Natalie+Chu

John Lennon





Natalie Chu Engl 101 Artist Analysis Paper Due: 10/26/10 Imagine Giving Peace a Chance  Once a Beatles band member from 1957-1970, John Lennon had moved on to lead his own path as a singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist. It all started on October 9, 1940 when John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. Lennon’s love for singing was encouraged by his mother, Julia, who had bought him his first guitar in 1957. Not too long after that, Lennon started the Beatles with Paul McCartney. The Beatles became one of the most successful bands in history. Songs such as “Let It Be,” “Yesterday,” and “In My Life” contributed to the Beatles’ worldwide fame. Due to personal disagreements, the Beatles broke up in 1970. After the Beatles, Lennon was best known as a peace icon of the 1970’s (John Lennon- Biography). During his solo career, Lennon mainly wrote songs about world peace. Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s John Lennon wrote some of the most famous anti-war protest songs. Two of the most powerful works of Lennon are “Imagine” and “Give Peace a Chance.” Both of which include much meaning behind the lyrics and music.  The song “Imagine” was written in 1971 and in 2004, it was recognized as the number 3 greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine (The Rolling Stone Magazine). “Imagine” is basically Lennon’s ideal world of peace. The music behind the lyrics sets the mood to carry out the effectiveness of the song. A soft melody, mainly piano, plays in the background of the lyrics. This relaxing melody intends to clear the mind so you can focus on the lyrics. The dreamy melody corresponds with the title of the song, “Imagine.” The lyrics in this song describe what many would call a Utopian world because it envisions a perfect world without war or hatred. The first verse of the song begins as 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 (John Lennon- Imagine) In this verse Lennon expresses the idea of a world without religion. Heaven and hell would not exist. People would only live for the present instead of worrying about what happens after death. This verse suggests that religion separates individuals because of their certain beliefs and traditions. If we could diminish that separation, we could all live for today and share the world among us. The next verse of the song introduces the idea of a world without countries. 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 (John Lennon- Imagine) Lennon expresses the idea that war would not exist in a world without countries. A world without countries means that there is neither land nor political disagreements to dispute over. Therefore nobody would have to die in wars or battles. Also in the verse, Lennon again brings up the idea of no religion. According to Lennon, without religion and countries we can all live in peace because we are as one. The chorus of this song is Lennon’s plea for the world to consider joining his beliefs and ideals. 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 (John Lennon- Imagine) The first line of this verse explains that Lennon knows that these ideals of a Utopian world are farfetched. However, he knows he is not the only one who wants peace. If only we all wanted it and strived to achieve it, someday there will be peace in the world. The closing verse introduces the idea of a world without possessions. 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 (John Lennon- Imagine) This verse simply expresses the idea that without possessions, greed would not exist and we could all share the world together in peace. Without possessions there would be nothing to fight over. Lennon’s main purpose of this song was to ask people in the world to simply imagine his idea of a perfect world. If only we could diminish the ways of separation, we could all live in peace. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Another powerful work of John Lennon is “Give Peace a Chance.” On May 31, 1969 John Lennon and his newlywed wife, Yoko Ono, gave birth to “Give Peace a Chance.” The song was composed during Lennon and Ono’s bed-in honeymoon in Montreal. “Give Peace a Chance” became an anthem of the anti-war campaign against the Vietnam War. This song is unique because there is no chorus. Instead, each verse of the song ends with the same two lines. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">All we are saying is give peace a chance All we are saying is give peace a chance (John Lennon- Give Peace a Chance) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Those two lines are pretty much self explanatory and summarize the message of this song. The first verse says <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Ev'rybody's talking about Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism This-ism, that-ism Isn't it the most All we are saying is give peace a chance All we are saying is give peace a chance (John Lennon- Give Peace a Chance) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Words such as Bagism and Shagism were made up by Lennon to mock religion. Again Lennon expresses his anti-religion viewpoint. In this verse Lennon is saying that religion is obsolete in the peace movement. The following two verses send the same message about Lennon’s view about religious figures and countries. All he is trying to say is that they do not contribute to the peace movement. The last verse transitions into a different idea. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Oh Let's stick to it Ev'rybody's talking about John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy smothers, Bob Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek Tayor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna All we are saying is give peace a chance All we are saying is give peace a chance (John Lennon- Give Peace a Chance) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In this verse, Lennon recognizes other anti-war leaders. He makes all those leaders seem like a team. All together they are fighting for peace. The melody behind the music is fast paced with many instruments involved including guitars, drums, and tambourine. The fast paced melody may have suggested that Lennon wanted this peace movement to move at a faster pace. All the instruments involved could symbolize all the peace activists that Lennon mentioned in the lyrics. Altogether, this song is meant match togetherness and peace. It is a plea to “give peace a chance.” <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Both of these songs display John Lennon’s talents as a musical artist and peace activist. These songs influenced people to join him in the quest for peace. John Lennon truly defined a decade with his powerful music. Unfortunately, on December 8, 1980 John Lennon was assassinated outside of a New York apartment building. The murderer, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon four times in the back until he died. The motive for the assassination was undeclared. Most believe that it was just another celebrity homicide committed by a crazy person. There are many theories to why John Lennon was killed on that fateful day. Most believe that it was just another celebrity homicide committed by a crazy person. Some believe that Chapman was hired by Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, and others believe that he was hired by a politician ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">John-Lennon.com) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">. Sadly, the truth may never be revealed. However, John Lennon will always be remembered for his great works as an artist and peace activist. He has left behind a legacy that will be praised for generations to come. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">(New York Gallery) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A tribute to John Lennon located in Central Park, New York <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">

[|Imagine]