Twenty-nine years back, a random gunman (okay, we all know his name, but he was a random guy all the same) shot down one of the most popular voices of the 20th century.
Whether you love John Lennon, or hate him (and few people who have heard of him do not fall into either category), you have to admit the relevance of his words.
The day George Bush Sr. sent his missiles into Iraq, I was with a bunch of undergrads who sat in the lobby of the University main building singing Imagine and Blowin' in the Wind. He wrote the words the year I was born, and the words are as relevant today as they ever were. And they will continue to be so till the world he imagines does become a reality.
To me, each word of the song is a prayer-
Imagine there's no HeavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for todayImagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peaceYou may say that I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as oneImagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungerA brotherhood of manImagine all the peopleSharing all the worldYou may say that I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will live as one
John Lennon
(9 October, 1940 to 8 December, 1980)
Requiescat in Pace
5 comments:
Great tribute! Thanks for sharing this...
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
thanks for this! I lived in a little logging town in British Columbia when he was shot and we didn't even hear about it for months! I love that man!
I remember I heard the news on the car radio. It was one of those moments you instantly knew you'd remember for the rest of your life.
Elspeth
@ Elizabeth - thanks. Love him or hate him, the man has shaped entire generations of people
@ Jan - and I think I was just about discovering him at that time. Thanks for sharing your story.
@ Elspeth - there are so many of those moments in your life, aren't there?
I LOVED HIM. Thanks for this.
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