Lennon would again say: Help!

“…I did it because it was commissioned to write it, but later I knew I was crying out for help.” That’s what John Lennon said about one of the most iconic and moving song performed by The Beatles: Help!

It was April 1965 and the British band was experiencing fame in some unprecedented ways for them. They had fun, they enjoyed it, but there was so much adoration and so many commitments that it was overwhelming for them, particularly for John.

And so the song that gave title to the emblematic film directed by Richard Lester and to the album presented by the Beatles in August of that year, while skyrocketing them once again to glory, was a true request for help by the author himself.

And when he performed it, he did so with his Framus Hooteanny 12-string acoustic guitar, the same one that was sold at auction for almost 3 million US dollars at the end of last May.

Someone who has so far remained anonymous won it through a telephone bid, which took place at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York, chosen for that purpose by the auction house Julien's Auctions.

The guitar had remained forgotten in an attic for nearly 50 years. Lennon had given it to Gordon Waller of Peter & Gordon at the end of 1965, after a joint work that included Paul McCartney.

Shortly after, according to the auction house itself, “Waller passed it on to one of his managers, who took it home, kept it in the attic and did not think about it again for decades.”

Now, they have paid millions for that iconic musical instrument that not only accompanied Lennon but also George Harrison during the recording of the next album, Rubber Soul, and with which songs like Michelle, In my life, and Drive my car were composed.

Lennon’s guitar has become the fifth most expensive guitar in history, just behind those of Kurt Cobain, Eddie Van Halen, and David Gilmour.

The news has grabbed several headlines and has spread all over the world while those involved are satisfied. In the case of the auctioneer, they express that “We are absolutely thrilled and honored to have set a new world record with the sale of John Lennon’s lost hootenanny guitar. This guitar is not only a piece of music history, but a symbol of John Lennon’s enduring legacy.”

But no one has paused to think what Lennon himself would have said and felt about the event. Lennon, who not only felt helpless, in need of help and cried out for Help! in the face of the greatness that crushed them, but he also invited, years later, to imagine “that there are no properties,” that “there is no need for ambition or hunger” and he dreamed of “a brotherhood of humanity.”

He also sang: “Imagine all the people sharing all the world. You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us.”

What would Lennon say today about that auction, waiting with his guitar... which now costs 3 million US dollars.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff