I had to drive to Falls Church and back today, and during that time, I heard the song "Imagine" by John Lennon not once but twice. Can I just say that I absolutely loathe that song? It's really catchy and I like the piano that goes with it, but the lyrics drive me bonkers. A few of them include:
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
When I try to imagine these things, I pretty much end up picturing us all going back to being cave men. Living life for today? So John is suggesting here that we all quit our jobs and go to the beach? But then who would be growing the food? Who would be building houses? It may sound like a good idea if you're wealthy beyond normal people's wildest dreams and you have no concept of how the world (and the economy) works, but realistically, that's about the worst idea ever.
No religion? What is the meaning of life if you take religion out of it? No countries and no possessions? What's wrong with having different countries? I like that different places have different rules, so hopefully if you don't like the rules of the land where you live, you might be able to go some place better (although usually it doesn't work that way, I realize). Which country's rules are we going to follow if we do away with all boundaries? And no possessions? Who honestly wants to give up all their possessions? I'm not saying that material things are going to bring you happiness, but honestly-- everyone has at least a few things that they cherish and I think that's just fine, whether it's your teddy, your journal, or your car. And now that I'm thinking about it, I don't recall John Lennon ever giving away all his worldly possessions... Did he do that and I just missed it? Maybe Yoko Ono gave away all of Lennon's things after his death as a way of "keeping his dream alive"?
But the line that really kills me is, "Nothing to kill or die for." If there's nothing worth dying for, then there's nothing worth living for, either. I can think of lots of things I would kill or die for-- my family, for starters (and I'm including everyone there: husband, children, parents, sisters, in-laws; all of you out there); my beliefs; freedom for myself and for others. (I'm not actually out fighting for these freedoms but I'm grateful that we have a military that is.) If you took all these things away from me, I wouldn't want to go on living any more. There would be no point.
Anyway. I hope I didn't just ruin this song for you by overthinking it, but it doesn't take a whole lot of thought to really destroy it.
And John? You may not be the only one, but I hope there aren't too many other dreamers like you. I can't imagine a much worse world than what you've cooked up for us.
6 comments:
Ditto!!!!
Yeah, I think you've pretty much summed it up. Just think, Alanna, if you'd lived in Greece back in the day, you could have had the intellectual prowess to rub shoulders with Aristotle. Such a philosopher you are!
Hm, does "living for today" really mean neglecting responsibility? I suppose it can, if you choose to interpret it that way. But I choose not to. Wasn't there a talk in conference a few years back about living in the present? That's how I like to think of it. I should keep the past in mind, but try not to dwell in it and am mindful of the future, but not obsessively worried about it. We should try to "live for today" in that way, which if we truly do then we will uphold our responsibilities.
And I can see where he's coming from on the no countries and no religion. If you fail to look past the surface then the majority of wars seem to be caused by nationalism or religion. He simply has failed to realize that religion and nationalism are just the excuses people use to start wars, not the real reasons for them.
So, as I interpret these verses, his dream is simply that of living in a world where people are at peace with themselves and with others. I don't think there's anything wrong with that - he just didn't express that dream accurately.
I totally agree with you, Alanna. That song drives me nuts. It's just another hippy song that was probably written while he was on crack or something crazy. I liked the Beatles a lot more before they started using drugs and thinking they were all that.
Erin, I like your interpretation better, but when I think about Woodstock (which is still held up as the ideal hippie party), I have a hard time believing that this song has anything to do with taking responsibility for yourself. (I heard somewhere about the weeks it took to clean up the mess once Woodstock was over; I'd be willing to bet money that none of the flower children stuck around for THAT part of it!)
And Natalie, just so you know, I'm pretty sure that "Imagine" was written by John Lennon after the Beatles had split apart. So while they did have plenty of druggie songs in their repertoire, this is not one of them.
Such a good explanation, Alanna!
I remember liking this song when I was about 12--never really listening to the words. Then one time when Luke and I were driving around, it came on the radio and I mentioned that I thought it was pretty. He instantly lectured on me why I was wrong. For the rest of the drive. It was a similar speech to this. I've never been able to enjoy it since.
I'm glad I have so many smart people around me! :)
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