Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"
Single by John Lennon
from the album Double Fantasy
A-side	"Watching the Wheels"
Released	11 April 1981
Recorded	1980
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:02
Label	Geffen
Songwriter(s)	John Lennon
Producer(s)	John Lennon Yoko Ono Jack Douglas
John Lennon singles chronology
"Woman" (1981) "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" (1981) "Love" (1982)
Double Fantasy track listing
14 tracks Side one "(Just Like) Starting Over" "Kiss Kiss Kiss" "Cleanup Time" "Give Me Something" "I'm Losing You" "I'm Moving On" "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" Side two "Watching the Wheels" "Yes, I'm Your Angel" "Woman" "Beautiful Boys" "Dear Yoko" "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" "Hard Times Are Over"

"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" is a song written and performed by John Lennon. It was released on the 1980 album Double Fantasy, the last album by Lennon and Ono released before his death.

Paul McCartney has stated this is one of his favourite songs composed by Lennon, and when he appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1982 included it as his favourite in his selection, as did Yoko Ono as the only John Lennon song in 2007.^[1][2]

Originally, the song was released as the B-side of the third and final single from Double Fantasy, "Watching the Wheels", in March 1981, on its US reissue. Subsequently, it was used as the B-side of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" to promote the compilation album The John Lennon Collection in November 1982.

Lyrics

The song was for Lennon's son, Sean, his only child with Yoko Ono. It begins with John comforting his son from what is presumably a nightmare and develops into John passionately describing the love he has for his son and the joy Sean gave him.

At the end of the song, John Lennon whispers, "Good night, Sean. See you in the morning. Bright and early."

The lyrics of "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" contain the famous Allen Saunders 1957 Reader's Digest^[3][4] quote "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Personnel

• John Lennon – vocals, acoustic guitar, vocoder
• Earl Slick – acoustic guitar
• Hugh McCracken – lead guitar
• Tony Levin – bass guitar
• George Small – keyboards
• Robert Greenidge – steelpan
• Arthur Jenkins – percussion
• Randy Stein – English concertina

Celine Dion version

"Beautiful Boy"
Promotional single by Celine Dion
from the album Miracle
Released	4 October 2004 (2004-10-04)
Recorded	2004 Digital Insights Recording, Chartmarker Studios, Sony Studios
Genre	Pop
Length	3:53
Label	Columbia Epic
Songwriter(s)	John Lennon
Producer(s)	David Foster
Audio video
"Beautiful Boy" on YouTube

"Beautiful Boy" was recorded by Celine Dion for her album, Miracle (2004). It was released on 4 October 2004, in North America and parts of Europe as the first promotional single.^[5]

The song reached number two on the Quebec Airplay Chart. "Beautiful Boy" was also popular on adult contemporary charts, peaking at number 18 in the US and number 23 in Canada.^[6][7] It also reached number 30 on the Hungarian Airplay Chart.

Dion performed this song on a few US TV shows, including Live with Regis and Kelly.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2004–2005)	Peak position
Canada AC (Radio & Records)[7]	23
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[8]	30
Quebec (ADISQ)[9]	2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[6]	18

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)	Position
US Adult Contemporary (Radio & Records)[10]	88

Chart (2005)	Position
US Adult Contemporary (Radio & Records)[11]	75

References

1. "Paul McCartney: Desert Island Discs". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
2. "Yoko Ono: Desert Island Discs". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
3. "Life is What Happens To You While You're Busy Making Other Plans". Quote Investigator. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
4. "Did John Lennon Create the Phrase, 'Life Is What Happens When You're Busy Making Other Plans'?". Snopes. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
5. "R&R Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. 1 October 2004. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
6. "Celine Dion Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
7. "R&R Canada AC Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. 3 December 2004. p. 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
8. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
9. "Le Palmarès". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
10. "R&R Most Played 2004 - Adult Contemporary" (PDF). Radio & Records. 10 December 2004. p. 62. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
11. "AC: R&R Most Played" (PDF). Radio & Records. 9 December 2005. p. 68. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

External links

• John Lennon – "Beautiful Boy" on YouTube
• "Céline Dion - Beautiful Boy (Official Audio)" on YouTube