Step 7:
difference.
In my opinion, "Radiohead" doesn't make a difference. Therefore, I choose to write
about another song who does make a difference and have powerful words – Imagine, by
John Lennon.
John Lennon burn in 9 October 1940 and assassinated in 8 December 1980.
He was a 20th-century English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist who gained
worldwide fame as one of the founders of "The Beatles".
Lennon and Paul McCartney formed a critically acclaimed and commercially successful
partnership writing songs for the Beatles and other artists. Lennon, with his cynical edge
and knack for introspection, and McCartney, with his storytelling optimism and gift for
melody, complemented one another uniquely. In his solo career, Lennon wrote and
recorded songs such as "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance".
John Lennon has been exhumed in print more than any other popular musical figure,
including the late Elvis Presley, of whom Lennon said that he "died when he went into
the army". Such was the cutting wit of a deeply loved and sadly missed giant of the
twentieth century. As a member of the world's most successful group ever, he changed
lives, mostly for the better. Following the painful collapse of The Beatles, he came out a
wiser but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono, he attempted to transform
the world through non-musical means.
His most creative year was 1971. Following the album Lennon released another strong
single, "Power to the people". After his move to New York, the follow-up Imagine was
released in October. Whilst the album immediately went to number one internationally, it
was a patchy collection.
Musically "Imagine" is extraordinarily simple, but the combination of that simplicity and
the timeless lyrics make it one of the finest songs of the century.
Analyze for the song "Imagine" –
(I add the lyrics in the next page)
Imagine was as lush and melodic as anything John Lennon had created since the breakup of the Beatles.
If you don’t understand why so many people love John Lennon, you don’t lack
imagination, you lack Imagine. Like his last record, John continues to tear down the
barrier between artist and audience, making another personal record but without the pain
this time.
In the first verse John Lennon sings about forgetting about heaven and hell. He wants us
to imagine being free. I guess a symbol for the freedom is the sky. John speaks about
taking away the pressure, which is created by the wish to be good or the fear to be bad,
and he wants us to forget the limits between good and bad. He says it is all the same
thing, the sky.
John makes the countries and the borders responsible for the war and murder in the
world. In that song he says we would not have a reason to kill if borders and religions
disappeared. He wants us again to imagine this situation.
John is speaking about a lot of people, who are also dreaming about peace and he asks
the audience to dream about peace and to act for peace, too.
He wants to share his imaginations and to reconcile the whole world.
John makes religion, possession and countries responsible for war. But he never accuses
the people. Believing in the good nature the human being, he tells his listeners that he is
"not the only one" who believes in peace and freedom.
And John has the big hope that one day everybody will be like he is.
Lennon painted a picture of a world without country borders, hell, possession, hunger,
greed and especially without religions. A deeply faithful human being will protest and
reject those thoughts about religion.
An atheist will agree.
Imagine stayed in the top 10 in England for about 18 weeks. In the USA the album was
.also on top and stayed in the charts for about 30 weeks
"Imagine" is an anti-religious, anti-national, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but
just with sugar…
And that is why it has been accepted by the people.
John Lennon was a very interesting person - he was not afraid of doing mistakes and he
never gave up his determination.
I guess John was too extreme.
For me peace without war is impossible. They are two things which depend on each
other. Indeed, peace all over the world must be our aim, but I doubt we will ever reach it.
But let's hope that maybe one day John Lennon's imagination will become reality.