"Imagine" by John Lennon

      Composed in 1971 – the year I was born - the song 50 years old. However, it has a timeless relevance. The concepts of heaven and hell prevents people from living in the moment – they are forever looking back and forwards never enjoying here and now. Therefore, they are unhappy.  He identifies the artificial geopolitical and religious divisions as the reason to kill and die – getting rid of both would mean people living in peace. He steals words right out of the mouths of his critics when he says “You may say I’m a dreamer”. However, he says, he is not the only one. The third stanza ends in a positive note with Lennon hoping the listener would adopt his values.

·         Fourth stanza presents a Utopian worldview in which people are sharing things. The repetition of the term ‘people’ makes the song homocentric. The last stanza is a repetition of the third stanza in which he once again expresses his wish that reader-listener would join him in upholding his Utopian worldview  

·     "Imagine" is often referred to as an anthem to peace. Many also describe "Imagine" as an atheist anthem. Lennon expounds a world with no religion, heaven and hell. In his personal life, he never committed himself to any religion.  Upon its release the song's lyrics, particularly the line "Imagine there's no heaven", created shock waves. Lennon once described the song as "anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it is sugarcoated it is accepted". "It's virtually the communist manifesto," he added half-jokingly.

·        Following the September 11 attacks in 2001,the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memo containing a list of songs that program directors felt were "lyrically questionable" to play in the aftermath of the attack. "Imagine" was one of the 164 songs banned.