John Lennon’s Imagine is ‘heart-chilling’, says bishop in Christmas homily

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Imagine is quite possibly the most powerful, greatest song ever written!

I love it!

It’s message is not anti-everything, it’s about living for today, living in peace, and yes actually imagining a world without religion, Heaven and Hell. A world in the HERE AND NOW!

God Bless John Lennon, rest in peace! Give peace a chance! All you need is Love.
quite true John, quite true.

I hope some day you’ll join us,
a Dreamer.
 
What John Lennon said about Mick Jagger’s dancing back in the '70s, it’s a different era alright. That “Instant Karma” is a good song. “Whatever gets you through the night”, another excellent one. But my favorite is when he did just plain rock and roll songs as one of his albums is titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll.” One wonders what he might have done if he had lived however, I don’t know if his last effort was that strong.
 
Path_Finder said:
What John Lennon said about Mick Jagger’s dancing back in the '70s, it’s a different era alright. That “Instant Karma” is a good song. “Whatever gets you through the night”, another excellent one. But my favorite is when he did just plain rock and roll songs as one of his albums is titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll.” One wonders what he might have done if he had lived however, I don’t know if his last effort was that strong.
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Its strange to think that it was only a few years before Imagine, that the major pop/rock acts like Elvis would sing Gospel and overtly Christian music.
 
This song is much better IMO. 😉
: youtu.be/aVrdXr6_j1s

At least they recognize the works of good and evil. Ultimately, its not a song glamorizing the devil, but more of recognition. I believe the song is about the struggle with addiction.
 
TEPO said:
This song is much better IMO. 😉
: youtu.be/aVrdXr6_j1s

At least they recognize the works of good and evil. Ultimately, its not a song glamorizing the devil, but more of recognition. I believe the song is about the struggle with addiction.
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…in the end, such as with the chorus and especially the last verse -to “get home before daylight” means to recieve salvation.:o
 
bisco1 said:
wow, way to ruin a good song jerry.:rolleyes:
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No way. Im a hard core dead head. See my last post -theres more there than meets the eye. 👍

To get “rest” before daylight means to return to God and regain peace before the coming of “the light” which is Jesus.

…the song could also be interpreted as our whole life experience, with all of our sinfulness done “in the dark”.
 
bisco1 said:
don’t forget the ‘velvet fogg’😛
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Mel Torme’…he wrote “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”, sang, played piano, drums & vibes. Very talented but not as well known as John Lennon.
 
Path_Finder said:
What John Lennon said about Mick Jagger’s dancing back in the '70s, it’s a different era alright. That “Instant Karma” is a good song. “Whatever gets you through the night”, another excellent one. But my favorite is when he did just plain rock and roll songs as one of his albums is titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll.” One wonders what he might have done if he had lived however, I don’t know if his last effort was that strong.
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Definitely agree that Lennon was much stronger in the Beatles than without. So were all of the other Beatles, including McCartney. Another often overlooked great rock’n’roll one - Hey Bulldog, which I think was actually recorded fairly early, just released later. Lennon’s politics and anti-religious stance were annoying and adolescent in my view, but they just reflected the times. It is hard to deny him greatness as an artist. Across the Universe is another one my Lennon favorites - his softer side.
 
bisco1 said:
oh! was jerry catholic? good for him!
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Indeed.

Also, I’ve listened to thousands of GD songs. I can’t think of a single one that doesn’t at least contain one God reference, or at least something pointing towards the supernatural. Even the name Grateful Dead refers to being thankful for life, even if overcome with sin (death).

Jerry spent a lot of his life pondering on the afterlife. Blending religion, philosophy, poetry and music. Oh and of course he explored the depths of the human mind.

…the lyrics of the Beatles are child’s play compared to those of the GD. Two totally different planes as far as I can tell. That’s just me though. 🤷
 
bisco1 said:
i thought he spent a lot of his life doing drugs.😛
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Well it started off as ‘mind expansion’, but unfortunately turned into addiction. He had good and bad aspects just like anyone else, though his intentions were most likely good. I heard he was clean when he passed. I like to think he found peace in Christ before his tragic, premature death.
 
Dpoc41 said:
I’m not a big Lennon fan, or lover of the song -

When an old Liverpool friend saw the wealth he’d accumulated in New York and teased him with the lyrics to Imagine, “remember ‘no possessions’, John, ‘it’s easy if you try’”, the former Beatle’s reply was characteristically, jokingly self-mocking: “It was only a bloody song.”
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Well yes. At the end of the day, it’s just a song.
 
TEPO said:
…this song is called ‘Mission in the Rain’, clearly a Catholic inspired reference considering all the Spanish Missions throughout Garcias home State of California. It’s a very touching song.

youtube.com/watch?v=o0QKIMfJEpU&sns=em
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It just occured to me that in this song, Jerry says that there is sarisfaction in that: whatever falls from the sky, “the mission always looks the same” this is in contrast to all the dreams he has lost in his life because he only did them “halfway”… Jerry loves the unchanging ‘Tradition’ of the Church!

What a remarkable catch, i never noticed that. But you have to hear the song in its entirety to get it. Heres a clearer link -just listen, dont watch. What a powerful message. 👍

Mission in the Rain** 3-17-78…: youtu.be/Lk_SHcIydts
 
The cover of Wake of the Flood is very Biblical. For the casual listener, the album itself probably would be that great to hear though I personally like it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d6/Grateful_Dead_-Wake_of_the_Flood.jpg/220px-Grateful_Dead-_Wake_of_the_Flood.jpg

The band would close their shows actually with a spiritual always, “We bid you goodnight”, one can look for that at youtube.

Jerry Garcia was born Catholic but his household perhaps was not seriously devout and he apparently was not into it very seriously.

I thought I saw a Legion of Mary album cover once that I did not think was very respectful. So, the Grateful Dead are basically, what they are, it is what it is.

They have a song called “The eleven” that would seem to sound like a Biblical concept. So, if one were to study it, one could make a case for them having some positives but one could also probably argue some negatives about them.
 
FollowChrist34 said:
Definitely agree that Lennon was much stronger in the Beatles than without. So were all of the other Beatles, including McCartney. Another often overlooked great rock’n’roll one - Hey Bulldog, which I think was actually recorded fairly early, just released later. Lennon’s politics and anti-religious stance were annoying and adolescent in my view, but they just reflected the times. It is hard to deny him greatness as an artist. Across the Universe is another one my Lennon favorites - his softer side.
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They play Instant Karma on the radio, some of the lyrics I think are quite good.
Better recognize your brothers
Everyone you meet
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metrolyrics.com/instant-karma-lyrics-john-lennon.html

So as a whole, good. Still, he was wild and with all of that success, money and who knows what more just shows he was human as well.

Yes, I’ve heard that “Hey Bulldog”, I still forget how it goes but it seems common for people to point that song out as one of his better ones.
 
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