Imagine (song)
|
|
Template:Song infobox "Imagine" is a utopian song, with elements of atheism, in reference to solutions to people having conflicts between religions, a common start of hatred. Lennon also references anarchy as a solution to cure conflicts of government, which can also be a common start of hatred.
Written and performed by John Lennon, it appears on his 1971 album Imagine. Unlike some of Lennon’s predesessing singles, Imagine went straight to the top of the charts. Its eloquent title track was also an instant hit. While numerous versions have since come to light, the original's haunting piano and solemn vocal continue to send ripples through the airwaves. The utopian world gives way to self-doubt and insecurities lingering inside the former Beatle.
As Lennon himself has acknowledged, the lyrics have strong Communist overtones. In the song Lennon asks us to imagine his view of a utopia. In this utopia there are "no countries", "no religion", and "no possessions", thus there is "nothing to kill or die for". There is only people "living life in peace" and "sharing all the world".
Some writers see this song as unintentionally self-satirical, as the multimillionaire songwriter is depicted in a film of the song playing a white grand piano in an enormous country house, while inviting us to "Imagine no possessions".
Although the music video is a little contradictory, the song is often used as a celebration of peace. It has often been cited as one of the reasons for causing conflict in the American Army during the Vietnam War.
When the Liverpool airport was named after Lennon, a phrase from the song, "above us only sky", was painted on the ceiling of the terminal. George Galloway quoted the line I'm Not the Only One for the title of his autobiography. The song was used in the last sequence of the film The Killing Fields and was performed during a show commemorating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek.
For the duration of the 1991 Gulf War the BBC banned airplay of Imagine in the UK. The song's peaceful message was not considered appropriate during a period of military conflict.
Acknowledgements
In 1995, the band Oasis released a song called "Don't Look Back in Anger", from their second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. The piano at the beginning of the song is taken from it.
In 1999, BMI named "Imagine" as one of the 100 most performed songs of the 20th century.
Lennon's original recording of "Imagine" appears 23rd in the list of best-selling singles in the UK issued in 2002.
In the UK, the song is regularly voted at or near the top of polls to find the greatest song or single of all time, as in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Singles.
In 2004, the band A Perfect Circle covered the song as a single on the eMOTIVe album.
On January 1, 2005, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) named "Imagine" the greatest song in the past 100 years, as voted by listeners.
Rolling Stone magazine voted "Imagine" the third greatest song of all time.
External links
- Imagine (http://www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/lennon.htm) - covered on "Tribute to Heroes" (9/11/2001) by Neil Young