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On first listen, I thought this was a straightforward ode to the joys of cunnilingus. Turns out there’s more to it than that. Says yr Wikipedia:
The lyrics of ”Going Down on Love“ reflect Lennon’s feelings during his so-called “lost weekend” separation from wife Yoko Ono. As such, it sets the tone for the entire Walls and Bridges album.
I’m not sure where May Pang, whom Lennon was with at the time of recording, fits into this equation. It’s not impossible that the ’pedia is — gasp — wrong about this, and ”GDoL” is in fact Lennon begging Pang’s forgiveness for some inconsiderate fuckup, as he did so often with Yoko.
Lennon laments the fact that even though his life at the time looked like fun, he actually needed to be rescued from his pleasure seeking, loveless situation. The singer accepts his loss of his “precious and rare” love as the price for his past abuses.
He’s getting on his knees to beg forgiveness, you see. Clever, John. There’s a nod here to the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,’” which includes the lines:
Baby, baby, I’d get down on my knees for you
If you would only love me like you used to do, yeah
There’s also a reference to “Help” at 1:14 (“somebody please, please help me”). This appears to have been a last-minute addition to the lyrics, a little wink from Beatle John to his fans.
In his writeup on “Going Down,” Joe over at The Beatles Bible says:
Lennon recorded home demos of the song in the early summer of 1974, along with several other songs that were recorded during the Walls And Bridges sessions. At that stage, ‘Going Down On Love’ was recorded separately on both acoustic guitar and piano, in a style which revealed the depression that was intermittently clouding Lennon’s life.
A demo version can be found on a murky bootleg called Something Rare and Precious:
Another clip from the sessions — 54 seconds of John imploring his band to keep it simple — appeared on the John Lennon Anthology, now out of print. It is not available on any streaming platform, but since I have the CDs, I don’t think Yoko would mind my sharing:
“We’re having enough trooble, you know, just keeping the rhythm,” says John. But the arrangement would grow more complex as recording continued, as tends to happen. Musicians can’t help themselves.
A simpler version might have been better; all the trimmings somewhat blunt the emotional impact of the song. As is, “Going Down on Love” is not the most exciting album opener ever, nor is it the worst. OK, what’s next?