Curious to know what other people think about John's I Don't Wanna Face It which was recorded in 1980 and released posthumously on Milk and Honey. Musically, it's very clearly a response to Coming Up, but if Coming Up is an invitation and this is an answer, then the answer is 'no', right? Because either the song is about John and he's recognizing his own contradictions and the fact that he hasn't dealt with them yet and doesn't want to, or the song is about Paul, and John is insulting him and calling him a hypocrite. Which is depressing to consider.
A little more musing on the lyrics:
Say you're looking for a place to go
Where nobody knows your name
You're looking for oblivion
With one eye on the Hall of Fame
The man who wants oblivion and fame simultaneously could certainly be John himself, who'd been away from the music industry for several years and enjoying the quasi-anonymity of New York life while having trouble completely letting go of his competitiveness and his desire to be a star. But it's also very much a Paul thing - the guy who buys a farm in the middle of nowhere and runs around in disguise and wants to be one of the ordinary people but who also very much enjoys his own level of success.
I don't want to face it, oh no
I don't want to face it, no, no, no, no
Well, I can dish it out
But I just can't take it
Again the theme of hypocrisy. From John's perspective, let's assume this could be either of them. The chorus switches from second- to first-person, but it's also significantly more mocking/sarcastic in the way he sings it.
Say you're looking for some peace and love
Leader of a big old band
You want to save humanity
But it's people that you just can't stand
That seems more like John than Paul, contrasting his late 60s idealism with his own cynicism and misanthropy. And certainly if the "big old band" is the Beatles, he'd see himself as the leader. But then again, in 1980, Paul was still the leader of Wings, and Coming Up repeatedly references "you want some peace and understanding" / "you want a better kind of future" / etc.
I don't want to face it, oh no
I don't want to face it, no no, no, no
Well, I can sing for my supper
But I just can't make it
(Is this a cooking joke?)
Well, now you're looking for a world of truth
Trying to find a better way
The time has come to see yourself
You always look the other way
This is the primary bit that makes me think he's talking to Paul, because he generally complained more about Paul pretending not to be aware of things. Does John see himself as avoiding introspection and true self-awareness? Because either way, that's interesting.
I don't want to face it, no, no
I don't want to face it, no, no, no, no
Well, I can see the promised land
And I know I can make it
What's the promised land to John in 1980? How is an attainable promised land compatible with not wanting to face things? What changes between "I just can't make it" and "I know I can make it"?
And then you've got the bit at the end where he adds:
I don't want to face it
I just can't face it no more
Every time I look in the mirror
I don't see anybody there
Woo!
Which is very Nowhere Man. (Also, I like the wordplay of "I don't want to face it" contrasted with the image of a mirror with no face.) But then again, this bit is mocking, and he's doing a funny voice.
So who can't face things and what is it they don't want to face? Is the song meant to be good-natured or bitter? Did it not make Double Fantasy for musical reasons, or was it a statement John thought better of? I'd like to take the more optimistic viewpoint, but I wonder.
