When “(Just Like) Starting Over” hit the airwaves in October 1980, it wasn’t just a new single — it was the sound of John Lennon stepping back into the spotlight after five years away. He’d spent most of the late ’70s being a stay-at-home dad, baking bread, sailing boats, living life. And this song was him reintroducing himself — not as a Beatle, not as an angry young rebel, but as a man settling in, reflecting, and looking forward.
Nostalgic but Fresh
Musically, “Starting Over” is Lennon wearing his influences on his sleeve. It’s got a big ’50s rock-and-roll vibe — you can practically hear the Elvis and Roy Orbison in the vocal phrasing. But it’s not stuck in the past. There’s a lightness to the production, a sense of ease, like someone rediscovering how much they love doing this.
The lyrics aren’t revolutionary, and that’s the point. It’s a love song to Yoko, to maturity, to new chapters. It’s sincere without being sappy — a grown-up kind of romance, about reconnecting and remembering what matters.
A Hit Overshadowed by Tragedy
Tragically, just weeks after its release, Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York. That horrific event instantly changed how the song was received — turning what was meant as a hopeful beginning into an unintentional farewell.
“Starting Over” was already doing well on the charts, but after Lennon’s death, it rocketed to #1 in both the US and UK. It suddenly became more than just a comeback single. It was a eulogy, a time capsule, a reminder of what could’ve been.
Bittersweet Legacy
Today, “(Just Like) Starting Over” still carries that bittersweet weight. On its own, it’s a solid, charming piece of late-career pop from a guy who was finally starting to enjoy himself again. But it’s impossible to separate it from what followed. That whiff of optimism in the opening bells now feels like a punch in the gut.
It’s not Lennon’s greatest song — he wrote plenty more vital, raw, or revolutionary tracks. But it might be one of his most human. Just a guy, with some years behind him, trying to start again. The tragedy is, he never got the chance to finish what he’d started.