Mind Games (John Lennon song)

1973 single by John Lennon

"Mind Games" is a song written and performed by John Lennon, released as a single in 1973 on Apple Records. It was the lead single for the album of the same name. The US single and album were released simultaneously on 29 October 1973. The UK single and album were issued simultaneously on 16 November 1973. In the US it peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 10 on the Cashbox Top 100. In the UK it peaked at No. 26.

This song, which was begun in 1969 was originally titled "Make Love, Not War", Another song, "I Promise", contains the melody that would later appear on "Mind Games". Lennon later encountered Masters in a restaurant and told him, "I am one of your fans. You wrote Mind Games." The lyric "YES is the answer" is a nod to his wife Yoko Ono's art piece that brought them together originally. The song was recorded as Lennon split with her for his 18 month "lost weekend" with May Pang. Although it did not involve producer Phil Spector, it nonetheless revealed what Lennon had learned from working with him. Cash Box said that "top flight vocal performance backed by that steady, yet driving, tempo accentuates some great lyrics, all in making for a great song." Record World called it "one of [Lennon's] best songs in the post Beatle period."

Chart (1973–74)Peak positionAustralia (Go Set)8Australia (Kent Music Report)16Canadian RPM Top Singles11Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary70Germany37 Italy (Musica e dischi)5Japan 46Netherlands16UK26U. S. Billboard Hot 10018U. S. Billboard Adult Contemporary33U. S. Cash Box Top 10010

Chart (1973)RankAustralia106U. S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)140

"Mind Games" did best in Chicago, where it reached number six on the weekly survey of radio superstation WLS AM. It was ranked as the 81st biggest hit of 1973.

In 1990 South African musician Ratau Mike Makhalemele released an EP of Lennon covers including a 16 minute long version of Mind Games. In 1995, it was recorded by George Clinton for the John Lennon tribute album Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon. In 1997, it was recorded by DJ Krush with vocals by Eri Ohno for the album MiLight. In 2001, Kevin Spacey performed the song in New York as part of the tribute concert Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music, shortly after 9/11. The Irish band Hal covered Mind Games for Q Magazine in 2005. In 2006, it was covered by German rock /pop group MIA., as well as Australian band, Eskimo Joe, as part of the project Make Some Noise to support Amnesty International. Eskimo Joe's cover would also appear on the International release of "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur" as well as the Complete Recordings of the same project. In 2007, Gavin Rossdale's version appeared on Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur as an iTunes exclusive bonus track. In April 2009, Sinéad O'Connor's version of the song recorded in the mid 1990s appeared on the re released deluxe edition of her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. In 2017, Arcade Fire released a cover on Spotify, and performed the song multiple times live in concert. In 2020, German singer songwriter Niels Frevert covered Mind Games for the Rolling Stone magazine tribute album Lennon Re imagined. In May 2023, American rock and jazz artist Brian Eaton released a cover version as a single for the song's 50th anniversary. In June 2023, British band Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds included a cover version as a bonus track on their album Council Skies.