TheEvilNuggetCrackDown: "Imagine" - John Lennon

So, here's a song I didn't think would get as much hate on this website as it does. It's regarded as one of the best songs of all time by many people and currently is ranked at number 3 on the list of best songs of all time on this website. However, many people think that this song has very questionable lyrics, stating that the desires John talks about in the song are rather undesirable. So, today I am here to crack open John Lennon's legendary hit "Imagine" and see whether or not it really deserves the criticism that it gets.

Let's start off by talking about John Lennon himself in his career. So, obviously John Lennon started out as the lead singer of The Beatles, probably the most popular and acclaimed band that ever existed. Now, I believe the Beatles to be the greatest band everl, while they aren't my favorite band ever, they are probably the greatest band ever. They influenced so many things that we use today, they were basically the start of what we call modern music, there is no band that has had a greater influence on the music industry Than the Beatles did. All of those bands that you like; Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Linkin Park; all of those bands are in some way influenced by the Beatles. None of those bands would probably exist or at least make the same kind of music they do if it weren't for the Beatles. You see, before the Beatles, music was less Rock-y, and I say that as if you were go back to the thirties, forties, and fifties, you would see that music was a lot more calm, less edgy, less rock and roll, however, when the Beatles came along they changed that. While there were Rock acts before the Beatles, no act quite got rock to where it was until 1964. After that there was a giant tidal wave of rock bands that came out and there have been a ton of rock bands that have come out since then and there are still rock bands coming out today that would not exist if it weren't for John Lennon and his friends.

With all of this power right at his fingertips, John Lennon didn't take the normal route and get full of himself or anything. Well, he did do some very cocky things such as saying he was more popular than Jesus, which in retrospect he was very much right because in the 1960s The Beatles were the most popular thing ever, even more popular than Jesus. He wasn't saying that they were better than Jesus but he was saying they were more popular than Jesus which, while a true statement was probably not the most appropriate thing to say. But other than incidents like that, he didn't do much that was being selfish. He was a man of peace. He really wanted everybody to get along and the whole world to live as one, and so a testament to this is probably his most famous song, "Imagine". In this song he writes of the things that would need to be attained in order to gain peace and cooperation on Earth. While it's typically acclaimed by critics, many people, not just on this website but on the internet and general, claim that this song is anti-religious for certain lyrics or that most of the things stated in here are undesirable, and I'm here to talk about that.

So let's start out with the more common criticism, the criticism that the things stated in the song are undesirable. For example: "Imagine no possessions" or lyrics like: "Imagine there's no countries". Things that are essential to basic economy. These are things that probably can't and will not go away anytime soon, and for good reason too because they are actually very desirable things. Countries help keep the world balanced and diverse and possessions keep everybody to themselves and give other people privacy. While John is saying that these things are desirable to get rid of, he really isn't saying it in the way that you would think. You see, to examine this you have to first look at the song title, the song title is "Imagine". It isn't "Change". He doesn't actually want these things to happen, he's just saying imagine if we were able to let go of these things and we found a way to function without them, then we could all come together as one. There would be no countries to separate us, there would be no possessions to separate us, we could all live together as one and not be so separated and at war with each other all the time. He isn't saying that we need to get rid of those things because he knows that that is a very big deal and those are things that you can't very easily get rid of. He is saying imagine getting rid of them as in the way that girls imagine their first date with their dream guy. That's not really how they wanted to go down, they want it to be special, they want it to be unique, they don't want it to be exactly how their fantasies are. And that's the same thing with John Lennon. He doesn't want the world to be exactly the same as his fantasies, he's just imagining what it could be like if his fantasies were true. He isn't saying that we need to get rid of countries and possessions, he saying that those are the things that separate us and imagine if they weren't there or at least weren't barriers in the way of us all living together as one.

Now let's talk about the other criticism that is a lot more controversial. The lyric "Imagine there's no heaven" is the first lyric of the song and does offend certain people, especially religious people. I can see why people would be offended by this line as he's basically saying "imagine that heaven didn't exist wouldn't that be cool?" Now, you could interpret that he's saying that, but if you look delve deeper into it that isn't what he's saying at all you. See, when you look at the world, what is the one thing that separates us the most? Religion. Religion is what starts most wars. Religion is what many people died fighting for. Religion is the thing that people fight over the most. People fight over religion more than money, more than music, more than love. People fight over religion to the maximum, religion has caused millions on millions of deaths and segregation of nations. Now, I'm not going to say religion is bad. Religion is a great thing and if done properly it's a beautiful thing. However, there's a lot of people that don't use religion as a good thing, and they use it as a reason to kill, to manipulate, to cheat, and to lie. And John is saying is "imagine if there was no religion". This kind of relates to the previous lyrics as he's not saying that there shouldn't be religion, he's saying: "Imagine if there wasn't, imagine how much easier it would be for people to get along if there were no religion. There wouldn't be people dying all the time because people are fighting over which God they believe in, people could all be together as one and not worry about what happens after death or worry about what is above them or below them and not worry about going to heaven or hell. We could all live together as we choose under one sun. He isn't saying religion is bad, he saying that religion can be used for bad.

So in conclusion, I believe that this song has earned its place as one of the greatest songs of all time. It is a beautiful song that makes points about society that are hard to face but in all reality are true, and he says them in a very elegant manner and he isn't trying to upset anyone, he is merely pointing out what nobody previously had the balls to say. This is why I say that "Imagine" is one of the greatest songs of all time. So all-in-all I believe the criticism is reasonable and I see where it comes from, but I do not agree with it

Also, on a side note, this isn't even my favorite John Lennon song...

Comments

"He was a man of peace."

Didn't he beat up his wife? I'm sure he forgave her but still... - djpenquin999

ok - djpenquin999

By the way, Kanye's video for Famous dropped. You should do a rant on that. - djpenquin999

If I were to do a Kanye rant, I'd collectively do a "Kanye Rant", not just specifically about the video. But I will think about it, he is insufferable. - visitor

I like Kanye's music, but in the video, he made a nude wax figure of Taylor Swift (and other celebs like Breezy, Trump, Caitlyn, Riri) without her permission. That is 90% of the video and the other 10% is some random star while it plays Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1. - djpenquin999

Exactly, I'd do a rant on his personality. - visitor

ok - djpenquin999

I really like this song - Martinglez

Me too evidently, lol. - visitor