"Imagine" by John Lennon

371 Words2 Pages
Julian Vandersteen Song: Imagine Year: 1971 Writer/Performer: John Lennon Theme: Utopianism Though John Lennon’s imagination was unrealistic, the song “Imagine” really helped people during the time day dream about a perfect world, instead of dwelling on the negative. The message of this song is to imagine a perfect world where there are no conflicts and everyone is living happily. Considering its message and some of the lyrics, “Imagine” captures some of the problems with the world during that era, like the devastating Vietnam War. There are many lines in this song that indicate John Lennon wanted a utopian world. In the very beginning, he sings, “Imagine there’s no heaven; it’s easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky.” Live for today, don’t worry, and be happy is what it is saying. The Vietnam War was at its peak in 1971, and Lennon wanted to imagine there were no wars. This is supported when he says, “Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do, nothing to kill or die for.” Further support for the message of “Imagine” is shown later in the song when Lennon sings, “Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of a man.” Homelessness in the United States was starting to increase in the 1970s, and Lennon was imagining no poor and rich people. He wanted the world to share everything with each other. This song impacted the people of America greatly back then, and has been ever since. It gave people something to think and dream about temporarily. Many people nowadays still refer to this song as a masterpiece. Later in the song it says, “I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” This line gave people hope that there would be no more wars, and the world would conjoin in peace. The song “Imagine is the absolute definition of utopianism. It talks about living for the day,

More about "Imagine" by John Lennon

Open Document