John Lennon - Your Opinions

[KBarn]

Actress101:

I’ve listened to Imagine plently of times, and personally, I believe that the song wasn’t about non-christianity, but it was about people understanding the fact that peace will overcome all, and that if we concentrate on ourselves and changing who we are, that we can overcome all evil.

I hate to put on the rabid anti-communist hat, but I have to wear it sometimes, but *Imagine *is all about a communist utopia. “Imagine there is no heaven…” “Imagine there are no countries…” Imagining that a utopia can be found on earth through a political means (absent heaven) is tantamount to believing that salvation is through politics and not through Christ. What kind of peace did John Lennon want? Was it the peace that was had just prior to the Tower of Babel?

That is not to say that I dislike the Beatles. But take their music for what it is worth. Young people, I included, tend to idolize celebrity. Try not to do that.

 

[Chris7]

Actress101:

Thank you for the reply.

I’ve listened to Imagine plently of times, and personally, I believe that the song wasn’t about non-christianity, but it was about people understanding the fact that peace will overcome all, and that if we concentrate on ourselves and changing who we are, that we can overcome all evil.

Just my little observation of it. But I’m glad to know that someone liked the beatles. I wish I’d lived in that time.

There was always a dark side to John Lennon even before he met Yoko as evidenced by such Beatle songs as ‘I Am a Walrus’, ‘Helter Skelter’ etc. which made it difficult to know where he stood on things. While he was more forthright in interviews there was still an afront about him that kept the interviewers at bay. I did hear an interview in which he was asked to interpret the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ and per John in his usual cryptic response is as you have interpreted it. That particular song launched the John & Yoko World Peace Movement; a cause they were as passionate about as Paul and Linda were about saving all of the animals on the planet. Without question they should have limited their focus on music and not dabbled into the murky waters of politics. While it’s hard to find fault with the basic concepts of a world at peace and an abated slaughtering of animals, the ideology they espoused was in a word “wacko.”

 

[rocklobster]

Funny, I thought the message of “Imagine” was that if we acted like God wanted us to, we wouldn’t need a Heaven. We’d already be there.

 

[Marilena]

Actress101:

I’m fifteen, and lately have become fasinated with the music of John Lennon/ The Beatles. I’ve been a catholic for my whole life, and go to church every week, and also go to a catholic high school. I know that John Lennon was quoted early in his career saying “christianity will go before rock and roll”, but looking over that( because that’s what Catholics do, forgive.), John Lennon lived for peace and love, and wrote songs about this. He was an advocate for love and no war.

I know many on here probobly don’t like Lennon or The Beatles, or what they did, but i would like your opinion on him/the band/his music.

Since Iam not a Beatles fan, nor ever have been, I don’t really have
an opinion of him one way or the other. I never followed his music, nor do I care to.

 

[Chris7]

rocklobster:

Funny, I thought the message of “Imagine” was that if we acted like God wanted us to, we wouldn’t need a Heaven. We’d already be there.

The song is not that good to be consumed in a debate over its lyrical content. John was not my favorite Beatle; actually he was my least favored Beatle but he was a gifted composer/performer nonetheless. This debate reminds me of a similar debate concerning the Beatles song ‘Let It Be’. The religious community was so pleased to hear Paul, the composer of the song, sing “When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom, let it be…” and interpretted the Mother Mary in the song as being the Blessed Mother. Paul stated in an interview that he wrote the song about his own mother Mary who he loved very much and consistent with English etquette was addressed as Mother Mary.

 

[otm]

Chris7:

The song is not that good to be consumed in a debate over its lyrical content. John was not my favorite Beatle; actually he was my least favored Beatle but he was a gifted composer/performer nonetheless. This debate reminds me of a similar debate concerning the Beatles song ‘Let It Be’. The religious community was so pleased to hear Paul, the composer of the song, sing “When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom, let it be…” and interpretted the Mother Mary in the song as being the Blessed Mother. Paul stated in an interview that he wrote the song about his own mother Mary who he loved very much and consistent with English etquette was addressed as Mother Mary.

It seems to me that either john, or paul, or both were Catholic.all appearances are that that was left far behind, probably at the beginning of their teenage years. I, too, heard his explanation, and I have the strongest suspicion that he simply deflected the interviewer’s question.

Reading or listening to any of the interviews gives one the impression that they were not only smart, but playfull in a rather disdainful way.

 

[Peace-bwu]

otm:

Just my personal opinion, but I am not sure you get it yet.

I do not agree with the lyrics, but I most certainly can understand why someone would think along those lines - perhaps because I grew up in that era. But I certainly don’t hate the song. The music, as oppsed to the lyrics, is very medatative. the lyrics definitely come from the youth movement of the time and are also indicative of someone wtih a very different experience of church than yours or your husband’s. Many never get past the political and sociological issues of religion to the theology, and for those who don’t, this song rings very true.

I totally get it and “got” it in highschool. I always loved the song for the same reasons you posted here. I just happened to develop a friendship with a Catholic woman who has been involved in teh new age movement for a long time and is much deeper into it than I realized until she began debating me a few days ago, criticizing my whole way of life in a vey mocking, not so nice way. Although she believes in the New Age things I mentioned in my first post on this thread, she is remaining Catholic and receiving communion because she wants to change the Church and as many ppl as she can to the New Age movement. The song popped in my head (the lyrics I mentined) and I realized that my husband had more of a point than I gave him credit for. I get it that it is a very influential song that paves the way for the New Age movement, which is what Lennon was into.(or a version of it)

I totally get the song, I just have a much different opinion of it than I did when I was younger, because I realize how much the New Age movement is infiltrating the Catholic Church.

The first time I heard the song was my dad singing it to me while playing his guitar, and my nickname was “flower child” in my highschool in the 90s so I get the song, I just am not as impressed as I used to be.

Peace from Peace-bwu

(see I’ve always been about the peace and love, man I get it, I get it.)

For some reason since she told me all of that “Imagine” and a few Pink Floyd (another fav band) keep popping into my head. “So you think you can tell… heaven from hell…” I guess since she was so mocking of me for believing in heaven and hell.

 

[Peace-bwu]

When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
and in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
There will be an anwer let it be.

I always thought this was a play on words, rather than “Holy Mother Mary” thinking of marijuanna as a way to relax and be peaceful… I’m right… right? Sort of like a “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain” with Tom Petty.

I will always like the Beatles, but this always made me wonder…

 

[Toni]

Chris7:

There was always a dark side to John Lennon even before he met Yoko as evidenced by such Beatle songs as ‘I Am a Walrus’, ‘Helter Skelter’ etc. which made it difficult to know where he stood on things. While he was more forthright in interviews there was still an afront about him that kept the interviewers at bay. I did hear an interview in which he was asked to interpret the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ and per John in his usual cryptic response is as you have interpreted it. That particular song launched the John & Yoko World Peace Movement; a cause they were as passionate about as Paul and Linda were about saving all of the animals on the planet. Without question they should have limited their focus on music and not dabbled into the murky waters of politics. While it’s hard to find fault with the basic concepts of a world at peace and an abated slaughtering of animals, the ideology they espoused was in a word “wacko.”

Well said.

 

[kaymart]

Peace-bwu:

When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
and in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
There will be an anwer let it be.

I always thought this was a play on words, rather than “Holy Mother Mary” thinking of marijuanna as a way to relax and be peaceful… I’m right… right? Sort of like a “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain” with Tom Petty.

I will always like the Beatles, but this always made me wonder…

I was almost 8 years old when the “British Invasion” came to the US. Later in our teens years we picked apart some of the songs and about the “Mother Mary part” we too thought it was Marijuanna. Just like many songs of that time "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (LSD)

 

[wisdom_3_5]

Peace-bwu:

When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
and in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
There will be an anwer let it be.

I always thought this was a play on words, rather than “Holy Mother Mary” thinking of marijuanna as a way to relax and be peaceful… I’m right… right? Sort of like a “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain” with Tom Petty.

I will always like the Beatles, but this always made me wonder…

Paul’s mother’s name was Mary. I remember an interview with him saying it was about his mother. I was disappointed for awhile because he didn’t write it about our Blessed Mother. But, the Holy Spirit can work through him, HE might have been thinking about his mom, but the inspiration was about Our Blessed Mother. And Our Blessed Mother is his mother too.

There’s plenty in Let it Be for us to see it as about Our Mother Mary. Let it Be = Amen, Speaking words of wisdom (I always think about Fatima here). I think its what you read into the song that makes a difference to you.

 

[mlchance]

John Lennon was a very talented musician and, in very many important ways, a lousy person. I pray he has received mercy from God for misusing his gifts and blessings.

– Mark L. Chance.

 

[GarryOwen]

I have no time for John Lennon or the Beatles. Personally, I prefer Elvis Presley I find him and his songs more spiritually up lifting.

 

[Chris7]

GarryOwen:

I have no time for John Lennon or the Beatles. Personally, I prefer Elvis Presley I find him and his songs more spiritually up lifting.

Especially “You Aint Nothin’ But A Hound Dog”, now if that doesn’t get you reaching for the Rosary nothing will LOL!

 

[wisdom_3_5]

Chris7:

Especially “You Aint Nothin’ But A Hound Dog”, now if that doesn’t get you reaching for the Rosary nothing will LOL!

Especially when your 6 year old sings it! Its her classes song in the spring program this year

 

[Penny_Plain]

Peace-bwu:

I always thought this was a play on words, rather than “Holy Mother Mary” thinking of marijuana as a way to relax and be peaceful…

That’s what I thought he meant by it, too.

What he means when he sings it and what I mean when I sing it aren’t necessarily the same thing, though.

 

[stellina]

For the original poster: there are several good books on the Beatles that might satisfy your curiosity. I have one called “Shout” that I picked up on a discount rack and it’s quite interesting - although I can remember hearing the Beatles on the radio as a very young child, they had disbanded by the time I was 10, so I also was curious about them. You might also want to rent the anthology series on video/DVD, especially the last segment where the surviving Beatles were reflecting on the experience at the end. Ringo was sentimental & actually tearful; Paul was joyful; George was bitter; and since John was long gone by then, they used a tape of one of his characteristically sarcastic statements along the lines of “it was just a rock & roll band”.

As people, they were definitely problematic and achieving that level of fame just made them worse. Neither Lennon nor McCartney were the nicest people in the world, even in their youth. However, as a songwriting team they were perhaps the greatest since the golden age of musical theater, and as an influence on popular culture, who can argue that the Beatles were one of the biggest? Even so, their music is a matter of taste just like anything else - you either like it or you don’t.

 

[Ana]

When I was younger, I had a fascination with dead rock stars. I found that reading the biographies (or is it autobiographies) can really open up some songs. For instance, the song “Mother” is seen in a whole new light when one learns about John’s relationship with his mom and dad.
My other favorites were Randy Rhodes and Jim Morrison.
God bless!

 

[4HisChurch]

Chris7:

There was always a dark side to John Lennon

That’s a good way to put it. My son and I both like the Beatles, but I much prefer Paul’s stuff to John’s for that reason. Paul seems to have a much more positive world view than John, despite the surface veneer of “peace and love” that John put on many of his songs.

 

[GarryOwen]

Chris7:

Especially “You Aint Nothin’ But A Hound Dog”, now if that doesn’t get you reaching for the Rosary nothing will LOL!

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