yes."

[WilburyVision]

Ironically, this whimiscal song is very much in the style of McCartney songs like Martha my Dear, and You Gave me the Answer - songs Lennon often said were very lightweight, and went aginst his rock and roll ethic. Lennon was a lot softer than he sometimes tried to make out during his short life, and had more in common with Paul than people think.

[dylanfan1969]

John although he would never admit it was homophobic. But he had a heart for all people and gave more of himself to people than his own family. As a kid i looked at him as being a god. Now i am 40 and after reading numerous books on him i view him as just another man who had an amazing talent to write great music. I see him as he wanted to be seen.

[jrrcor]

John was not homophbic at all.... he was very good friends with David Bowie who is Bi.... Elton John who is now fully gay, but at the time was just Bi.... and even allowed Brian Epstein to touch him... due to John was a polite person.... he was far from homophobic, sorry, just not true. You're reading the wrong books....

[dylanfan1969]

I didn't say he had an hateful homophobic attitude if that's what you think i said. When he was younger he would make fun of homosexuals. Most guys do. And he still did it in the early days of Beatlemania. Yes he was close with Brian

and later on Bowie and Elton, but what i meant was his younger years he was. He also made fun of cripples with McCartney, but when you're young you do stupid things.

[8aetroya8]

@WilburyVision he said he couldn't understand where Paul was coming from lyrically with such songs as Martha My Dear, about his dog, and When I'm 64 or even Maxwell's Silver Hammer... songs about next to nothing. Not surrealistic styled lyrics like John did in I Am The Walrus, or Strawberry Fields, Across The Universe... those songs all too imagination to come up with.

Many of McCartney's songs were lyrically pointless only the melodious quality kept them alive.

[WilburyVision]

Yes I guess you are right by stressing that Lennon had more of a problem with some of McCartney's lyrics - I don't know that he EVER was critical of his amazing ability to come up with a decent tune. Personally, I would always defend songs like Martha and When I'm 64 - I think they are great lyrics. The Beatles were unrivalled because they had all bases covered by John and Paul's (and later George too) songwriting.

[flowerdoodle]

@WilburyVision Righto! Anyone who knows Lennon and his canon knows this...Think 'If I Fell', "Do you want to know a Secret ?", "Julia", "Goodnight ", "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)", "Woman", "Love" etc, etc, etc,--All "soft side of Lennon" classics! He was a teddybear!

[wilsondylanmccartney]

At 2:35 he kicks it into high gear for me :)

[wilsondylanmccartney]

I love this song. Thank you beatleboybob.

[n136ha]

the expression "a friend of dorothy's" is an old fashioned English way of tactfully saying someone is gay. don't hear it much these days but it was well known expression to John and my parent's generation. i think gays would also use it to tell who was gay ie "are you a friend of dorothy?"

[dgoodyear19805]

quirky and fun,,,I LOVE IT!

[gazuaman]

after all he worked since 1976... what a waste of talent....pitty he couldn't shared this with us while alive.bloody chapman!!!

[FidoForce42]

Great song

AHHH!!!

[huskernation9]

from 1976...he worked on this up until his death

[crocetti1984]

Lyrics?

[beatleboybob]

Come to the underground Sure know her way around TV pretty elegant Art deco decadent Hot lips and no shame All fun and no game She is a friend of Dorothy's She is a friend of A friend of Dorothy's - she shows it A friend of Dorothy's - I know it A friend of Dorothy's - who is she? Whoever she is

[beatleboybob]

Queen of the discotheques

Sheik of Arabesque

France jeans and nasty boots

Red hair and yellow rood

Frederick to Hollywood

Forty-second and bloody good

Chorus

Trust in God and she will provide

She keep you satisfied

Chorus

[maccalex]

Red hair and yellow roots

[maccalex]

More of a McCartney style piano, and lyrically genius. Jab at the lesbians, love it!

[huskernation9]

it is slightly mocking in tone yes

[maccalex]

I have the slower take 2 which is more simple version. This is take 7.

[beatleboybob]

I have take 2, but i felt this one was slightly clearer, i wonder if it went any further

[linclink]

Man this is one of the many unreleased Lennon tracks that it would have been a joy to see the Threetles get a hot at. The whole "Dakota Beatle Demos" bootleg is a treasure trove. I'd love to see a project of one album of the Lennon demos, and one of other artists giving "Threetles" treatments to the demos. Blessings!!

[beatleboybob]

That would be great, imagine all the artists that would get involved.

[Landrew120880]

This song has alot of pep to it & the sound quality is excellent. This doesnt sound like anything John had done b4. It has a modern feel to it as if he recorded it the other day!

Thanx for the post.

[beatleboybob]

I think the Threetles could have done this justice, maybe one day someone will record it, if you try hard enough you can almost hear how it would sound if finished, harmonies, Guitar

playing broken chords, standard rock drum beat, bass, string quartet playing double time, you get the idea.I do think it is one of the better things he recorded during his "retirement"