John Lennon Versus Ozzy Osbourne: In My Life

The song "In My Life" by The Beatles is one of the world's most famous, and recognizable songs to have ever been produced. As such, many people have covered the song. One famous individual (and my personal favorite singer) is Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy is not all hard rock and roll, he enjoys some more sentimental songs as well (and loves The Beatles). However, between each version of the song, while the meaning of the song stays the same, the context of the song is different and each song conveys the message of the song in a different manner. 

When comparing the original version of the song to the cover by Ozzy Osbourne, the main message is the same but the differences between the two serve to convey the meaning to different situations. These circumstantial differences can be seen by analyzing the lyrics and sound of each version. To start, I'd like to talk about some of the differences between the sounds of each version (since the lyrics are the control variable). In the original version of the song, the key of the song is in A major (a bright, romantic key) with a moderato tempo of roughly 108 bpm. These factors make the song a more lively and bright song that somebody could dance to. Regardless of the lyrics, the song will carry this kind of connotation due to these musical factors. This is especially true for the solo in the bridge of the song; the solo carries a very baroque tone of something resembling a courante due to the sound of the triple meter accents the solo carries that people in the baroque era would dance to. 

Ozzy Osbourne's cover takes this bright, royal, baroque sounding piece of music and transforms it into something (still highly worth listening to) slightly different, still conveying the same message (more on that later), but for a different circumstance due to the tonal differences from the original. To begin, Ozzy Osbourne's cover takes the original song and modulates the key from A major to a less bright, more sentimental key of G flat major (typically, keys that have more flats in them are more sentimental in nature) and slows the song to an adagio tempo. This makes the song (again, regardless of lyrics) more sentimental and relaxing--not upbeat and something one could lively dance to. The solo in the bridge still maintains a sense of baroque styling, but more so resembling an allemande, instead of a lively courante. 

Now that the musical aspects of the song have been discussed, before I establish the contextual part that differentiates the two versions, I will touch upon the meaning of the song that is universal regardless of which version one listens to. The song is about somebody very dear and special to the singer and thus the song is devoted to that person. This is established by the comparison between the first and second verse. The singer demonstrates his love for this person the song is devoted to by comparing his past (the first verse) with the present (second verse). The first verse establishes the singer has many memories and has traveled to many places and experienced a lot of change, and there is love in all of this. This is supported by the lyrics which include "There are places I remember/All my life, though some have changed/Some forever not for better/Some are dead and some are living/In my life I've loved them all." These lyrics then lead way to the second verse which says that the singer places his love for this individual person above all the love he has had for the memories, experience, and change stated in the first verse. Specifically, if one looks at these lyrics (taken from the second verse of the song), "But of all these friends and lovers/there is no one compares with you/I know I'll often stop and think about them/In my life I love you more." Now that this has been established, we can begin to investigate the contextual differences and how each meaning is conveyed through each version by looking at the lyrics and musical aspects in duo. 

The original has a different context to it because it was written by John Lennon and was intended for his wife he had at the time. He conveys his happiness, satisfaction, and love for his wife by keeping the song upbeat and in a bright, happy key of A major. This then in turn affects how he sings the lyrics of the song. Specifically, in the second verse, when he sings, "But of all these friends and lovers/there is no one compares with you," there is a light, airy tone to his voice that is accentuated by the upbeat rhythm to the song. Through this, Lennon conveys the meaning of the song to his audience's ears. 

However, when Ozzy Osbourne sings these lyrics from "In My Life," considering the different musical aspects discussed earlier, this meaning (though the same) is conveyed differently and is devoted for a different audience. Because Ozzy is covering the song, the song cannot be inherently about his wife, Sharon, instead, for Ozzy, the song is devoted to his loving and supporting fans who have helped him experience the myriad of success he has had despite some of the slip-ups he's had in life. Taking the same line from the second verse, ("But of all these friends and lovers/there is no one compares with you") Ozzy conveys his gratitude towards his fan (the meaning of the song, but applied to his fans) with a different tonal character. Ozzy sings these lyrics with a much deeper sounding, slower, more powerful tone that in turn roots and embeds the meaning of the song into the audience's ears. 

Both versions of the song are quite beautiful in their own regard. They share the same meaning but the contextual difference between them is for whom the song is intended. With John Lennon singing it, the song is meant for his wife. With Ozzy Osbourne singing the song, it is for his fans. At the same time, the meaning is conveyed and interpreted by the musical aspects of the song. One is more lively and upbeat, while the other is more sentimental and adagio in nature. The message is conveyed effectively through the musical aspects and is clear to the audience as a result, despite the differences between each version.

Personally, I prefer the cover by Ozzy Osbourne because I am a huge fan of his music and really like the key of the song combined with the allemande baroque feel. I highly encourage anybody reading this to listen to each because both are wonderful and convey the same meaning, but in different contexts, which makes each version interesting in their own light.