the lyrics of "going down on love" reflect lennon's feelings during his so-called "" separation from wife yoko ono. as such, it sets the tone for the entire "walls and bridges" album. 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. authors chip madinger and mark easter describe the lyrics as being as frank as the lyrics of the songs on "john lennon/plastic ono band". ben urish and ken bielen describe the lyrics as "bleak."