JUKEBOX: "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" by John Lennon

Mr. Peabody when he first adopted Sherman

Hi everybody! It’s Kimberly here for my twenty-seventh post for the genre “Children’s Music.”

Last week, the song I reviewed “I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever" was written in the point of view of a child singing about a parental figure. The song I’m reviewing today is written in the point of a view of a father singing about his son. If you’re a Beatles fan, you might already know this song because it’s by John Lennon. I picked this song for the genre “Children’s Music” because DreamWorks used it in their 2014 film Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Without further ado, here’s my review of “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” by John Lennon.

Although it has been almost 34 years since John Lennon’s death, he remains to be a figure that most people know today. The songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave rise to many of the Beatles songs we know and love such as “All You Need Is Love,” Hey Jude,” and “Eleanor Rigby” just to name a few. “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” was written solely by Lennon for his son Sean, who is Lennon’s “only child with Yoko Ono.” Listen all the way to the end of the track and you’ll here John Lennon whisper, “Goodnight, Sean. See you in the morning. Bright and Early.”

Leading up to the worldwide release of Mr. Peabody & Sherman, many of you probably saw its trailer and know that it’s about an intelligent dog who created a time machine. However, the heart of the movie lies within the relationship between Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Mr. Peabody, as a dog, has to win a court case that allows him to adopt a human child. On Sherman’s first day of school, a girl bullies him by forcing him to act like a dog. Saddened by the mistreatment of his son, Mr. Peabody reflects back to his early days of raising Sherman. The scene is nicely complimented by the song “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy).” The song has a very “zen-like” sound with some nice of harmonies to some lyrics. As usual, Lennon’s voice is smooth and soothing. The lyrics and melody are simple, but “the less is more” concept accentuates the sentiment behind the song, which is a father’s love for his child. I think that the Mr. Peabody & Sherman filmmakers made a fitting choice by using this song in the movie. I’m giving “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" 4 stars because it is a nice simple song, but as far as children’s songs go it is not as memorable for a ten-year-old as a song like “Let It Go” for example.

Thank you for my reading my review of “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” and for checking out JUKEBOX this week. J

Here is the audio for “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy).”