A philosophy professor told me “You are not supposed to analyze the words of a song. You’re supposed to feel them.” I just had one question for him, “Why?” There is no doubt that John Lennon was a music genius. But what was he really saying?” – Ray
John Lennon’s song “Imagine” is considered by many one of the greatest songs ever written. Its melody is haunting and its lyrics present a world many dreamers wish existed. Remember the words?:
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 theres no countries
it isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
and no religion, too
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I am not the only one
I hope someday you will 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 may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
and the world will live as one.
Again, some will say there is no better song, no better lyrics. All it takes to believe it is imagination. Just do not look at reality, just dream.
But I changed the words just a little bit because I have imagination too. The difference between that song and mine are simply the lyrics. Let me try it out on you as I decipher John Lennon’s thinking:
Imagine life has no purpose
it’s easy if you try
imagine all there is is cake
or maybe only pie.
Imagine all the people
living only for themselves.
Imagine there are no boundaries
it isn’t hard to do
if you get robbed or raped or murdered
no one will care about you.
Imagine all the people
blanking out their minds
You may say I’m selfish
but I’m not the only one
I live for today without a care
and that’s a lot of fun.
Imagine you own nothing
so if you lose, who cares?
And since we’ve said there is no God
no one listens to our prayers.
Imagine all the selfish
sharing all the world.
You may say I have no conscience
but I’m not the only one
I hope someday you won’t care either
and reality will be done.
Question:
Would you really want to live in a world like that?
Ray
WITH APOLOGIES TO JOHN LENNON FANS, NEW LYRICS BY RAY