On the Internet, the statement attributed to the British musician is popular that his mother told him that happiness is the key to life. We decided to check if he had ever said something like that.
A completely quote, supposedly belonging to Lennon, sounds like this: “When I was five years old, my mother always told me that the key to life is happiness. When I went to school, I was asked who I want to become when I grow up. I wrote: "Happy." They told me that I did not understand the assignment, and then I told them that they did not understand anything in life. ” The statement can be found on sites With selection Quotes of famous people And on entertainment Portals. This story Publishing social networks (""VKontakte" Facebook*, Instagram*), Platform blog And YouTube. Posted this quote and the media, for example, the Kazakhstani version of the magazine Esquire.
“Verified” failed to find at least one such publication indicating where and when John Lennon told this story. IN database, collected by fans and researchers of The Beatles work, there is nothing of the kind-and it consists of more than 160 interviews and transcript of the group’s press conferences and its participants from 1962 to 1984. There is no quote in the books written by Lennon himself - “I write how it is written","Evap in the wheel" And "Oral failure". It was also not possible to find it in letters The musician, neither in the memoirs of one of the contemporaries of Lennon.
In addition, the questions are also raised that the musician’s mother is mentioned in the quote: from his five years raised Aunt, whom Lennona was given to care. Later, the mother of the future musician either appeared in his life, then disappeared again until she died since 1957, when John was only 17 years old. The memories of the mother were traumatic for Lennon, because of them he even Turned At the service of a psychotherapist, so it seems doubtful that he can remember her in a similar vein. In 1970, the musician released a song MotherWhere in particular there were such words: "Mom, I was with you, but I have never had you."
The statement under consideration in Russian is slightly different from the publication to the publication. This indirectly indicates that initially the quote appeared in a foreign - most likely English - language, and then got into the Russian -language segment of the Internet. Specializing in checking the authenticity of quotes Portal The Quote Investigator I found that the earliest case of publishing this quote on the Internet - fast On the Tumblr platform, dating from 2008 and collecting many likes and reposts. Probably, from there the statement was scattered over the network, but it was not possible to find who and when first attributed him to John Lennon.
A very similar story is found in the memoirs of the Hollywood actress Goldi Hawn "Lotus grows in mud"Published in 2005. Hawn says that at the age of 11 she was asked who she wants to become when she grows up. The future artist replied that she wanted to become happy, and when she asked her if she wanted to become a ballerina or, for example, an actress, she repeated that she just wanted to be happy. At the same time, according to The Quote Investigator, jokes with similar formulations: “Who do you want to become when you grow up? “Happy,” they met earlier, for example, in the comics of The Peanuts magazine back in the 1960s.
Thus, there is no reason to believe that John Lennon really ever wrote or pronounced the quote of happiness, or at least something close to her. The statement could not be found in any of the interviews of the musician, as well as in his books, letters or memories of him. In addition, the details of the biography of Lennon indirectly testify to the fact that he could say something like that.
*Russian authorities They think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns social networks Instagram and Facebook, an extremist organization, its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Photo on the cover: Eric Koch / Anefo, CC0, Via Wikimedia Commons
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