Category: John Lennon

Everything Will Be OK in the End. If It’s Not OK It’s Not the End

John Lennon? Oscar Wilde? Fernando Sabino? Paulo Coelho? Domingos Sabino? Farah Khan? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Here are three versions of a popular remark that reflects an unwaveringly upbeat perspective on life:

(1) Everything is OK in the end; if it’s not OK it’s not the end.
(2) Everything is going to be fine in the end. If it’s not fine it’s not the end.
(3) Everything will be all right in the end; so if it is not all right, it is not yet the end.

This saying has been attributed to the well-known Irish wit Oscar Wilde, the famous English musician John Lennon, the prominent Brazilian writer Fernando Sabino, the best-selling Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, and other individuals. The statement has also been credited to the 1999-2005 U.S. television series “Judging Amy” and the 2011 U.K. film “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”. I have not seen any convincing evidence identifying the origin. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the 1988 Brazilian Portuguese book “O tabuleiro de damas” (“The checkerboard”) by Fernando Sabino. The author ascribed the saying to his father Domingos Sabino. Here is the key passage followed by a translation into English. Boldface added to excepts by QI:[1]1988 Copyright, O tabuleiro de damas (The Checkerboard) by Fernando Sabino, Chapter: VIVÊNCIA, Quote Page 79, Publisher: Editora Record, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Verified with scans; thanks to … Continue reading

O melhor, talvez, que me lembre, foi o que me disse um dia em que me encontrou entregue à aflição de espírito: “Meu filho, tudo no fim dá certo. Se não deu, é porque ainda não chegou ao fim.”

Perhaps the best thing that I can remember is what he said to me one day when he found me in the grip of a mental affliction: “My son, everything works out in the end. If it didn’t, it’s because it hasn’t come to an end yet.”

The earliest attributions to Oscar Wilde and John Lennon occurred posthumously. Thus, those linkages were probably spurious. The first attribution to Paulo Coelho occurred many years after 1988. Evidence supports the presence of the adage in “Judging Amy” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, but the saying was already in circulation.

Additional detailed information is available in the Quote Investigator article on the Medium website which is available here.

References

References
↑1 1988 Copyright, O tabuleiro de damas (The Checkerboard) by Fernando Sabino, Chapter: VIVÊNCIA, Quote Page 79, Publisher: Editora Record, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Verified with scans; thanks to Laurence Horn and the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University)

Love Is a Promise. Love Is a Souvenir

John Lennon? Roland Orzabal? Nicky Holland? Tears for Fears?

Dear Quote Investigator: The famous songwriter and musician John Lennon has received credit for the following lines:

Love is a promise
Love is a souvenir
Once given
Never forgotten, never let it disappear

My mother who is very knowledgeable about the Beatles says that these are not the words of John Lennon. Are these lines from a poem or a song lyric? Would you please explore this topic?

Quote Investigator: In 1989 the British band “Tears for Fears” released the album “The Seeds of Love”. The lines above were written by Roland Orzabal and Nicky Holland for the song “Advice for the Young At Heart”.

Readers can visit the YouTube website and see a music video of the song here. The total duration is 4 minutes and 42 seconds, and the words are spoken at 1 minute 58 seconds.[1]YouTube video, Title: Tears For Fears – Advice For The Young At Heart, Uploaded on October 8, 2009, Uploaded by: TearsForFearsVEVO, (Quotation starts at 1 minute 58 seconds of 4 minutes 42 … Continue reading

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Love Is a Promise. Love Is a Souvenir

References

References
↑1 YouTube video, Title: Tears For Fears – Advice For The Young At Heart, Uploaded on October 8, 2009, Uploaded by: TearsForFearsVEVO, (Quotation starts at 1 minute 58 seconds of 4 minutes 42 seconds) Song: Advice for the Young At Heart, Authors: Roland Orzabal and Nicky Holland, Album: The Seeds of Love, Group: Tears for Fears. (Accessed YouTube.com on February 17, 2019) link

It Doesn’t Matter Who You Love or How You Love, But That You Love

John Lennon? Rod McKuen? Sally Jessy Raphael? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular meme/quotation on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr:

It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love, or how you love, it matters only that you love.

This saying is attributed to the famous musician John Lennon of the Beatles, but I have not found it in his writings or song lyrics. Would you please explore this topic?

Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that John Lennon employed the above expression. Lennon died in 1980, and the words were linked to him by 1997.

Rod McKuen was a singer-songwriter and poet who achieved a remarkable peak of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s. He performed a large number of well-attended concerts, and he often delivered an emphatic and empathetic message to his fans at the end of a show. In April 1971 “The New York Times” profiled McKuen, and reported his message which was a concise version of the saying listed above. Boldface has been added to excerpts:[1]1971 April 4, New York Times, Says Rod McKuen: ‘It Doesn’t Matter Who You Love or How You Love, But That You Love!’ by William Murray, Start Page SM32, Quote Page SM33, Column 3, … Continue reading

He has no solutions to offer, no panaceas to propound and makes no claims to cosmic insights. “I’m not preaching. I’m just talking about the things that move me.” Still, at the end of every public appearance recently, he’s been admonishing his listeners that “it doesn’t matter who you love or how you love, but that you love.”

This, apparently, is a message a great many people want to hear, whether it’s stated directly or merely implied in the way McKuen talks or sings or writes about the things that matter most to him.

QI conjectures that the statement attributed to Lennon was derived from the words of Rod McKuen via extension and elaboration.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading It Doesn’t Matter Who You Love or How You Love, But That You Love

References

References
↑1 1971 April 4, New York Times, Says Rod McKuen: ‘It Doesn’t Matter Who You Love or How You Love, But That You Love!’ by William Murray, Start Page SM32, Quote Page SM33, Column 3, New York. (ProQuest)

Obscene and Not Heard

Groucho Marx? Ethel Barrymore? Maurice Barrymore? Paul M. Potter? Gertrude Battles Lane? John Lennon? Joe E. Lewis? Robert Heinlein? Marilyn Manson? Augustus John? Oscar Wilde?

Dear Quote Investigator: There is well-known and often repeated admonition directed at young people who are making too much noise:

Children should be seen and not heard.

Wordplay has produced multiple quips which transform the phrase “seen and not heard” into other similar sounding statements:

Back in our day sex was obscene and not heard.
The writing was obscene but not absurd.
Graffiti should be obscene and not heard.
Women should be obscene but not heard.

Instances of these statements have been attributed to Groucho Marx, John Lennon, Ethel Barrymore, Robert Heinlein, and Oscar Wilde. Attitudes have changed over the years and some statements in this family grate on many modern ears. Would you please examine this family of adages?

Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI appeared in an anecdote published in a New York newspaper in 1892. The quip was spoken by Maurice Barrymore who was the patriarch of the famous theater family that included his children John, Lionel, and Ethel. A large show had recently closed, and Barrymore discussed the production with a fellow actor. He defended the risqué performances of the lead actress while mentioning the poor acoustics of the capacious venue. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:[1] 1892 December 12, The Evening World, Stage News and Notes, Quote Page 5, Column 3, New York, New York. (Newspapers_com)

Here is the latest scintillation of Barrymore’s wit. Barrymore and Wilton Lackaye were discussing Mrs. Bernard-Beere’s unfortunate engagement at the Manhattan Opera-House. Lackaye having said something about the English actress’s failure, Barrymore replied: “My dear boy, you must remember that the size of the theatre was entirely against her; it is so large that it entirely destroyed the delicacy of her art. The stage of that theatre is intended only for broad effects.”

“Well,” said Lackaye, “judging from what I have heard, the broad effects in some of her plays were marked, especially certain scenes in ‘Ariane.'”

“Oh, that’s nothing,” declared Barrymore. “On that big stage anybody can be obscene and not heard.”

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Obscene and Not Heard

References

References
↑1 1892 December 12, The Evening World, Stage News and Notes, Quote Page 5, Column 3, New York, New York. (Newspapers_com)

Every Child Is an Artist. The Problem Is How to Remain an Artist Once He or She Grows Up

John Lennon? Pablo Picasso? Carleton Noyes? Percy Mackaye? Dudley Crafts Watson? Agnes Snyder? Ricky Gervais? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: When a child is supplied with paint, clay, paper, and scissors he or she will experiment and construct images and figures. The artistic impulse is strong in the early years of life, but sadly it is often attenuated as a child matures. I believe that the prominent painter Pablo Picasso and the notable musician John Lennon both made statements on this theme. Are you familiar with these quotations?

Quote Investigator: John Lennon did mention children and art during an interview in 1969. Lennon was highly critical of many aspects of society during the colloquy, and he was asked about his alternative ideas for governance. Boldface has been added to excerpts:[1]1976, John Lennon: One Day at a Time: A Personal Biography of the Seventies by Anthony Fawcett, Chapter: The Peace Politician, Start Page 45, Quote Page 55, Published by Grove Press, New York. … Continue reading

Just the idea that the individual is capable of looking after himself, that we don’t need centralized government, that we don’t need father-figures and leaders, that every child is an artist until he’s told he’s not an artist, that every person is great until some demagogue makes him less great.

Pablo Picasso died in April 1973, and a few years later in October 1976 a quotation about childhood and art was attributed to him in the pages of “Time” magazine:[2] Date: October 4, 1976, Periodical: Time, Article: Modern Living: Ozmosis in Central Park, Note: The quotation appears as an epigraph at the beginning of the article. (Online archive of Time magazine)

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
—Picasso

This citation was the earliest linkage to Picasso known to QI; however, the statement was listed without a source or context. QI does not know where the “Time” magazine writer found the quotation. Perhaps Picasso spoke or wrote it in French or Spanish originally.

The thesis of a universal though evanescent artistic temperament in childhood has been propounded for more than one hundred years. For example, in 1907 the art critic Carleton Noyes published “The Gate of Appreciation” which contained the following passage:[3] 1907, The Gate of Appreciation: Studies in the Relation of Art to Life by Carleton Noyes, Quote Page 29, Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link

The child is the first artist. Out of the material around him he creates a world of his own. The prototypes of the forms which he devises exist in life, but it is the thing which he himself makes that interests him, not its original in nature. His play is his expression.

But Noyes argued that the artistic instinct was usually lost as the child grew older:

Imagination surrenders to the intellect; emotion gives place to knowledge.
Gradually the material world shuts in about us until it becomes for us a hard, inert thing, and no longer a living, changing presence, instinct with infinite possibilities of experience and feeling.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Every Child Is an Artist. The Problem Is How to Remain an Artist Once He or She Grows Up

References

References
↑1 1976, John Lennon: One Day at a Time: A Personal Biography of the Seventies by Anthony Fawcett, Chapter: The Peace Politician, Start Page 45, Quote Page 55, Published by Grove Press, New York. (Fawcett stated that the quotation was spoken during an interview given by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in an office at Apple Records in 1969)(Verified with scans)
↑2 Date: October 4, 1976, Periodical: Time, Article: Modern Living: Ozmosis in Central Park, Note: The quotation appears as an epigraph at the beginning of the article. (Online archive of Time magazine)
↑3 1907, The Gate of Appreciation: Studies in the Relation of Art to Life by Carleton Noyes, Quote Page 29, Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link

Time Wounds All Heels

Groucho Marx? Marshall Reid? Fanny Brice? Frank Case? Jane Ace? Goodman Ace? Rudy Vallée? Verree Teasdale? Robert Bloch? John Lennon? Ann Landers? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: The following humorous pun about comeuppance for poor behavior has been attributed to the famous comedian Groucho Marx. The slang term “heel” refers to a contemptible person:

Time wounds all heels.

The statement is a scrambled version of the following comforting aphorism about the mitigation of injuries:

Time heals all wounds.

The pun has also been attributed to hotelier Frank Case and radio performer Jane Ace. Would you please explore this saying?

Quote Investigator: Groucho Marx did deliver this comical line during the film “Go West” in 1940, but the expression was already in circulation. In addition, there is good evidence that Frank Case, Jane Ace and several other individuals employed the joke. Detailed citations are given further below.

The earliest citation located by QI appeared in a syndicated news column in December 1934. The remark was ascribed to someone named Marshall Reid. An explanatory anecdote was given to introduce the punchline. Boldface has been added to excerpts:[1] 1934 December 21, Lowell Sun, All In A Day by Mark Hellinger (King Features Syndicate), Quote Page 14, Column 7, Lowell, Massachusetts. (NewspaperArchive)

In a Chicago cafe the other night, an elderly man passed a table.

“There goes George,” observed an onlooker. “When he was young, he was a handsome guy. Left a wife and two kids to starve, and ran off with another woman. And now look at him. Old, broke and very sad.”

“That’s the way-it-goes,” nodded Marshall Reid. “Time wounds all heels.”

Frank Case was a prominent hotelier who owned and operated the Algonquin Hotel in New York where the celebrated Algonquin Round Table convened. He appeared multiple times on a popular radio program hosted by the entertainer Rudy Vallée. During a broadcast in 1937 Vallée asked Case about “skippers”, hotel guests who attempt to leave without paying their bills. Case’s response included the quip:[2]Website: Old Time Radio Downloads, Audio title: Rudy Vallee Royal Gelatin Hour Guest Tallulah Bankhead, Audio description: Frank Case was also a guest, Air Date on website: June 17, 1937, Audio … Continue reading

We don’t have much trouble with skippers. If a man can’t pay his bill he usually tells me; pays me later. Of course, they’re a few heels who get away with things, but eventually as time goes by they all get caught. What I always say is “Time wounds all heels”.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Time Wounds All Heels

References

References
↑1 1934 December 21, Lowell Sun, All In A Day by Mark Hellinger (King Features Syndicate), Quote Page 14, Column 7, Lowell, Massachusetts. (NewspaperArchive)
↑2 Website: Old Time Radio Downloads, Audio title: Rudy Vallee Royal Gelatin Hour Guest Tallulah Bankhead, Audio description: Frank Case was also a guest, Air Date on website: June 17, 1937, Audio quotation location: 38 mins, 58 secs of 57 mins 44 secs) Website description: Audio files of old radio show broadcasts. (Accessed oldtimeradiodownloads.com on May 26, 2017) link

The Price of Fame Is Not Being Able to Go to the Pub for a Quiet Pint

John Lennon? Philip Norman? Bill Harry? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Today paparazzi stalk celebrities, and gossip websites shriek about every misstep or manufactured scandal. But the struggle of living in a fishbowl is not new for well-known individuals. In the 1960s after the Beatles became famous, John Lennon reportedly feared that he would cause pandemonium if he returned to a favorite pub of his youth called “The Philharmonic” simply to have a drink with friends. These words have been attributed to Lennon:

The price of fame is not being able to go to the Phil for a quiet pint.

Did Lennon really say this? I have not been able to find any solid citations.

Quote Investigator: The earliest relevant evidence located by QI appeared in the 1981 band biography “Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation” by Philip Norman. John Lennon told one of his old friends about his desire to visit a pub according to Norman in a chapter that described events in December 1966. In the following excerpt, Brian referred to the manager of the Beatles, Brian Epstein:[1] 1981, Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation by Philip Norman, Chapter 14: December 1966, Quote Page 260, A Fireside Book: Published by Simon and Schuster, New York. (Verified on paper)

Liverpool was one more embattled dressing room. John confided to his old Art School friend, Bill Harry, that he’d give anything to go into a pub like the Philharmonic or Ye Cracke, and stand under the chandeliers, or the Death of Nelson, just having a quiet pint.

They didn’t go to the Cavern Club, although John begged Brian to allow it. “Couldn’t we do a few numbers down there,” he pleaded, “just for old times’ sake?” Brian said that if word got out, they would be crushed to death.

The phrase “quiet pint” was used in the passage above and in the common modern quotation. Yet, Norman mentioned two pubs and did not present a direct quote. Interestingly, Norman visited this topic again in the revised 2005 edition of his book and altered some details. See the citation and excerpt given further below.

QI conjectures that Bill Harry was the source of this quote, and Harry has written extensively about the Beatles. It is possible that he presented a version in one of his books or in an interview; however, QI has not yet found it.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading The Price of Fame Is Not Being Able to Go to the Pub for a Quiet Pint

References

References
↑1 1981, Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation by Philip Norman, Chapter 14: December 1966, Quote Page 260, A Fireside Book: Published by Simon and Schuster, New York. (Verified on paper)

Count Your Age by Friends, Not Years. Count Your Life by Smiles, Not Tears

John Lennon? Birthday Card? Dixie Lee Crosby? Dixie Willson? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: I am a big fan of the Beatles, and I think I have a good mental picture of my favorite band member, John Lennon. The following popular pair of statements is often credited to Lennon, but I think the attribution is false:

Count your age by friends, not years.
Count your life by smiles, not tears.

Disagreement with a friend of mine about these words has led to a social rift. The prevalence of incorrect ascriptions is irritating to me. Yet, an expression like this can have a deep emotional resonance for an individual, and skepticism about an attribution can be viewed as callous. Perhaps an exploration of this saying will help to repair our relationship.

Quote Investigator: The musician John Lennon was born in 1940. The earliest evidence of this quotation located by QI was printed in a newspaper in 1927. Hence, Lennon did not craft these two statements. They were part of a larger poem that was printed in a birthday card given to a woman in Richfield Springs, New York when she attained her ninetieth year:[1] 1927 January 27, Richfield Mercury, Ninetieth Birthday Celebrated at Monticello, Quote Page 1, Column 6, Richfield Springs, New York. (Old Fulton)

The following quotation is taken from one of the many beautiful greeting cards:

“Count your garden by the flowers,
never by the leaves that fall;
Count your days by golden hours
don’t remember clouds at all!
Count the night by stars, not shadows
Count your life with smiles—not tears
And with joy on today’s birthday,
count your age by friends—not years!”

In 1931 a newspaper in Roswell, New Mexico published a version of the poem under the title “Count Your Blessings” without an attribution. The first four lines were identical to those given above. The end of the poem was slightly different, e.g., the mention of a birthday was omitted:[2] 1931 January 6, The Roswell Daily Record, The Social News by Grace Thorpe Bear, Quote Page 4, Column 1, Roswell, New Mexico. (Newspapers_com)

Count your nights by stars — not shadows;
Count your life with smiles, not tears — and with joy
Count your age by friends, not years.
–Author Unknown To Us.

In 1933 a newspaper in Anniston, Alabama printed an article titled “How ‘Count Your Garden’ Was Written”. The author of the poem was identified as Dixie Willson:[3]Date: 1933 February 28, Newspaper: The Anniston Star, Section: Social News – Personal Mention – Women’s Clubs, Social Editor: Iva Cook, Article: How “Count Your Garden” … Continue reading

Into the Volland office one day came Dixie Willson. She had come to see the editor. “I’m broke,” she told the editor. “And not only broke, but I haven’t eaten in so long that the old belt won’t pull any tighter. But I can write verses. If I should write a greeting verse for you, would you buy it?” “Write it, and I’ll see what I can do,” said the editor.

The article stated that Willson wrote a verse that was accepted, and she received $5 from the editor. Willson and the editor went to dinner which she generously paid for with the money. Finis for the $5.

But it wasn’t finis for the verse: it was the beginning of an edition that has passed the half-million publication mark. For the verse that she wrote is this favorite of greeting card buyers everywhere:

Count your garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall;
Count your days by golden hours, don’t remember clouds at all!
Count your nights by stars—not shadows; count your life with smiles—not tears.
And with joy, on this your birthday—count your age by friends—not years.

In February 1935 an inquiry about the poem was printed in the “Queries and Answers” section of the New York Times:[4] 1935 February 3, New York Times, Section: Book Review, Queries and Answers, Quote Page BR27, Column 2, New York. (ProQuest)

S. H. requests the title and the name of the author of the poem which contains the following lines, possibly not quite correctly quoted:

Don’t count your troubles
By the leaves that fall.
The poem ends with these lines:
Don’t count your birthdays by the years that pass
But by the friends you have.

In March 1935 a partial answer to the inquiry was published in the “Queries and Answers” section of the New York Times:[5] 1935 March 3, New York Times, Section: Book Review, Queries and Answers, Quote Page BR27, Column 3, New York, (ProQuest)

The poem desired by S. H. (Feb. 3) appears as a popular birthday card and bears no author’s name.

After the remark above, the paper printed a poem very similar to the one given in the 1927 citation, and after the poem the following comment appeared:

Several readers sent these lines, but none of them was able to give the title or the author’s name. One correspondent informs us that the poem has been set to music by Harriet Ware and published by G. Schirmer, Inc.

In April 1935 a sardonic article about the greeting-card business by E. B. White was published in The New Yorker magazine. The article presented a different identity for the author of the poem:[6]1935 April 20, The New Yorker, Onward and Upward With the Arts: Terse Verse by E. B. White, Start Page 32, Quote Page 38, F.R. Publishing Corporation, New York. (Online Archive of page scans of The … Continue reading

Bing Crosby’s wife, Dixie Lee, is one of the people who have lived to regret the passing of the royalty system. Miss Lee, about six years ago, sold to the P. F. Volland Company the following poem:

Count your garden by the flowers,
Never by the leaves that fall,
Count your days by golden hours,
Don’t remember clouds at all;
Count your nights by stars, not shadows,
Count your life with smiles, not tears,
And with joy on this, your birthday,
Count your age by friends, not years.

The firm paid her five bucks, and she blew most of it taking one of the editors to lunch. The next few months she watched her greeting become a best-seller.

The year specified in the article for the sale of the poem was six years before 1935, i.e., in 1929, but the card was already in circulation by 1927. This slight inaccuracy does not rule out the correctness of the authorship indicated. Also, The New Yorker was once praised for the high-quality of its fact-checking.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Count Your Age by Friends, Not Years. Count Your Life by Smiles, Not Tears

References

References
↑1 1927 January 27, Richfield Mercury, Ninetieth Birthday Celebrated at Monticello, Quote Page 1, Column 6, Richfield Springs, New York. (Old Fulton)
↑2 1931 January 6, The Roswell Daily Record, The Social News by Grace Thorpe Bear, Quote Page 4, Column 1, Roswell, New Mexico. (Newspapers_com)
↑3 Date: 1933 February 28, Newspaper: The Anniston Star, Section: Social News – Personal Mention – Women’s Clubs, Social Editor: Iva Cook, Article: How “Count Your Garden” Was Written, Quote Page 5, Column 1, Anniston, Alabama. (Newspapers_com)
↑4 1935 February 3, New York Times, Section: Book Review, Queries and Answers, Quote Page BR27, Column 2, New York. (ProQuest)
↑5 1935 March 3, New York Times, Section: Book Review, Queries and Answers, Quote Page BR27, Column 3, New York, (ProQuest)
↑6 1935 April 20, The New Yorker, Onward and Upward With the Arts: Terse Verse by E. B. White, Start Page 32, Quote Page 38, F.R. Publishing Corporation, New York. (Online Archive of page scans of The New Yorker; Accessed July 21 2013)

They Asked Me What I Wanted To Be When I Grew Up. I Said ‘Happy’

John Lennon? Charles Schulz? Goldie Hawn? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Did musical superstar John Lennon really tell the following story about his childhood?

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.

This tale appears on many websites, but I have never seen a pointer to an interview with Lennon or some other material supporting this account. What do you think?

Quote Investigator: QI has been unable to locate any substantive evidence connecting this heartfelt anecdote to John Lennon. The volunteer editors at Wikiquote relegated the passage to the “Unsourced” section of the “Discussion” page indicating that no supporting data had been discovered.[1] Wikiquote website, Wikiquote webpage for John Lennon: Discussion page, Section: Unsourced, A Wikimedia Project of Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (Accessed wikiquote.org on May 28, 2013) link

John Lennon died in 1980. A version of the text closely matching the words above was in circulation by November 2008 on a set of tumblrs. In the earliest matching instances found by QI the narrator was not named. Details are given further below.

Interestingly, the humorous kernel of this anecdote appeared in the very popular syndicated cartoon strip Peanuts which was written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. In January 1960 a strip was published showing a conversation between Charlie Brown and Linus van Pelt.[2] 1960 January 11, Reno Evening Gazette, (Peanuts Cartoon Strip), Quote Page 11 (NArch Page 3), Reno, Nevada. (NewspaperArchive) Charlie asks Linus whether he thinks much about the future. Linus replies that he does. Charlie asks what he wants to be when he grows up, and Linus replies “Outrageously happy!”:[3] 1960 January 11, Press-Courier, (Peanuts Cartoon Strip), Quote Page 11, Oxnard, California. (NewspaperArchive)

Great thanks to correspondent Jay Lund who told QI that he recalled reading a Peanuts cartoon on this topic in the 1960s.

The core of the anecdote was also presented as an autobiographical incident by Goldie Hawn, an Oscar winning actress and successful movie producer. In 1992 Hawn was profiled in Vanity Fair magazine, and she mentioned her response to a question about future goals:[4] 1992 March, Vanity Fair, Solid Goldie, (Profile of Goldie Hawn), Start Page 168, Quote Page 220, Column 3, (Advance Magazine Publishers), Conde Nast Publications, New York. (Verified on paper)

People used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I’d say ‘Happy!’ That was all I wanted to be.

In 2005 Hawn released the memoir “A Lotus Grows in the Mud” which included a vignette exhibiting several points of similarity with the anecdote under examination:[5] 2005, A Lotus Grows in the Mud by Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden, Section: Growing Pains, Quote Page 17, G. P. Putnam’s Sons – Penguin Group, New York. (Verified on paper)

Happiness was always important to me. Even at the young age of eleven, it was my biggest ambition. People would ask, “Goldie, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

“Happy,” I would reply, looking in their eyes.

“No, no,” they’d laugh. “That’s really sweet, but I mean . . . what do you want to be? A ballerina? An actress maybe?”

“I just want to be happy.”

The quizzical adults expected young Hawn to respond with the name of a profession or career, but she answered with something she thought was much more important, her desired mental state. Thus, Hawn’s bold guileless behavior in offering the single-word response “happy” matched the core of the anecdote.

Here is one additional citation and the conclusion.

Continue reading They Asked Me What I Wanted To Be When I Grew Up. I Said ‘Happy’

References

References
↑1 Wikiquote website, Wikiquote webpage for John Lennon: Discussion page, Section: Unsourced, A Wikimedia Project of Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (Accessed wikiquote.org on May 28, 2013) link
↑2 1960 January 11, Reno Evening Gazette, (Peanuts Cartoon Strip), Quote Page 11 (NArch Page 3), Reno, Nevada. (NewspaperArchive)
↑3 1960 January 11, Press-Courier, (Peanuts Cartoon Strip), Quote Page 11, Oxnard, California. (NewspaperArchive)
↑4 1992 March, Vanity Fair, Solid Goldie, (Profile of Goldie Hawn), Start Page 168, Quote Page 220, Column 3, (Advance Magazine Publishers), Conde Nast Publications, New York. (Verified on paper)
↑5 2005, A Lotus Grows in the Mud by Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden, Section: Growing Pains, Quote Page 17, G. P. Putnam’s Sons – Penguin Group, New York. (Verified on paper)

Life is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans

John Lennon? Allen Saunders? Quin Ryan? Walter Ward? Henry Cooke? Robert Balzer? L. S. McCandless? Publilius Syrus? Thomas a Kempis? William Gaddis?

Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, a medical emergency threw all my carefully constructed plans into complete disarray. I was reminded of a remarkably astute and ruefully humorous saying credited to the musical superstar John Lennon:

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

When did he say this? Was he the first to express this idea?

Reply from Quote Investigator: John Lennon did compose a song containing this saying and released it in 1980. The song was called “Beautiful Boy” or “Darling Boy” and it was part of the album “Double Fantasy”. Lennon wrote the lyrics about his experiences with his son Sean whose mother is Yoko Ono. In 2012 YouTube had a streamable version of the song, and the phrase could be heard at 2 minutes 16 seconds into the track which had a total length of 4 minutes 12 seconds. Lennon sang the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1] YouTube video, Title: John Lennon – Beautiful Boy, Uploaded by TheInnerRevolution on Nov 22, 2009. (Accessed at youtube.com on May 4, 2012; video removed after this date)

Before you cross the street take my hand.
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

But the general expression can be traced back more than two decades before this time. The first known appearance was in an issue of Reader’s Digest magazine dated January 1957. The statement was printed together with nine other unrelated sayings in a section called “Quotable Quotes”:[2] 1957 January, Reader’s Digest, Quotable Quotes, Page 32, The Reader’s Digest Association. (Verified on paper)

Allen Saunders: Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.
—Publishers Syndicate

The newspaper comic strip “Steve Roper” was written by an individual named Allen Saunders and distributed by Publishers Syndicate. It is likely that the attribution above was referencing him. Saunders also worked on the strips “Mary Worth” and “Kerry Drake.” But the saying has not yet been located in any of these comics. Three important reference works list the Reader’s Digest citation to Saunders: The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs[3] 2012, The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, Compiled by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro, Page 145, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper) , The Quote Verifier[4] 2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Page 123-124 and 305, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified on paper) , and The Yale Book of Quotations.[5] 2006, The Yale Book of Quotations by Fred R. Shapiro, Section Allen Saunders, Page 666, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper)

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Life is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans

References

References
↑1 YouTube video, Title: John Lennon – Beautiful Boy, Uploaded by TheInnerRevolution on Nov 22, 2009. (Accessed at youtube.com on May 4, 2012; video removed after this date)
↑2 1957 January, Reader’s Digest, Quotable Quotes, Page 32, The Reader’s Digest Association. (Verified on paper)
↑3 2012, The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, Compiled by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro, Page 145, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper)
↑4 2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Page 123-124 and 305, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified on paper)
↑5 2006, The Yale Book of Quotations by Fred R. Shapiro, Section Allen Saunders, Page 666, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper)