The album is very
Lennon was asking us to see a place where things that divide people did not exist. He thought that would be a much better place.
This first song is a political message that is in a beautiful melody. Lennon realized that the softer approach would bring the song to a wider audience, who hopefully would listen to his message.
When Neil Young covered this song, just after 9/11, he changed the lyric to "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if I can..." In this way, Young was acknowledging his own wealth. People claim that Young was taking Lennon down from his high horse, in the sense that people think that John was implying that he was above everyone else, that he could imagine all these things. I don't believe that's true. The fact
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He got the initial idea from Yoko Ono’s book Grapefruit.
Some people have wondered if Lennon included a message in the video for this song as well. In the video, Lennon is dressed as a cowboy and Yoko Ono is dressed as an Indian squaw. This could be a kind of message about all cultures getting along.
Lennon wrote this on a brown Steinway upright piano. Once, George Michael paid over $2 million for the piano that Lennon wrote this on, and then returned it to the Beatles museum in Liverpool. John's piano has since been taken on tour to various world locations promoting peace.
Some listeners had a problem with the "no possessions" line, finding Lennon hypocritical since he was so well-off. Yoko Ono addressed this in a 1998 interview with Uncut, where she stated regarding her husband's intentions: "He sincerely wished that there would be a time when all of us could feel happy without getting too obsessive about material goods."
This was not released as a single in the UK until 1975, when it hit #6. Shortly after Lennon's death in 1980, it was re-released in the UK and hit #1. It was replaced at #1 by Lennon's "Woman," marking the first time an artist replaced himself on top of the UK charts since The Beatles followed "She Loves You" with "I Want To Hold Your
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Ringo Starr played drums on this and Klaus Voorman played bass.
On September 21, 2001, Neil Young performed this on a benefit telethon for the victims of the terrorist attacks on America. Almost 60 million people watched the special in the US.
At a 2001 tribute special to Lennon, Yolanda Adams sang this with Billy Preston on organ. Preston played keyboards on some Beatles songs, including "Get Back."
Oasis used the piano intro on their 1996 song "Don't Look Back In Anger."
In 2002, this came in #2 in a poll by Guinness World Records as Britain's favorite single of all time. It lost to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
This has been covered by many bands, including Our Lady Peace, and a vastly toned down version by A Perfect Circle. Jack Johnson recorded it for the 2007 compilation Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. >>
This song plays a role in the movie Forrest Gump. Gump (played by Tom Hanks) appears on a talk show with Lennon, talking about a place where there are "no possessions" and "no religion." It's implied that Gump gave Lennon the idea for this
In the song he states, “I can plow a field all day long/ I can catch catfish from dusk ‘till dawn/ We make our on whiskey and our own smoke, too/ Ain’t too many things these old boys can’t do.” In addition, He stated, “But he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife/ For 43 dollars my friend lost his life/ I’d love to spit some beech nut in that dude’s eyes/ And shoot him with my old 45.” The author is really trying to persuade everyone that they can do pretty much anything to live on their own because that is how they are raised and that if you mess with one of them; you got it coming your way.
The song sends a positive and peaceful aura; John Lennon hopes we can all live as one. He establishes his credibility, or ethos, by being one of the original
Tomasky, Michael. A. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez & More Music at 1963’s March on Washington. 27 August 2013.
Furthermore the famous artist john Lennon ex member of the popular rock group the Beatles, recorded a song called “Give peace a chance “in 1969,this song is an effective and artful protest of the warm since everyone sings together in harmony, demonstrating how people can find common ground in their protest of the
First I would like to describe in detail my analysis of the first version which was recorded live from London in 1972. This particular version of the song is performed by Stan Kenton's big band orchestra.
What is the song about and what is its historical context? Outline what happened, who was involved, when it occurred and key places. Are there any lyrics that answer these questions? If so, use these to support your answer. (HS3 & 4)
Bob Dylan was an artist that recorded protest music. He recorded “Times Are A-Changin” in 1963. The lines “There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows, rattle your walls” are a reference to the Vietnam War. At first, you think he is trying to get the public to not try to understand the war. In all reality, he was talking about how confused and frustrated at how many parents sons’ and daughters were sent to war. Another song by him is “Blowin’ in the Wind” and it became an anthem for the civil rights era. “Chimes of Freedom” by Bob Dylan is another protest song. He uses imagery from wind, hurricanes, etc. to tell a bigger
One of the differences is that in the passage he was basically saying that it doesn't matter what color you are or what race you are it does not matter if you black, white, fat, skinny, or to young or to old everybody should get equal rights. He wants to tell everybody that whoever you are or if you are rich or poor the United States of America is for everyone not just the rich people or upper class people. Woody Guthrie does not want to quit he wants to just sing the good songs and fight the bad songs. In the USA there is a lot of hate and Woody Guthrie wants to fix all that controversy in the USA. Those are some differences between the quote and song.
Guns N' Roses covered this on their 1991 album, Use Your Illusion II. They played it in 1992 at a tribute concert for Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, who had died of AIDS. 72,000 people attended the concert, which was held in London's Wembley Stadium. In case you're wondering, towards the end of the end of this version, the man on the telephone
In the begining of the song, he starts out saying, "A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music made me smile. ANd i knew if I had a chance, that i could make those people dance, and maybe they'd be happy for a while." THis line is talking about how when he was a child he listened to great performers of his time and how he could do the same and make other teenagers happy with his song and make them want to dance and be merry.
...f starvation (New York Times). This is most likely Lennon's motive for this line. In the final line of the track, Lennon sings “a brotherhood of man”. This line single handedly summarizes Lennon's entire motive for writing the song.
“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.” This song makes you stop and think. Even today the lyrics are relevant. John Lennon had been at one time part of the Beatles. One of the most influential rock and roll bands of all time. Lennon, the former guitarist for the legendary music group, set out for a solo career. He composed the song “Imagine” along with his wife, Yoko Ono. The song asks us to imagine the world at peace.
In 1969 the couple held a "Bed-In for Peace" on their honeymoon; Lennon wrote and recorded "Give Peace a Chance". Which was released as a single, it became a popular anti-war anthem and was sung by a quarter of a million demonstrators against the Vietnam War in Washington, DC, on 15 November, the second Vietnam Moratorium Day. In December, they paid for billboards in 10 cities around the world which declared, in the national language, "War Is Over! If You Want It". Lennon and Ono moved to New York in August 1971, and became involved in the protest against the imprisonment of John Sinclair, who had been given a ten-year prison sentence for giving two joints to an undercover police woman. In December, Lennon sang at the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, to call attention to the case and suddenly Sinclair was released from the states authorities three days after, which to some showed the potential force of popular pressure.
Kennedy, possibly the most admired and respected presidents in American history, was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in November of 1963. (McAdams.edu) His assassination not only politically injured the entire United States, but also culturally, the lives of all Americans were negatively impacted. By the time the British Invasion had begun in America, less than 5 months later, The Beatles had already written, produced and released nearly 100 songs. The Beatles message of peace and love allowed Americans, who were paralyzed by the death of not only their leader, but also their symbol of hope, to feel safe and be distracted from their loss. Stated by John Lennon in his song Working Class Hero, “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” (UTexas.edu) This displays The Beatles incredible admiration of love and peace, one of the many reasons they were able to grow into the astonishment they
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps Lyrics - The Beatles." PERSONAL WEB PAGES - home.att.net. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .