John Lennon was known to tinker with a song–sometimes for years–before releasing his final take to the public.

In the case of 1973’s “Mind Games,” he ended up with sort of a patchwork affair.

It started in 1969 with a song called “Make Love, Not War,” but then he incorporated some things from a song called “I Promise.”

Finally, in 1972, after reading the book “Mind Games: The Guide to Inner Space” by Robert Masters and Jean Houston, John mixed in some of the ideas from the book with a dash of mysticism and some heartfelt words about love and unity, and after changing the title to match the book, the song was ready for release–as the lead single from his album—which he also named :Mind Games.”

It’s interesting to note that John’s main reason for dropping the “Make Love, Not War” title was because he felt the phrase had bcome too cliché.

“Mind Games” charted in 8 countries…reaching #8 in Australia, #11 in Canada and #16 here in the US. “Mind Games” wasn’t John Lennon’s biggest solo hit…but overall, it’s still worthy of the title: “Great Song of 1973!”

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