John Lennon – Imagine (Live)

“Imagine” – Single by John Lennon from the album Imagine.
B-side: “It’s So Hard” (US) and “Working Class Hero” (UK)
Released: 11 October 1971 (US); 24 October 1975 (UK)
Recorded: 27 May – 4 July 1971
Songwriters: John Lennon, Yoko Ono.

The best-selling single of his solo career, the lyrics encourage listeners to imagine a world of peace, without materialism, without borders separating nations and without religion. Shortly before his death, Lennon said that much of the song’s lyrics and content came from his wife, Yoko Ono, and in 2017 she received co-writing credit.

“Imagine” has sold more than 1.7 million copies in the UK. More than 200 artists have performed or covered the song, including Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Diana Ross. After “Imagine” was featured at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the song re-entered the UK Top 40, reaching number 18, and was presented as a theme song in the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The song remains controversial, as it has been since its release, over its request to imagine “no religion too.

Rolling Stone ranked “Imagine” number three on its list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, describing it as “an enduring hymn of solace and promise that has carried us through extreme grief, from the shock of Lennon’s own death in 1980 to the unspeakable horror of September 11. It is now impossible to imagine a world without ‘Imagine’, and we need it more than he ever dreamed.” Despite that sentiment, Clear Channel Communications (now known today as iHeartMedia) included the song on its post-9/11 “do not play” list.

April 18th, 1975, would mark Lennon’s final live performance as he took part in a televised tribute show for media mogul Sir Lew Grade, a person with whom The Beatles guitarist and singer had shared a chequered history with. Still, Lennon graced the show to perform his iconic song ‘Imagine’ and unbeknownst to the audience, appear on the stage for the final time.

Lyrics
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

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day 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

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Writer/s: John Lennon, Yoko Ono
Publisher: Downtown Music Publishing

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John Lennon - Imagine

IMAGINE - John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band 03:54

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