Bring On the Lucie (Freda Peeple)

"Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)"
"Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)"
	1974 Venezuelan single label
Song by John Lennon
from the album Mind Games
Published	Lenono Music
Released	16 November 1973
Recorded	1973
Genre	Rock
Length	4:12
Label	Apple
Songwriter(s)	John Lennon
Producer(s)	John Lennon
Mind Games track listing
	12 tracks Side one "Mind Games"; "Tight A$"; "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)"; "One Day (At a Time)"; "Bring on the Lucie (Freeda Peeple)"; "Nutopian International Anthem"; Side two ; "Intuition"; "Out the Blue"; "Only People"; "I Know (I Know)"; "You Are Here"; "Meat City";

"Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)" is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon from his 1973 album Mind Games.^[2]

Background

The song dates from late 1971, starting out as little more than a chorus, after Lennon acquired a National guitar.^[3] After working on the lyrics, the song went from a simple political slogan to a full-blown statement that hints at his earlier work, such as "Imagine" and "Power to the People".^[3]

Reception

Classic Rock critic Rob Hughes rated "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)" as Lennon's 7th best political song, praising Lennon's vocal performance and David Spinozza's guitar groove, saying that "this anti-Vietnam address also acts as a scathing rebuttal of self-seeking politics."^[4] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso rated it as Lennon's 7th greatest solo political song, praising David Spinozza's slide guitar and saying that the song "eviscerates lying politicians while making an impassioned call (stop the killing!) for the end of the ongoing Vietnam conflict."^[5]

In the media

Two versions of the song, both performed by Lennon, appear in the 2006 film, Children of Men. The standard version of the song (originally released on the Mind Games album) is heard during the course of the film, and an alternate version of the song, originally released on the 1998 John Lennon Anthology boxed set, is featured over the closing credits. The John Lennon Anthology version of the song also appears on the film's soundtrack along with a cover version by Junior Parker of "Tomorrow Never Knows," a song Lennon wrote for the Beatles album Revolver.

The song is played during the closing credits of the 2022 Judd Apatow HBO documentary, George Carlin's American Dream.

Personnel

Per Mind Games album booklet:^[6]

John Lennon – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, maracas, tambourine
Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar
Ken Ascher – piano, electric piano
Gordon Edwards – bass guitar
Jim Keltner – drums, cowbell
Rick Marotta – bongos
Something Different (Christine Wiltshire, Jocelyn Brown, Kathy Mull, Angel Coakley) – backing vocals

Covers

Richard Ashcroft released a cover of the song on 19 February 2021.^[7]^[8]

References

^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1973". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 286–287. ISBN 9781493064601.
^ Cepeda, Adrian Ernesto (17 November 2010). "'Bring on the Lucie': Lennon's Last Overtly Political Stand". PopMatters. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Blaney, John (2005). "1973 to 1975: The Lost Weekend Starts Here". John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 131. ISBN 9780954452810.
^ Hughes, Rob (December 8, 2021). "John Lennon's 10 best political songs". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
^ DeRiso, Nick (9 October 2013). "Top 10 John Lennon Solo Political Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
^ Booklet accompanying Mind Games reissue (Capitol Records, 2024).
^ Mensah, Jenny (2021-02-19). "Richard Ashcroft shares John Lennon cover Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple)". Radio X. Archived from the original on 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
^ Langford, Jackson (2021-02-19). "Richard Ashcroft covers John Lennon's 'Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple)'". NME. Archived from the original on 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-22.