‘Borrowed Time’ by John Lennon Released in the US – 14 May 1984
Monday 14 May 1984 | Single Release
On 14 May 1984, ‘Borrowed Time’ by John Lennon was released as a single in the United States. It was the second single from Milk and Honey, the posthumous album assembled by Yoko Ono from recordings Lennon had made in 1980 during the sessions that had also produced Double Fantasy. Lennon had been murdered on 8 December 1980 — three years before the album’s release — and ‘Borrowed Time’ carried, in its title and its lyrics, a quality of reflection that felt, in retrospect, unbearably prescient.
The Song
‘Borrowed Time’ was written and recorded by Lennon in 1980, during the creative burst that followed five years of near-total withdrawal from the music industry. After the birth of his son Sean in October 1975, Lennon had stepped back from recording and public life, devoting himself to fatherhood and domestic life at the Dakota building in New York. By 1980, he was ready to return — and the sessions that produced Double Fantasy and the material that would become Milk and Honey were among the most productive of his solo career.
‘Borrowed Time’ is a reflective, reggae-inflected track — unhurried and warm, with a lyric that meditates on ageing, gratitude, and the sense of living on time that has been given rather than earned. Lennon had turned 40 in October 1980, and the song has the quality of a man taking stock: counting his blessings, acknowledging his luck, and looking forward with something approaching contentment.
The title, in the context of what happened two months after the sessions concluded, is one of the most haunting phrases in Lennon’s catalogue.
Milk and Honey
Milk and Honey was released on 27 January 1984 — what would have been Lennon’s 43rd birthday — and reached number three in the UK and number eleven in the United States. It was assembled by Yoko Ono from recordings that Lennon had made in 1980 but had not completed before his death, alongside new recordings by Ono herself.
The album alternated between Lennon tracks and Ono tracks, following the same format as Double Fantasy. Lennon’s contributions included ‘I’m Stepping Out’ (the first single), ‘Borrowed Time’, ‘(Forgive Me) My Little Flower Princess’, ‘Grow Old with Me’, and ‘Nobody Told Me’ — the last of which had been released as a single in January 1984 and reached number five in the UK and number five in the United States.
The album was a significant commercial and critical success, and demonstrated both the quality of the material Lennon had been working on in 1980 and the care with which Ono had approached the task of completing and releasing it.
The UK Single
‘Borrowed Time’ had been released in the United Kingdom on 9 March 1984, with Yoko Ono’s ‘Your Hands’ as its B-side. It reached number 32 in the UK singles chart — a modest placing for a Lennon release, reflecting perhaps the fact that ‘Nobody Told Me’ had already served as the album’s commercial flagship.
A 12-inch version of the UK single added a third track: ‘Never Say Goodbye’, from Ono’s 1982 album It’s Alright (I See Rainbows). The song had been written by Ono in the aftermath of Lennon’s murder — a direct expression of grief and loss that gave the 12-inch release a particular emotional weight alongside the Lennon tracks.
The US Single
The American release followed on 14 May 1984. It fared less well commercially than its UK counterpart, peaking at number 108 on the Billboard Hot 100 — a chart position that reflected the different dynamics of the American singles market in 1984, where album-oriented rock radio and the emerging MTV landscape were reshaping what kinds of records could achieve mainstream chart success.
The commercial performance of ‘Borrowed Time’ in the United States did not diminish its significance as a document of Lennon’s final creative period. For fans and critics, the Milk and Honey sessions represented something precious: evidence of a Lennon who had found a measure of peace, who was looking forward rather than back, and who had more to say.
The Double Fantasy Sessions: 1980
The recordings that produced both Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey were made at the Hit Factory in New York between August and October 1980. Lennon had spent the preceding months sailing to Bermuda with a small crew — an experience that had reconnected him with the physical world and sparked a new wave of songwriting.
The sessions were productive and, by all accounts, joyful. Lennon was in good health, good spirits, and good voice. He and Ono worked together on the material, and the atmosphere in the studio was one of creative renewal rather than pressure or anxiety. The songs he recorded in those months — including ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’, ‘Woman’, ‘Watching the Wheels’, ‘Grow Old with Me’, and ‘Borrowed Time’ — form one of the most coherent and emotionally rich bodies of work in his solo catalogue.
Double Fantasy was released on 17 November 1980. Lennon was murdered outside the Dakota on 8 December 1980, three weeks later.
Key Facts: ‘Borrowed Time’
- US release date: 14 May 1984
- UK release date: 9 March 1984
- UK B-side: ‘Your Hands’ (Yoko Ono)
- 12-inch bonus track: ‘Never Say Goodbye’ (Yoko Ono, from It’s Alright (I See Rainbows), 1982)
- UK chart peak: Number 32
- US chart peak: Number 108 (Billboard Hot 100)
- Album: Milk and Honey (released 27 January 1984)
- Recorded: 1980, during the Double Fantasy sessions at the Hit Factory, New York
- Producer: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas
Frequently Asked Questions
When was ‘Borrowed Time’ by John Lennon released?
‘Borrowed Time’ was released in the United Kingdom on 9 March 1984 and in the United States on 14 May 1984. It was the second single from the posthumous album Milk and Honey.
What album is ‘Borrowed Time’ from?
‘Borrowed Time’ is from Milk and Honey, the posthumous John Lennon and Yoko Ono album released on 27 January 1984 — what would have been Lennon’s 43rd birthday. The song was recorded in 1980 during the Double Fantasy sessions at the Hit Factory in New York.
What was the B-side of ‘Borrowed Time’?
The UK single featured Yoko Ono’s ‘Your Hands’ as its B-side. The 12-inch version added ‘Never Say Goodbye’ from Ono’s 1982 album It’s Alright (I See Rainbows), written about her grief following Lennon’s murder.
How did ‘Borrowed Time’ chart?
The UK single reached number 32. The US single, released on 14 May 1984, peaked at number 108 on the Billboard Hot 100.
When were the Double Fantasy sessions recorded?
The Double Fantasy sessions took place at the Hit Factory in New York between August and October 1980. They produced both Double Fantasy (released November 1980) and the material that became Milk and Honey (released January 1984). Lennon was murdered on 8 December 1980, three weeks after Double Fantasy was released.
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