Social Studies: Anti-Vietnam War Songs, Imagine by John Lennon

 Hi there!

Today I will be writing about the Anti-Vietnam War song, Imagine by John Lennon in 1971. 

Here is a video of the song:

Here are the lyrics to 'Imagine': 

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

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, you

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

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, you

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

What was the song about?

The song is a cleverly sugarcoated message directed toward the Vietnam war. Lennon completely disagreed with the idea of war, he believed that everyone should love each other and that we should live in a world of peace. His message behind the song was, "If you want peace, you have to imagine it first". 

John Lennon questions whether we need things which divide us as people, like possessions and religion. He believed/though people might get along better and love each other without having these things. 

He was also inspired by the film, Forrest Gump. He recalled watching it and agreeing with Forrest when he talks about a place without 'possessions' or 'religion'. The main inspiration however was from poems from the book, Grapefruit Yoko Ono, Lennon's wife had written. 

'Imagine' is a complex song, for a first time listener it will seem like a regular song asking for peace and some piano notes. This call for peace really calls for annulment of what we hold onto vehemently. It isn't a song of instruction which tells us to let go of how we present ourselves, but instead a song which provokes us into thinking and imagining things which seem outlandish in our society. 

It is a song which is revolutionary, but doesn't actually call for a revolution as such. It still has rightfully enduring relevance as it did fifty years ago when it was written. People want to imagine a peaceful place without the everlasting conflicts John Lennon sings about.

Thanks for reading!