A Spaniard in the Works

John Lennon's Writings #2

by John Lennon

"It is fascinating of course to climb inside a Beatle's head to see what's going on there, but what counts is that what's going on there is really fascinating".--London Sunday Times 30 two-color line drawings.

Genres: Poetry, Music, Fiction, Humor, Art, Short Stories, Classics

95 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE, was an English singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, and together with Paul McCartney formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.

Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager, his first band, The Quarrymen, evolving into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break-up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career that would span the next decade, punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine".

Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, on film, and in interviews, and became controversial through his work as a peace activist. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. Disengaging himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, Lennon reemerged in October 1980 with a new single and a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered weeks after their release on the sidewalk outside his home in the Dakota. Ironically, "Imagine" (imagine all the people, living life in peace) was a featured cut from this album.

Lennon's album sales in the United States alone stand at 14 million units, and as performer, writer, or co-writer he is responsible for 27 number one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth, and in 2008 Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

--Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia --

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a dyed-in-the-wool original Beatlemaniac (saw them twice in Houston on my 13th birthday in 1965, the day I died and went to heaven on a screaming cloud), I bought this book when it was published. My father read it, and although my parents were fairly lenient, my Dad got angry when he came across, "My Last Will and Testicle," shook the book at me and demanded to know, "Do you even know what a testicle is?!" Actually, I did not. He relented and let me keep the book.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite like John Lennon’s books, but they do get a little repetitive after a while. That’s because they’re basically just chock full of wordplay, nonsense poetry and odd little stories and sketches. It’s great to see inside his head of course, but I’m not sure they’re worth reading unless you’re a fan of his. Still, it’s quirky, which I like.

[margot · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as good as in his own write but still silly and entertaining, and i enjoyed the drawings pop of color in this one. the stories are more meandering and less examples of simple wisdom as in the first body of work. not a fan of the casual stereotyped jokes but its unsurprising for the time unfortunately, at least they're not malicious (i believe/hope.) but not gonna lie i laughed my ass off at "greasy fascist bastard catholic spaniard" LMFAO

[Teresa Rokas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of writings by Lennon at the height of Beatlemania. It's sketches, stories and poems. Lots of interesting wordplay.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not know what category this book belongs in. It may be in rock star memorabilia or possibly even literature. I read my sister's copy as an eleven-year old shortly after she received it as a Christmas present in 1965. Earlier that year my mother had taken the two of us to see a Hard Day's Night which we had all enjoyed greatly.

This book is wickedly funny and seemed brilliant to the young adolescents of my generation. I suspect that its charms will be lost on today's young people. Rather than pushing it on your grandchildren, I would suggest re-reading it yourself to recapture some lovely moments from your youth.

[Lenny DellaRocca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this decades ago. I guffawed at every page. John was a genius.

[MsFolio * · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absurdist writings at its best.

Sat Belonely

I sat belonely down a tree,
humbled fat and small.
A little lady sing to me
I couldn't see at all.

I'm looking up and at the sky,
to find such wonderous voice.
Puzzly puzzle, wonder why,
I hear but have no choice.

"Speak up, come forth, you ravel me",
I potty menthol shout.
"I know you hiddy by this tree".
But still she won't come out.

Such softly singing lulled me sleep,
as hour or two or so
I wakeny slow and took a peep
and still no lady show.

Then suddy on a little twig
I thought I see a sight,
A tiny little tiny pig,
that sing with all it's might.

"I thought you were a lady".
I giggle, - well I may,
To my surprise the lady,
got up - and flew away.

Good Dog Nigel

Arf, arf, he goes, a merry sight,
Our little hairy friend,
Arf, arf, upon the lampost bright
Arfking round the bend.
Nice dog! Goo boy,
Waggie tail and beg,
Clever Nigel, jump for joy
Because we're putting you to sleep at three of the clock, Nigel.

[Billy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same deal as "In His Own Write," but a little darker. Still thin absurdist prose-slinging.

Tragic thing is, I really like absurdist comedy most of all. But I always feel bad laughing at it when no one else does, or putting it in front of people who don't think it's NEARLY as good as I do, or, worse yet, trying to be absurdistly funny myself and getting the same polite or uncomfortable reception.

[Liliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me awhile to read this one mainly because you need a good concentration while reading this silly nonsense. It was definitely more mature this time around but still terribly funny. I nearly felt bad for laughing at the dark humour but I just couldn't help myself. It's pure John Lennon. 5/5 as always.

[aida · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the weirdests books I've read, but definitely the most amusing and funniest!! Lennon was sure an interesting person

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

“‘That's handy for the government,' I thought, and in a tick The cow fell dead all sudden (I'd smashed it with a brick).” Idk what I just read but I do know John Lennon should’ve been in therapy at some point

[Alec Downie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Watch a loud of Willie Waddle

[sasuke · Rating 2 out of 5]

he just made some bullshitttttt

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read In His Own Write yet, because I have not seen it in any stores. I came across A Spaniard in the Works at a local used book store and just had to pick it up, being such a huge fan of The Beatles.

This is a very nonsensical book filled with jokes that I'm sure on Lennon and the other Beatles understood when it was written. I have no idea whether Lennon decided to publish in a way of mocking literature or if he was truly expressing himself through this writing. Whatever the case may be, this was a fun read. I would recommend it to any really big Beatles/Lennon fan.

I am looking forward to finding and reading a copy of In His Own Write.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I adored "In His Own Write," I was disappointed by this book. "A Spaniard in the Works" is to "In His Own Write" as "Help!" is to "A Hard Day's Night." In both cases, the former seemed fresh and fun, while the follow-up seemed a little forced and not quite as delightful.

"In His Own Write" used lots of wordplay, and for his second book, Lennon seems to have decided that if a little creativity was good, then a lot of liberties taken with the language must be great. Unfortunately, in ASITW, the English language becomes so distorted that many stories are hard, if not impossible to read. The fact that some are not supposed to make sense anyway doesn't help--I never knew how much effort I should be putting into finding meaning because I was never sure if my confusion stemmed from misunderstanding the words or because there was really no meaning there.

[My Little Forest · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend you read "In His Own Write" first, so as to get used to his writing style and peculiar humour; for most of the stories appearing in this one are a bit longer than the ones in IHOW.

Having said that, A Spaniard in the Works comprises substantial stories and much more socio-political criticism. In this second and last book that Lennon published, he gets a bit more political than he did in the first one. Notwithstanding, the writing style used in ASITW is similar to the one in IHOW (which to some might be a nay, but for me is a total yay!).

This miscellaneous collection could have conveniently been added to the first one published, In His Own Write. Nevertheless, I'd rather have two short books of his with John starring in both covers, than having just a single book including it all.

Happy reading, x

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If John had written nothing else, this book would not have assured his immortality. But it still would have been a cult classic. I've always liked it, and it was a big early influence on my own thinking at a critical time of my childhood. I have two copies of the book, different editions. I keep them both behind glass. Honestly, I do.

[Brainard · Rating 3 out of 5]

God I’m a huge Lennon fan and I love what he is trying to do here, but it leaves me cold, and even thinking he was anti Semitic (Jew jokes number at least three here)

[Jordan Abbott · Rating 1 out of 5]

reading this made me feel like i was having a stroke

[David Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Lennon's nonsense is usually entertaining and often hilarious - occasionally it is crude and bigoted, sometimes it is incomprehensible. Mostly it's meant to be, but time and geography have made the dialect spellings more obscure to me than they might have seemed to a midcentury Liverpudlian.

This kind of book seems right as a reflection of Lennon's legacy - one of the world's biggest pop stars, having a "larf" at his audience while reveling in grotesque satire, pausing frequently to giggle at words that sound sort of like other words. Could he have done it with fewer slurs toward the disabled, or minus the uncomfortable uses of the word "jew"? He might have written a true classic otherwise.

[Therese Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I’ve this and In His Own Write on my shelf for eons. Of one my favorite and most respected fellow Earthlings has sworn by it. So, easy choice-dust these off for the 2019 Pop Sugar prompt, a book written by a musician. And what a musician! One of the world’s best songwriters!!

Aaaaaargh!! Cannot begin to express how painful it was to read this. And only after I could not get much past the first piece in In His Own Write, I bailed and went to Spaniard. Almost as hideous. How can the man who wrote some of the most profound and moving songs of all time have written this prose??

Absurdist? To ridiculous measure. Different times, so the race and religion observations are uncomfortable. Even the cribbing from Lewis Carroll sucks. Safe to say, I never imagined this.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read Lennon's books not long after his death. (The book was impossible to find before that. After his death -- lo and behold, it's everywhere) I was surprised and puzzled. I’d never read anything like this. Now that I’m a bit older (well, a lot older) I enjoy the nonsense of Carroll and Lear and Joyce.

The stories/poems have a sophomoric darkness. Some are good like No Flies on Frank. Most are just okay. But there is a kernel of genius in them and I wonder what he might have done had he continued to write and really focused his attention.

[Connor Broderick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say "In His Own Write" was definitely better, but this is pretty good nonetheless. It might just be a personal preference but I liked that "In His Own Write" had a lot of quick and short poems and stories that didn't take long to read. Some of the stories in this book kind of dragged for me, and I think I like reading nonsense (which is all that both books are) in smaller quantities, but that might just be me.

[Debbie Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is 100 percent crazy wacky word play. Be prepared. It will twist your brain in ways it has never been twisted .... trust me.

Some of the whimsy is downright hilarious and laugh out loud in parts and reading it lets you weave in and out of his cute and clever and creative and weird and lovable brain.

IMAGINE having had another 40 years of John Lennon. 40 more years of love and protests and art and songs and lyrics. If only that could have been true.

[Jojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

So as I said with the first one, I am biased when it comes to John Lennon. However I will say I think I preferred the first one. I think maybe I preferred the shorter little stories to these ones that were still short obviously but longer than in In His Own Write. In this one, I preferred the poems (and I don't like poetry generally lol). So I'm still being generous but giving this one only 3 stars. For a grade, I'll give it a B-.

[Tony Loyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Lennon uses the technique of replacing words with similar sounding words throughout this book, and it goes in waves getting progressively more severe and harder to understand before climaxing in absolute hogwash before returning to some semblance of normal and starting to rise again. Maybe the waves coincide with the drugs kicking in. Anyways, a hard book to get through. Some giggles but on the whole, completely irredeemable trash.

[Joe Seliske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like his first book, In His Own Write, John writes oddly different stories and poems. The most difficult thing is that he changes all the "normal" words with other words that perhaps sound similar but have entirely different meanings. He is very consistent with his writing style. Some people call this genius. He did say that he could write songs and write books, but completely separately. He could not do one at the same time as the other.

[Neil Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read 'In his own write' I was really looking forward to this book and it didn't disappoint.

It is another insight into the brain of John Lennon and the writing and pictures really blow you away.

Although some of the wording used is dated I believe that it is just highlighting items wrong in society at the time.

Will be on the lookout for more books of this I'll from Lennon if they exist.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

In addition to John Lennon's obvious talents, he was a master of nonsense and whimsy.

Unfortunately, this obligatory sequel to In His Own Write feels forced. The doggerel poetry is cute but the prose is just silly, even allowing for the fact that being silly is the whole point.

For completists only.

[Bradley Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1965, Lennon’s second surreal collection of writings continues the legendary songwriter’s tradition of crafting nonsense poems and short stories as well as illustrations. A bit humorous and often confusing, the point of these works is that there is no point. Just go along with the madness on the page.