mojofilterloco July 21st, 2005 04:54AM  

It could have something to do with anti-war (as according to duran fan), but could any song that validates ones existance not be interpreted this way?

"There is nothing you can do that can't be done"

Notice the double negative - becomes

"you can do anything"

The same is true throughout the rest of the lyrics.

then the chorus- all you need is love

Is it just me, or is the meaning to this song not glaringly obvious?
We, the (intelligent) human individuals that we are, need nothing over and above basic necessity. It is the seeking of more (greed) that leads us, the human race, into the tumultuous, hate ridden, ignorant, blind etc state of affairs we are in today.

If (that is a big IF) we can realise ourselves (which is what John is trying to get at) then we can begin to fix this situation. But then there have always been and always will be those who want more.

Greed is the root. All you need is love. (She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!)

anonymous July 10th, 2008 04:36PM  

What everyone thinks is partly true and partly not. John Lennon is saying that there's nothing we can do that can't be done to but it's easy to do it with love. We all need love. This song isn't like all the others with all the double meanings its right there the meaning is right there "All you Need Is Love" That how John was he believed we all need love he believed he could change the world with love. John wanted to be loved.

anonymous August 18th, 2008 10:23PM  

Listen to the lyrics people! refer to the quote made numerous times by John "The Beatles message was, love", He's saying that every achievement is empty and all you need is love.

lazur September 9th, 2009 04:46PM  

I enjoy the contradiction of a band of multi-millionaires telling me all I need is love. The Beatles understood that, but they they had such high credibility that it can also be taken as a sincere statement.

lazur September 11th, 2009 03:04AM  

"Nothing you CAN do that CAN'T be done",(etc).It seems to imply so much, but how'd the guys -find- this deep phrase?: They simply reversed the positive & the negative, (which equals the same meaning, but with an unfamiliar phrase that opens the listener's mind to new possibilities). What??? Well, how does -this- affect you?: "There's nothing you CAN'T do, (that CAN be done)."... It's pretty much what good parents teach their kids: Inspirational to a certain extent, but predictable. WELL, there really ISN'T anything you can't do..YOU CAN EVEN PUT "CAN" WHERE EVERYONE USED TO PUT "CAN'T"!,(and vice versa). Once again: Genius!

eelr October 9th, 2009 09:30PM  

This is a total nonsense lyric. Your head is guaranteed to explode long before you can come close to determining its meaning since it has none. If anyone else had written it, it would long ago have been dismissed as silly.

anonymous November 9th, 2009 08:22PM  

I see this song as this. Without love, you cannot do anything. See- "There's nothing you can do that can't be done..." "It's easy.... All you need is love, love, love... " So if you don't have love in your life, it will be empty. It's simply referring to- Denied the opportunity to love, humans will not reach their full potential.

anonymous November 14th, 2009 02:01PM  

Whenever I think of these lyrics I do not interpret them to imply "You can do anything" I hear them mostly as they literally say "There is nothing you can do that can't be done." Simply put, if something can't be done, you can't do it. It may sound grim but I think this is meant to mean you can't do anything "spectacular." Everything that you do immediately becomes "doable." For example, think of if someone said "that song can't be sung." Now you proceed to sing the song. That song no longer "can't be sung" as you have just proved. Seemingly you did the impossible but really it was their perspective that was off. The hope in all of this is that with love this all becomes alright. We may never be individually spectacular, but love will give us meaning.