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2011

![real-love-the-drawing-for-sean-min](https://www.johnlennon.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/real-love-the-drawing-for-sean-min-e1518523548833.jpg)

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# Real Love: The Drawings For Sean

> ‘Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,
> beautiful boy…’
>
> – John Lennon, 1980

By John Lennon, adapted by Al Naclerio from drawings by John Lennon.

Foreword by Yoko Ono:

‘1975, John became the father of a very special boy: Sean. John was ecstatic. “I’m going to raise this baby, Yoko. You do the business.” he said. It was that simple.

John was a great daddy. He tried to do everything so right. I would come back from a hard day of work and find John waiting for me to report what took place that day.

“Sean was sneezing this morning. Maybe he’s getting a cold.”

“Sean needs more winter things. We have to go shopping.”

Then pretty soon it became, “Sean did this all by himself.” And John would proudly show me some squiggly lines Sean had drawn on paper. They were Sean’s first drawings.

John had every one of Sean’s drawings framed. We suddenly had many, many framed drawings by Sean adorning the walls of our Dakota apartment. Then I began to find John and Sean drawing together. John would draw something and explain to Sean what it was.

“This is a cat napping, Sean.”

“Oh.”

Then it was Sean’s turn. He would show his drawings and explain, “This is a bus, and these are the people who want to get on the bus, but they can’t because the bus is too small… so they’re crying.”

John would write what Sean had said underneath the drawings as titles. They became long, beautiful, and imaginative titles. Sometimes, John would ask Sean what he thought John was drawing. Sean would say, “That’s a horsey.” and that would become the title of John’s drawing. They would make each other laugh, and that was how Sean learned the fun of drawing, the fun of doing things together with his dad, and the fun of life.

The drawings were done in the spirit of laughter… and lots and lots of love.’

— Yoko Ono, 1999