"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a 1971 Christmas song released as a single by the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single issued by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number four in the United Kingdom, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has periodically returned to the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's murder in December 1980, when it peaked at number two.
A protest song opposing United States involvement in the Vietnam War, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" later became a Christmas standard. It has been recorded by many artists, included on seasonal compilation albums, and cited in polls as a popular holiday song. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was ranked tenth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.
Contents
Background
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" emerged from more than two years of peace activism by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, beginning with the bed-ins they held in March and May 1969 during their honeymoon. Its direct precursor was an international multimedia campaign launched in December 1969, at the height of the counterculture movement and widespread protests against American involvement in the Vietnam War. The campaign involved renting billboard space in 12 major cities to display black‑and‑white posters reading: "WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas from John & Yoko". Although similar wording had appeared in the 1968 anti‑war songs "The War Is Over" by Phil Ochs and "The Unknown Soldier" by the Doors, there is no evidence that Lennon and Ono were influenced by these earlier works.
Reflecting on the accessibility that made his 1971 single "Imagine" more commercially successful than his other post‑Beatles releases, Lennon remarked: "Now I understand what you have to do: Put your political message across with a little honey." He conceived "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" as a way to extend the themes of social unity and peaceful change through personal responsibility that had shaped the earlier billboard campaign, aiming to express optimism while avoiding the sentimentality he associated with many Christmas songs.
From 1963 to 1969, the Beatles issued special Christmas recordings to members of their fan club. After the group disbanded in 1970, Lennon became the first former member to release an original Christmas song. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was later followed by George Harrison's "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" (1974), Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" (1979), and Ringo Starr's album I Wanna Be Santa Claus (1999).
Composition
The song opens with spoken Christmas greetings from Ono and Lennon to their children from previous marriages: Ono whispers "Happy Christmas, Kyoko", followed by Lennon whispering "Happy Christmas, Julian".
When Lennon first played his demo for Phil Spector, the producer noted that the opening line, "So this is Christmas...", shared a rhythmic pattern with the 1961 single "I Love How You Love Me" by the Paris Sisters, which Spector had produced. During the recording sessions, Lennon asked the guitarists to use mandolin‑style ostinato riffs reminiscent of those in "Try Some, Buy Some", a single produced earlier in 1971 by Spector and George Harrison for Spector's wife, Ronnie Spector, formerly of the Ronettes. Spector also added percussion instruments similar to those used on his 1963 album A Christmas Gift for You.
Beyond these borrowed elements, the chord progression and melodic structure of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" show similarities to the traditional English ballad "Skewball", though with a different rhythmic meter, later modulations, and a newly written chorus countermelody. The verses most closely resemble the 1963 rendition (titled "Stewball") by Peter, Paul and Mary.
Recording
In late October 1971, with only a basic melody and partially developed lyrics, Lennon recorded an acoustic guitar demo of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" in his rooms at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City, where he and Ono were living. Ono later received co‑writing credit, although the extent of her contribution at this early stage is unclear, as she did not take part in the demo – an unusual circumstance for their collaborations. A second demo was made later in October after the couple moved into an apartment in Greenwich Village. Lennon again brought in Phil Spector to assist with production, as he had on Lennon's previous two albums, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, the latter released in the US only weeks earlier.
The first recording session took place on the evening of 28 October at the Record Plant studio. After the session musicians – several of whom had previously worked with the Plastic Ono Band – recorded the basic instrumental track and overdubs, Lennon and Ono added their lead vocals. One of the four guitarists temporarily covered the bass part for Klaus Voormann, whose flight from Germany had been delayed. The following day, Ono and the session musicians, including Voormann, recorded the single's B‑side, "Listen, the Snow Is Falling". On the afternoon of 31 October, the Harlem Community Choir – 30 children aged between four and twelve – arrived at the studio to record backing vocals for the countermelody and sing‑along chorus. Photographs for the original sleeve were also taken during this session by Iain Macmillan.
Release
Apple Records released "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" in the United States on 1 December 1971 (Apple 1842). Issued as a 7‑inch single on transparent green vinyl with a card‑stock picture sleeve, the pressing appeared in two label variations, one of which displayed a sequence of five images showing Lennon's face gradually transforming into Ono's. This sequence had originally appeared on the reverse cover of the exhibition catalogue for Ono's career retrospective This Is Not Here, held in October 1971 at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York.
A dispute between music publisher Northern Songs and Lennon over publishing rights delayed the UK release of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" until 24 November 1972 (Apple R 5870). The initial British pressing, issued as a 7‑inch single on opaque green vinyl with the picture sleeve and variant label, sold out quickly and was subsequently repressed on standard black vinyl.
The song first appeared on an album with Shaved Fish, the only compilation of Lennon's solo recordings released during his lifetime. On that album, "Happy Xmas" was paired with part of a live performance of "Give Peace a Chance", recorded as the finale of Lennon and Ono's One to One benefit concert on 30 August 1972. Designed by Roy Kohara, the album cover includes illustrations by Michael Bryan representing each track; for "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", the image depicts an aeroplane dropping a Christmas ornament instead of a bomb.
Over the years, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has been reissued in various single formats by Capitol, Geffen and Parlophone, sometimes in conjunction with the release of compilations of Lennon's work. It has also appeared on numerous Christmas music compilations, including entries in the Now That's What I Call Music! series.
A rough mix produced during the first recording session on 28 October 1971 was released in 1998 on the John Lennon Anthology.
Music videos
A music video for "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was included on The John Lennon Video Collection, released on VHS in 1992 to accompany the 1989 reissue of The John Lennon Collection. It combines images from Lennon and Ono's 1969 "War Is Over!" billboard campaign with candid photographs of the couple and their son Sean from the late 1970s, intercut with footage of a boys' choral ensemble singing along with the original Harlem Community Choir vocals.
In 2003, a new Video on YouTube was produced for the remastered 5.1 version of the song included on the DVD Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon. This version has accumulated more than 22 million views on YouTube.
Reception
On its US single debut in 1971, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" achieved only modest success. Its late release limited radio airplay before Christmas, and the single received little promotion. The single peaked at number 36 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart and number 28 on the Record World Singles Chart, and reached number 3 on the Billboard Christmas Singles chart. It later returned to the Billboard Christmas charts in 1972, 1983, 1984 and 1985. The song also reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart for the week ending 6 January 1996. Its most recent appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 came in 2022, when it peaked at number 38 for the week ending 31 December 2022.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was immediately successful in Britain upon its release in November 1972. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the chart compiled by Melody Maker. Since then, it has re‑entered the UK Singles Chart nine additional times. Its most notable return followed Lennon's death on 8 December 1980, when the single rose to number 2 – behind a reissued "Imagine" – and remained on the chart for nine weeks.
Between December 1972 and February 1973, the song entered the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Singapore.
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso ranked the song as Lennon's fifth‑greatest solo political work, writing that "Lennon took the opportunity to encourage Yuletide revelers toward a broader sense of pacifism."
Other versions
In 1985, Australian group the Incredible Penguins released a version of the song that peaked at number 10 on the Australian singles chart in December 1985.
In later decades, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" gained a higher profile in the cultural mainstream as more artists recorded their own versions, most of them released after 2000. Two of these recordings entered the Billboard charts in the same year. The first, released on 17 October 2006 by Canadian singer‑songwriter Sarah McLachlan on her album Wintersong, became the year's best‑selling Christmas album and received a Grammy nomination. It includes backing vocals from the Children's and Youth Choirs of the Music Outreach Program at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Vancouver, British Columbia. The track entered the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart at number 22 for the week ending 9 December 2006 and reached a peak of number 5 four weeks later.
The second charting version, released on 12 December 2006 by American rock band The Fray as a digital download, debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 41 on the Pop 100 for the week ending 31 December 2006, remaining on both charts for one additional week.
Some of the earliest other recordings of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" appeared on holiday albums by major pop artists, including I Still Believe in Santa Claus (1990) by Andy Williams, The Christmas Album (1992) by Neil Diamond, A Very Special Season (1994) by Diana Ross, and These Are Special Times (1998) by Celine Dion.
Other notable versions include a 1991 recording on the album Standards by The Alarm, a 1994 live performance by Melissa Etheridge, and a 1995 Brazilian version by Simone. Additional recordings include the 2002 version by South African band Toxic Shame, the 2002 Maybe This Christmas version by Sense Field, and a 2005 cover by American pop rock band Maroon 5 in support of Amnesty International's Make Some Noise campaign.
Australian singer Delta Goodrem recorded the song as a B‑side to her single Predictable. Shinedown released a "Holiday Version" in 2006, and the mash‑up band Beatallica included their rendition on the 2009 album Winter Plunderband. On 13 December 2012, Sean Lennon performed the song with gospel singer Mavis Staples, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and the Harlem Gospel Choir on The Colbert Report. The performance was made available on iTunes to raise funds for Hurricane Sandy disaster relief. During John Lennon's 75th Birthday Concert, Sheryl Crow, Aloe Blacc and Peter Frampton performed the song with a children's chorus from The Stuttering Association for the Youth.
Personnel
John Lennon – vocals, guitar, producer
Yoko Ono – vocals, producer
The Harlem Community Choir – backing vocals, children's choir
May Pang – backing vocals
Nicky Hopkins – piano, chimes, glockenspiel
Teddy Irwin – guitar
Jim Keltner – drums, sleigh bells
Hugh McCracken – guitar
Chris Osbourne – guitar
Stuart Scharf – guitar
Roy Cicala – recording engineer
Phil Spector – producer