Imagine by John Lennon
62One of the most famous songs of all time...
John Lennon was very well known and loved for his outspoken opinions on politics and war. He spoke about what many people believed at the time to be events that were beyond their control, but Lennon refused to stay silent and voiced his opinions via music.
"Imagine" was one of Lennon's greatest songs and shows perfectly how he thought of the world and his views on life. The song itself was written by Lennon to talk about a world where divides between people did not exist. Divides such as religion, race money etc caused problems and prevented people from living together peacefully. Lennon's song is telling us to imagine a world where there are no divides and therefore no war.
It was a part of the album by the same name released in 1971, it reached the number 1 spot in the UK music chart and number 3 in the USA. This showed the range of people who were moved by Lennon's word and he actually wrote the song in such a way that it would appeal to as many people as possible.
It has been said that Yoko Ono played a big part in writing the song as well as providing the ideas and inspiration for Lennon to use. Die hard Lennon fans will most likely reject this but Lennon himself once admitted the part that Ono played and that it was his pride and selfishness that prevented him from mentioning her contribution at the time.
Imagine by John Lennon Video
The meaning of the Imagine Video...
Some people have suggested that there is a subtle message being transmitted in the video for Imagine as well. As you can see from the video above, Lennon is dressed as a cowboy and Yoko Ono is dressed as an Indian, two types of people who have by traditional been at war with each other.
Yet in this video they are sitting side by side in peace.
Imagine by John Lennon - The Lyrics...
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
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Wow. John Lennon has been one of my favorite artists since I was a child. Read a lot of interesting stuff on John and heard all his records. I've only been in New York once but I had to visit The Dakota & Strawberry Fields while I was there. Thanks for your hub on John.
My son's favourite song, and I was hooked too. Thank you.
why is it that there are many people who criticize this song? especially the lyrics "Imagine there is no heaven". According to them, why should we imagine there's no heaven when it's actually the throne of God? According to them, why should we reject heaven? Boy, are they that ignorant and narrow-minded? My own interpretation of that particular line is: If we imagine there's no heaven, can we still do good things? Some people would do good things to enjoy what "heaven promises", an eternal life. What if there's no heaven, would you still be what you have been doing for so long? If there is no hell as well, would you start doing bad things? How I pity these people who are ignorant...thanks for hub! Long live John Lennon! Long live humanity!
John Lennon was a beliver in Karma. Does the song "Imagine" have anything to do with karma?
I am a peaceful person and the lyrics in this song made me realize a long time ago that I'm not alone in my wishes for peaceful existence with others. Sometimes the world seems to close in on me, but I still have hope and try to generate love and harmony to those around me. If people would try to be more patient and tolerant of each other, what a wonderful world we could live in indeed! I think Lennon would have made even more of a difference in this world, had he been allowed to stay. This is a powerful song...
wow good social comment
I interpret this song and the phrases "imagine theres no heaven" and "no hell below us" as not diminishing the idea of god, but diminishing the idea of people putting others in category's of good and bad, and judging people telling them whether they are going to heaven or hell, and saying, you should be good to get to heaven. people should be good because they love eachother and they want peace in there lives, lennon I think was trying to portray this, I have heard however he was an athiest, or perhaps agnostic, but just because he had no religon does not mean he was a bad person, religon does limit people into certain minds of thinking, categorizing and judgement on onesselve, and others. it does cause war. I beileve there is a god, and I have my own beilefs on what that is, but I don't think i should dwell on it as a religion, because, I don't know anything really, about after I die, and I wont until that day comes, therefore, I can't live my life dwelling in it, I live in peace and love for people. I think that is what Lennon means when he blots out religion, heaven and hell in his songs.
I find it odd that John didn't find room in this song to "imagine" if there were no dictators, no corrupt press, no corrupt science and last but not least "imagine" if there was no abortion.
JUST IMAGINE EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!! WE CAN DO IT
SunSeven 4 years ago
Thank you so much for this beautiful Hub Paddy. This is one of my all time favorite songs. I really love this song.
"Divides such as religion, race money etc caused problems and prevented people from living together peacefully. Lennon's song is telling us to imagine a world where there are no divides and therefore no war."
This world would have been a million times better if that imagination become reality.
Best Regards