Imagine by John Lennon
It’s 1971 and the Vietnam War has been raging on for over a decade. The American people are furious with our involvement, as they should be; we had no business there. Tensions are high and yet, everyone can only think about reaching peace and deescalating the whole situation. The Beatles just recently broke up, but the individual artists continued to make music, as usual. However, one particular track from John Lennon reached into the hearts of everyone who listened. It’s safe to say that Imagine is what everyone thought and wanted, but formulated into a track that actually catches everyone’s attention.
The song is as simple as it gets; beginning with a soothing piano with John as the only vocals. A few sounds from drums followed by some high strings in the back and you’ve got Imagine. The significance of this song comes the message that John is telling you; its about peace without borders and imagining humanity without the need for materialistic possessions. I listen to it as a reminder for all of us no matter what year we are in, but even more so today as it is fitting for Black Friday with all the craziness.
The 60s were rife with political turmoil. The Vietnam War was still going and civil rights protests and demonstrations were at its peak occurrence. It was a perfect time to reflect on personal opinions and political affiliations since change was happening every single day. Towards the mid-to-end of the 60s, many riots had occurred: the 1967 Newark Riots, and the Holy Week Uprising riots in New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.. We had a pointless war over seas and had an unending war back at home. John Lennon was a huge advocate of ending the Vietnam War and encouraged peaceful, non-violent protesting. Imagine and Give Peace a Chance became the anthems of the anti-war movement that John never intended, but was very grateful for.
It’s kind of weird when I try writing/listening to this song. I’m trying to think of a complexity to it, but there’s obviously nothing there. It wasn’t meant to stir up some creative thinking; it’s just a message and/or a personal opinion that John Lennon wanted to get out there. Anyone who says that it has a deeper meaning is definitely full of it. It’s a song that has no substance which is only saved by its anti-war agenda and I know, not every song has to be thought provoking, but this is coming from A BEATLE. Their music changed the world and this is just a little disappointing coming from one of them.
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
Taken out of context it just looks like someone's thinking “hey you know what would be cool? Imagine...” and it comes off really cheesy. Don’t get me wrong I love this song, but if the topic of the lyrics was changed to literally anything else, it would have been forgotten years ago.










