Randoms by Rach

I'm So Tired

I’m So Tired
Album: The White Album, 1968
Lead vocalist: John




Lyrics ▶︎

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink,
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink.
I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink.
No, no, no.
I'm so tired I don't know what to do.
I'm so tired my mind is set on you.
I wonder should I call you but I know what you'd do.
You'd say I'm putting you on.
But it's no joke, it's doing me harm.
You know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain
You know it's three weeks, I'm going insane.
You know I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind.
I'm so tired, I'm feeling so upset
Although I'm so tired, I'll have another cigarette
And curse Sir Walter Raleigh.
He was such a stupid get
You'd say I'm putting you on.
But it's no joke, it's doing me harm.
You know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain
You know it's three weeks, I'm going insane.
You know I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind.

John wrote this song three weeks into his stay in Rishikesh, India. His mind was free from drugs and alcohol, and it left him free to think about and focus on himself a lot. It also led to terrible insomnia. John said that this song was written at an all-time-low. He thought he was obese, and he was unhappy and “drowning in fame.” It’s a really sad, but ultimately relatable song.

I chose this one purely because I love those lyrics: “And curse Sir Walter Raleigh, He was such a stupid get.” It’s so John, so Liverpudlian. It makes me smile every time.

A quick note about the words John mumbles at the end of the song … I read somewhere that this sparked the whole ‘Paul is dead’ conspiracy. Eager fans thought that, when the song was played backwards, he was saying, “Paul is dead, man. Miss him. Miss him. Miss him.” But I don’t know about that. I don’t have a record player to test the theory.