Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Imagine


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 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

John Lennon
(9 October, 1940 to  8 December, 1980)
Requiescat in Pace

5 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Great tribute! Thanks for sharing this...

Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder

Jan Morrison said...

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!

Elspeth Futcher said...

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

Natasha said...

@ 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?

Deb said...

I LOVED HIM. Thanks for this.

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