The Story Behind The Song: 50 years of John Lennon’s ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’
While promoting his 1971 Imagine album, John Lennon confessed to having had a revelation. “Now I understand what you have to do: put your political message across with a little honey.” In the late 1960s, Lennon began to endorse various radical political causes. He expressed an interest in feminism (though he could hardly be called a feminist), championed Native and African-American rights and became a vocal supporter of the anti-war movement.
By 1971, Lennon had tried everything: taking to the streets, attending rallies, and even staying in bed. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the best thing he could do to get his message across was to use his “bigger than Jesus” global influence to his advantage. This led him to release ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over) on November 24th, 1971, precisely a month before Christmas Eve.
Though Lennon would later claim that he wrote ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ because he was tired of hearing ‘White Christmas’, the song wasn’t a purely commercial gesture. It arrived after more than two years of peace activism, which began with those two ‘bed-ins’ in March and May 1969. Lennon realised that systemic change would only be possible with the cooperation of ordinary, working people. “The people are unaware,” he said. “It’s like they’re not educated to realise that they have power.”
With this in mind, John and Yoko set about devising a campaign to allow their radical message entry into the homes of everyday Americans. Their idea was to make peace unignorable. Renting billboard spaces in 12 major cities around the world, they erected black and white posters reading: “WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas from John & Yoko”, a slogan that had already appeared in Phil Ochs anti-war anthem ‘The War Is Over’ and The Doors’ ‘The Unknown Solider’ – both released in 1968.
Riffing on themes of social unity, personal accountability and peace, Lennon recorded a rough acoustic demo of ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ in October 1971 in his and Yoko’s room at the St Regis Hotel in New York. He then brought it to producer Phil Spector, who noted that the song’s opening line, “And so this is Christmas,” was rhythmically identical to his 1961 Paris Sisters single ‘I Love How You Love Me’.
Spector oversaw the recording session, allowing Lennon and Ono to record private Christmas messages to their children, Kyoko and Julian. After handing the session guitarists mandolins and asking them to play a riff similar to the one heard in Ronnie Spector and George Harrison’s ‘Try Some, Buy Some’, Lennon and Ono recorded vocals with 30 children from the Harlem Community Choir, heightening the track’s cut-through appeal.
Strangely, ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over) wasn’t a hit in the US. Its late release meant that it had limited airplay before Christmas. A publishing dispute also delayed the song’s release in the UK until November 1972, when it rose to number four in the charts. After Lennon died in 1980, it reached number two and has remained a Christmas classic ever since.
Written out of a desire to change the world, ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ reminds us that the best Christmas songs are coincidentally festive. Lennon’s desire was to craft an enduring message for peace. Though Paul McCartney would later criticise this commercialised approach to peace activism, one that he regarded as wilfully ignorant, the optimism at the heart of ‘Happy Xmas’ remains essential.