John Lennon, singer and songwriter, was born on October 9, 1940 and was assassinated on December 9, 1980. Although he passed away very young, Lennon was known as a legend. His music had left an impact on the whole world. People from different countries knew and loved Lennon’s music especially his song Imagine. Written in 1971, the song became a big success. Imagine was known to have a strong political message. It was a song that was heard and interpreted throughout the whole world. Many people to this day believe this song is a cry out to communism. However, the song is a simpler than the interpretation of communism. Throughout Lennon’s lyrics, the audience receives a message of peace and happiness.
If one took a trip throughout history, one would find different eras such as the Roaring Twenties and Industrial Revolution. The sixties was a time of political and social upheaval. During the sixties, a band known as The Beatles became very popular. Lennon was a part of this widely known band for about twelve years. The Beatles split up with the confrontation of the wives of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The split up of this band only made him even more popular. When he left The Beatles, Lennon continued in the music business with his wife, Yoko Ono. He began releasing the songs such as Stand by Me, Jealous
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John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, was a big inspiration to the song; she was a poet and had helped Lennon write the song. When Lennon is singing, “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one,” he is referring to his wife. In the music video, they are walking through a cloud of smoke. The smoke is symbolic to the Vietnam War, and the dark house is symbolic to the feelings of the people during the war. Near the end of the video, Ono starts opening window to bring in light. The light symbolizes the way the world could be if people imagined this world and would bring love to the current
The 1960s was a time of Rock, Rock and Roll, Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock, etc. Rock was established in the 50s but took off in the 60s. One of the most popular bands at that time was The Beatles. The Beatles, in my opinion and many others, was the most influential band of the decade, not only changing rock but music in general forever. The Beatles were a rock band formed in Liverpool, but eventually
The song sends a positive and peaceful aura; John Lennon hopes we can all live as one. He establishes his credibility, or ethos, by being one of the original
“He helped shape the agenda of the sixties – socially and politically, no less than musically” (“John Lennon”). John Lennon was extremely influential to the world during his lifetime, and mainly during the sixties. He fueled many movements with his strong willed beliefs in peace and happiness. The actions and music of John Lennon drastically altered how many people viewed the world around them during the sixties and throughout his entire life.
The Beatles are an iconic English rock band and are widely regarded as the “foremost and most influential act of the rock era” (Unterberg). Formed in Liverpool in 1960, the Beatles were comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, with Stuart Sutcliffe on bass guitar in January and Pete
This first song is a political message that is in a beautiful melody. Lennon realized that the softer approach would bring the song to a wider audience, who hopefully would listen to his message.
The years 1960-1969 were very impressionable years. With events that changed America , turning the innocence and hope of American people into violence and anger. The young nation of the 60s were the most influential of all ,with rioting about war or turning music into culture. This was a completely different america than it was years before . In a Music standpoint artists such as The Beatles , Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were changing the way music was made . They were changing music into an artform , a way for people to express their feelings , beliefs and ideas. The Music of the 1960s evolved into an artform which lead the path for American music of today.
According to history1900.about.com “About this same time, the Beatles began to shift to psychedelic influences. They started using marijuana and LSD and learning about Eastern thought.” The eastern thought and early western philosophy was the idea of matters in basic human existence. This is around the time when the Beatles music started fighting for world peace and talking about how we should come together. John Lennon’s song “imagine” tells people how the world would be a better place without religion, war, conflict, possessions, and greed. He also explains that he isn’t the only person to have fought for this. Doing so many peace riots happened in the 60’s during the vietnam war. These peace riots were usually filled with hippies which was a term for people that are “with nature”. You could say that the Beatles were hippies for they fought for these riots trying to end the war in vietnam. This made a major impact to how we view the world now and how we need to protect our environment now. allmusic.com states “They were also the first British rock group to achieve world wide
John Lennon’s effect on the world was brilliant and his legacy still lives on. All throughout his time he accomplished many things, and definitely made the world a better place. With the music, the peaceful things he did, and everything in between. His message was peace, love, and happiness. Lennon was brilliant and deserves more credit than what he gets. He left an impact that changed the world.
“Imagine” by John Lennon, released in 1971, was one of the most influential, and important songs of the last 50 years. This track was viewed as his final statement on religion after many years of confusing mixed signals (WND). Lennon constantly calls upon the power of Imagery to appoint his ideas throughout the song, hence the title. Imagery is the formation of figures, ideas, and mental images through diction (Dictionary.com). Many of the ideas Lennon creates are supported, and even inspired by real life events. In John Lennon's “Imagine”, he uses the power of Imagery and applicable real life events to portray an idealistic Utopia.
John Lennon was born on October 9th 1940 in Liverpool, England 1. His father left the family to sail the seas before Lennon’s earliest childhood memory and his mother was taken away by a car accident when he was 18 2. A year after his mother’s death, the Vietnam War took place, which is The United State’s longest military dispute ever. The world famous band, The Beatles, debut on 1961 not long after the start of the war and through this band, Lennon was able to demonstrate his feelings to the people across the world. "Revolution," performed by The Beatles, was created in 1968, when the anti-war demonstration was on the move. After the separation of The Beatles in 1969, Lennon composed the song "Imagine" (1971) 3. This song proves that Lennon is a Peace-Loving-Atheist and a "Voluntarist" 4 that believes in the scheme that people’s ideas can change social reality; however simultaneously admits that there are constantly wars going on in the world. As a result, he could be a mixture of all four, Realist, Liberal, Marxist and Constructivist. On December 8th 1980, approximately five years after the end of the Vietnam War, Lennon was assassinated by Mark Chapman 5. It is not for certain that the word assassination could be used on a singer, song writer who also published books. However there is no doubt about the fact that Lennon touched many people’s hearts around the world and maybe was even praised as an almighty figure.
During the time of the Vietnam War and Nixon administration the society was in a state of anger and unrest. John Lennon took a stand against the government and society by writing music and performing physical acts of protest. He did these separately and alongside his wife Yoko Ono. Immediately, he was faced with a deportation scandal, and many were rallying for change on his behalf. His long-term impact is shown even to this day, through his song “Imagine” and other political songs that were screaming for someone to take a stand.
The Beatles wrote hundreds of songs throughout their long career and many of which had the same main ideas in them. Those two ideas seem to standout in most of their songs, and they are the ideas of peace and love. They were so passionate about these two ideas especially world peace, that they became avid participants and leaders in the anti-war movement, against the War in Vietnam. It seemed strange ...
A phenomenon happened in the sixties that are still leaving people to this day scratching their heads. It was an invasion that took the world by storm. I’m not talking about the war in Vietnam, but rather an invasion onto the music scene; four regular guys with not so regular dreams, made girls frenzied and boys jealous. The music was innovative and changed a nation’s thoughts on innocence, drugs, war and peace. They were the Beatles.
"I hope some day you will join us, and the world will live as one" Simplicity combines with deep meaning when John Lennon expresses his thoughts in his song "Imagine." This song was a huge hit in the 70’s, the time in which the Vietnam War was occurring. John Lennon’s “Imagine”, was a protest song that questions the morality of war, shows anti-war statements and emphasizes the importance of world peace. In America, every civilian has the Freedom of Speech. For this, artists have every right to compose a protest song. Even if the government is not fond of it, anyone could potentially write a song going against his or her beliefs, which is exactly what Lennon did with "Imagine," in a peaceful way. At the time Lennon’s song went against most beliefs, for people believed that violence in war was the answer to everything. Amongst passive resistance, the refusal to cooperate with legal requirements, strikes and angry mobs, Lennon chose the much calmer approach and simply composed a protest song. A protest song is simply a song that argues a point and tries to encourage one thing against another. In his song "Imagine", Lennon protest that the World should live in peace; keep in mind the Vietnam War was occurring at the time. It was then that protest songs were created to try and make points across, without the actual violence of rioting in protest.
... and overall considered an anthem. With the attack of 9/11 Lennon’s “Imagine” resurfaced again and suddenly became one of the most commonly requested songs on air (Fricke). At the time it was written it spoke about peace and his desire for a peaceful future. Lyrically “Imagine” spoke directly about the world setting aside differences or boundaries and uniting as one for a common peaceful world for all. The musical elements all support this message of world peace and harmony. The simple harmonies, minimal instrumentation, and receptive structure all allow for emphasis to be placed on the lyrics, and the overall message of the song: world peace. To an extent, to have a song become a timeless anthem should be considered a success; however, for this particular song to resonate 30 years later is merely a symbol and indication that we as a world are still in need of peace.