Though it's been so many years

John Lennon - 'My Mummy's Dead' (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - 1970)

For the first time in the history of The Run Out Grooves we are looking at a song that lasts less than a minute.

Previously, when we've looked at the last song and then the outro, we've bundled them together (Wu-Tang Clan, DJ Shadow). This album is different - we don't need to consider 'My Mummy's Dead' as a footnote to 'God', the last song of typical length.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band starts with 'Mother' - the actual song to contrast with this folky, lo-fi, nursery rhyme. The opener is an emotional, heart-on-the-line, loud and raw outpouring by Lennon. Who had recently worked on Arthur Janov's primal therapy, which involves repeatedly experiencing long-repressed childhood pain. For Lennon, this centred around his father abandoning the family and partial abandoning and ultimately early death of his mother when Lennon was seventeen. "Mamma, don't go. Daddy, come home" screams, and I do mean screams, chorus.

It's hard not to compare 'My Mummy's Dead' a child-like haiku set to the tune of 'Three Blind Mice', also delivered in a raw voice but an emotionless, matter of fact manner one - contrary to everything that was poured into 'Mother'. The effect of the two as opening and closing bookends to the album is a little shocking now and must have been even more so at the time, considering Lennon was one of the most famous people on the planet.

Lennon's only other song to feature his mum as the subject was on 'Julia', from The Beatles self-titled album. While he had recorded the literally plea for help with 'Help!' in 1965, it wouldn't be until this album that he put so much of himself out there. There's an argument John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is as much as anyone had offered of themselves before or after. The political and personal sit side by side on it in a way that jarred on later albums. After "killing" the Beatles in 'God' with one of his best vocal performances, he leaves us with this short and remarkable end to his best album that completes the circle starter by the opener. From strained vocal cords and trauma to something like a quiet acceptance.