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Imagine If There Was Peace:

The Hope of Humanity of John Lennon






Jason Lee
Stacey Cler
World Literature
30 May 2014
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Table of Contents
Imagine If There Was Peace 1
Works Cited 8
Five Selected Works 9
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Imagine If There Was Peace
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light
can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. The ideas of peace and love that
embodied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hold true for the rock legend, John Lennon. John Lennon
was a man characterized by these pacifist ideas. He has written many songs based on the premise
of both subjects. Growing up in England during a time of war truly impacted his ideas and
themes for the songs which he is known for (Christgau). His ideas of peace and love are shown
clearly through his songs and reflect the hope that he has for humanity. John Lennons hope for
humanity is that people can recover from their personal suffering through the actions of love and
peace.
John Lennon was one of the leaders of the internationally known rock band, the Beatles,
and a solo recording artist. Since he was just a boy, he had faced many hardships in his life
beginning with his separation from his parents when he was only five years old. He was then
taken in by his aunt at the wake of World War II (Christgau). Lennon, living in England during
the time of World War II was faced with his first look of war when Hitler rained bombs down on
London. After the war had ended, Lennon had already been through many life challenges which
included the loss of his mother and the absence of his own father (Burke). By the time he was
sixteen, he had joined a group of three other teenagers to form the band that would ultimately
become the Beatles. Lennon eventually met a woman who would bring stability into his life and
who would become his musical inspiration and his wife, Yoko Ono. He would go on to achieve
success and a celebrity status from his membership of the Beatles. They later disbanded leaving
Lennon and his former bandmates to pursue their own solo careers. On December 8, 1980, in
New York City, New York, the world forever changed when John Lennon was assassinated by
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Mark David Chapman because of Lennons views of the world (Christgau). Lennons legacy
continues to live on today, mainly as a Beatle and still, preaching about his ideas of love and
peace.
Through the song, Imagine by John Lennon, Lennon is able to create a living
embodiment of both peace and love in order to show how these two ideas make the world a
better place. Due to Lennon growing up in World War II and experiencing the aftermath of the
war, John Lennon writes about a world that is filled with love and peace instead of a world full
of hate and war. After withstanding the bombing of London by Hitler (Burke), he no longer
wanted the world to be a place of distrust, which led him to write his view of what the world
should be. This song is the true symbol of what John Lennon hopes the world can become. It is
a world full of hope through its optimistic tone (Kruse II) and use of fantasy and dream
imagery (Bella-McKenna). In a review of his own song, Lennon has described Imagine as a
Communist Manifesto referring to how his ideas of humanity have been able to pass on to
generations (Kruse II). In the song, Lennon states to the listener to [Imagine] nothing to kill or
die for/And no religion too/Imagine all the people/Living life in peace . . . His use of simple,
common words such as kill and die for show how when there is peace, life can be simple
and that one can end all suffering in doing so. Killing is a sin which is an example of one
suffering great pain, which proves that with peace there would be no need for killing and thus, no
suffering. John Lennon also mentions religion being a disruptor of peace in the track (Lennon,
Imagine). Religion is commonly associated with extremist groups who use religion as a way to
justify their hostile acts. This in turn brings suffering to people in these groups and the world
around them. Lennon believes that in order to end this suffering of human people, people must
rid the world of religion because religion is a cause of distrust and discord between people of the
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world which is a means of suffering. The removal of religion is a removal of suffering which
brings peace to the world. In an interview with Becky Lee, she states that Lennons work of
Imagine shows how Lennon is a lover, not a fighter. His hope for humanity is to bring peace to
everyone around him. John Lennons hope for humanity is reflected directly by the record
Imagine through its fantasy and dream-like qualities where peace and love rule the world, rather
than the laws of society.
The song Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon, describes Lennons view on how
people should leave behind their religion and come together to create peace. Living and
experiencing both World War II and the Cold War, John Lennon was able to see how divided the
world had become due to ideological differences. He was able to see how each countrys
different views and responses would cause conflict in the world due to an inability to agree. In
response, John Lennon produced songs that were against the ideas of having government or
separation of people. His political views were against capitalism, and the liberation from any
social hierarchies, with the replacement of art (Burke). Lennon was a true believer in world
peace and voiced his opinion through songs such as Imagine which has communist ideas about
how people should be and live together in harmony (Kruse II). In the song, Lennon says that
Ev'rybody's talking about/ . . . This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m./All we are saying is give
peace a chance/All we are saying is give peace a chance/. Lennon uses this-ism and that-
ism to express how the world is controlled by religions and ideas, rather than his idea of having
people come together and creating peace. He explains how Evrybodys talking about some
kind of -ism to convey a cynical tone from Lennon. The cynical tone of the song expresses
how John Lennon would like the world to change from always having to follow an ism.
Lennon would like the world to recover from the suffering caused by the isms and use peace as
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a tool to solve the problem. In the song, Lennon only asks the audience that they give peace a
chance to show how since everything else is causing the world to suffer, people should at least
try to repair it by abolishing their beliefs and come together to create peace. When people come
together to create accords, they also create love for the fellow man. Love is established between
people when peace is created because in order to coexist in tranquility with one another, people
must love or at least be compassionate towards others. Thus, once more reconciliation and love
are the solutions to the suffering of the world (Lennon, Give Peace a Chance). Lennons hope
for humanity is expressed in the song Give Peace a Chance through its idea of ridding the
world of ideological differences and replacing them with the powers of truth and love.
In Lennons song, God by John Lennon, he demonstrates his perspective in only
believing in oneself creates a world without suffering. When John Lennon was a child, he did not
have the stability of having his parents raise him. He was forced to live with his aunt during
years of war (Christgau). Losing his parents at the early age of five is what caused him to suffer
greatly and build the idea of how to create a better world. This separation and detachment from
his parents growing up reinforced his ideas of doing what is best for himself and believing in
himself due to a lack of motivation from the ones he loved most (Burke, Christgau). In the
record, Lennon states that God is a Concept by which/we measure our pain/I don't believe in
magic/I don't believe in I-ching/I don't believe in Bible . . . I just believe in me...and that
reality. In the track, John Lennon alludes to God in a cynical way, by stating that it is a way
that we measure our pain. The measure of our pain is symbolic of the suffering that one has
been through meaning that according to John Lennon, God is a cause of suffering in the world.
He believes that God causes suffering through the diction of the word pain. He uses it as a
commodity that God is handing out to people and it is measured by the amount one has. Lennon
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then goes on to give a solution to the suffering caused by God, which is to not believe in
anything of the world but oneself. Lennons use of repetition shows his emphasis on not
believing what anybody else says about ones own being, but instead to believe in oneself. In
order for people to believe in themselves, they must first come to terms with who they are,
meaning that they need to make peace with what they look like and how they are perceived. The
next thing is that they must love themselves and the ideas that comes out of oneself in order to be
able to believe in oneself. Most people want to have acceptance by others especially by those
with great importance, but in order to relieve oneself of suffering, one has to be comfortable with
not fulfilling expectations of others and achieving personal success. Thus, in order to believe in
oneself, one needs to first be at peace and love oneself, which then creates a solution to the
suffering enacted by God (Lennon, God). The track God, expresses Lennons hope for
humanity, through the dedicated belief in oneself in order to recover from suffering.
Throughout the Lennon composed, Beatles song All You Need Is Love, Lennon
reveals the second part of his hope for humanity, the love of every man. Due to the lack of love
from any parental figures in his early childhood, Lennon expresses how people need love to
create peace with one another. A defining moment of his life was the loss of his mother
(Recker) which is a cause of a lack of love for John Lennon. His song employs the void he felt
due to the absence of parental affection in his life. When he married Yoko Ono, he had a love
for her that no other shared (Saari). It stabilized him as a person, and she was the first person
that he truly loved and who he believed had felt the same about him as well (Christgau, Saari). In
the track, Lennon announces that Nothing you can know that isn't known/Nothing you can see
that isn't shown/Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be/It's easy/All you need is
love/All you need is love/All you need is love, love/Love is all you need. In the record, Lennon
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uses simple sentences to convey the one major point of his song; people will always be able to do
what others can, so there is no point in fighting each other. Using the absolute words, nothing
and nowhere shows people are always able to repeat and copy what others have already done.
Due to this thought, Lennon concludes that people need to stop fighting and being jealous about
it and learn to love people. He believes that with love, it can create a better society for people
who already are masters of other peoples works. He repeats the phrase All you need is love
three times in these two stanzas to emphasize that devotion and appreciation is the only way to
have the world work together and not in disorder. Lennon also mentions that there is not a place
that a person can be at where youre meant to be which means that wherever life takes oneself,
it happens for a reason. This reason is something that should be cherished and bring compassion
into ones life and not to be envious of others places in the world (Lennon, All You Need Is
Love). John Lennon hope for humanity is reflected in the track All You Need Is Love through
its simplicity of lyrics and its constant use of repetition of absolute words and love.
The song Nowhere Man describes Lennons view on how one recovers from the roller-
coaster of life. Lennon has regarded his own life as a recovery from loss moving from a
nowhere man to stability with his new family. (Deutsch) Through all of his personal struggles
in life, Lennon has referenced that his life is all about how one can achieve redemption. His hope
for humanity is reflected by his recovery from the tragic events of his life and how Lennon has
recovered from the pain and suffering of those events. In the record Nowhere Man, Lennon
remarks that Nowhere Man, don't worry/Take your time, don't hurry/Leave it all till somebody
else lends you a hand/Doesn't have a point of view/Knows not/where he's going to/Isn't he a bit
like you and me?. Lennon uses the word Nowhere man to describe one who is lost, drowned
in a sea of troubles. Like Lennon himself, the Nowhere Man cannot escape these facts by
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himself, but requires the help of another as stated by Leave it all till somebody else lends you a
hand. Lennon believes that the Nowhere Man has no knowledge of what he wants to do. In
order to be able to go anywhere he must have help. Lennon believes that he must be able to trust
others in order to help himself, meaning that he must create peace and love with other people. He
also wants people to not be jealous of others because he wants people to love wherever they
wind up because without the help of others, one cannot be at the place they are now. He also says
that the Nowhere Man is a bit like you and me which means that there is a Nowhere Man in
everybody who is strapped in to the rollercoaster of life. It is how one can recover from the
events that life throws at someone that determines the type of person they are, not material
possessions or social class (Lennon, Nowhere Man). The track Nowhere Man describes
Lennons personal route to recovery and what he hopes people will follow when they feel alone
and trapped.
The hope of humanity of John Lennon is that with deeds of peace and love, one is able to
recover from the suffering of the world. Lennons past experiences have molded his hope for
humanity into the two actions of peace and love. It is only through these actions that someone
can recover from the hardships of the world. Lennon also wants people to stand up for
themselves, not conform to others due to its popularity. Lennon understands that people need
others in order to live harmoniously. In order to do so, people must first love and make peace
with them. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also
the last article of my creed.




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Works Cited
Beller-McKenna, Daniel. Beatle-Johns Alter Ego. Music & Letters 80.2 (1999): 254-68.
Print.
Burke, Kevin M. NOBODY CONTROLS ME: THE MOURNING OF JOHN LENNON IN
MODERN MEMORY. Biography 23.4 (2000): 772-75. Print.
Christgau, Robert. John Lennon. Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.
Deutsch, James. The Mourning of John Lennon by Anthony Elliott; Disaster and Memory:
Celebrity Culture and the Crisis of Hollywood Cinema by Wheeler Winston Dixon.
American Studies International 38.3 (2000): 127. Print.
Kruse II, Robert J. Imagining Strawberry Fields as a Place of Pilgrimage. Area 35.2 (2003):
154-62. Print.
Recker, Stephen L. The Mourning of John Lennon by Anthony Elliot. American Studies 42.1
(2001): 225-26. Print.
Lee, Becky. "John Lennon." Personal interview. 10 May 2014.
Saari, Jon. The Lives of John Lennon by Albert Goldman. The Antioch Review 47.1 (1989):
104. Print.













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Selected Works

1. 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 may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
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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'll join us
And the world will live as one

2. Give Peace a Chance
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

C'mon
Ev'rybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.
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All we are saying is give peace a chance

3. "God"
God is a Concept by which
we measure our pain
I'll say it again
God is a Concept by which
we measure our pain
I don't believe in magic
I don't believe in I-ching
I don't believe in Bible
I don't believe in Tarot
I don't believe in Hitler
I don't believe in Jesus
I don't believe in Kennedy
I don't believe in Buddha
I don't believe in Mantra
I don't believe in Gita
I don't believe in Yoga
I don't believe in Kings
I don't believe in Elvis
I don't believe in Zimmerman
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I don't believe in Beatles
I just believe in me...and that reality

The dream is over
What can I say?
the Dream is Over
Yesterday
I was the Dreamweaver
But now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I'm John
and so dear friends
you'll just have to carry on
The Dream is over

4. All You Need Is Love (Written by Lennon, recorded by the Beatles)
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
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Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
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It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love (All together, now!)
All you need is love (Everybody!)
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Yee-hai! (Love is all you need)
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Love is all you need (Love is all you need)

Yesterday (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Oh yeah! (Love is all you need)
She loves you, yeah yeah yeah (Love is all you need)
She loves you, yeah yeah yeah (Love is all you need)

5. Nowhere Man
He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen
You don't know what you're missing
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command

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He's as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere Man can you see me at all?

Nowhere Man, don't worry
Take your time, don't hurry
Leave it all till somebody else lends you a hand

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen
You don't know what you're missing
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command
He's a real Nowhere Man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody