What does Imagine mean?

John Lennon: Imagine Meaning

Album cover for Imagine album cover

Song Released: 1971


Get "Imagine" on MP3: Get MP3 from iTunes

Imagine Lyrics

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...

  1. victork
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    Oct 27th 2010 !⃝

    I enjoyed everyone's interpretation of this profound song. I think this song is widely misunderstood by many as a promotion of anarchy and atheism, which it is not. The song, in my opinion, is about freedom. Lennon isn't saying that God doesn't exist in the song, he simply is asking us to "Imagine" a place where we could be free to believe or not to believe any god or religion, and by extension, a place where we wouldn't have to worry about others imposing their own moral or religious views upon us. He also sings about a place that is free of war and poverty, a place where people are free to freely live life in peace and pursue their interests, hopes and dreams.

    The fact is, this utopia, ideally (and that's the key word) should already exist. It's called the United States of America - a place in which people are free to do all of these things. So in essence, Lennon is actually singing about what America should be as opposed to what it actually is. By doing so, he's also asking the most important question without really asking it: "America can be an ideal place to live, so how did we screw it up so badly?" I suppose greed, lust for wealth and power, and peoples' tendency to impose their moral and religious views upon others has turned America in to a hegemony rather than a democracy. Essentially, America has become a playground in which the wealthy and powerful are only allowed to play in, while the rest of us simply are forced to watch them. If we disagree with them in any way, we're either declared crazy or arrested. So the song, in essence, is also about the tragedy of how far America has strayed from its ideals.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  2. anonymous
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    Oct 17th 2010 !⃝

    Imagine? Marx, Lenin,and Stalin did. The song sounds so nice (imagine all the people sharing all the word)- how sweet. This concept is why millions upon millions have died trying to create such a "Utopia". To create a world with "no possessions", means having to give up anything you've worked for (ask the Russian peasants after they were forced into collectivized farming or killed for resisting). God was effectively eliminated in this nihilistic society too. A world that could only be realized by KILLING anyone that didn't want to partake in this experiment. No free will permitted. No god. No possessions. Brotherhood of man. North Korea is still trying. Yeah, imagine.

  3. anonymous
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    Sep 24th 2010 !⃝

    This song is so simple but means so much to all of us. It's really a great song.
    *peace*

  4. dusty_htv
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    Aug 26th 2010 !⃝

    This is what I think ...

    John used " Imagine " to avoid making people offended . He was imagine things that can't be true but he still believed that it could happen .

    No hell and no heaven = He doesn't believe in religion . Religions usually use " hell " for people who have done bad according to those religions and heaven for those who follow God ( people see God in different ways ) or according to those religions. John didn't say anything about God but did about religion . Maybe there is a God but God doesn't need a religion . When there is no religion ( although there is God ) , there is no rule and so ... So people will not fight because of different believes . *** Wait , example in Buddhism , Buddha is not a God . He doesn't set rules and put people in Hell or whatever lol ... John may have talked about some Abrahamic religions like Christianity , Judaism ,Islam .

    There is no country so there won't be war cause there is no country to belong to anyone lol for people to make war and get the land . As we know , no war = no killing = no dying.

    There is no possession ? Country is a kind of possession . That is why people fight for their country . It is a not - so - nice ideal if there is no possession like the money is the same for all whether you work hard or in a lazy way lol. Neither it's not about not having a house or having a car lol . I think " no possession " here is a way to add the meaning for " no country " . If there is no country , there is no possession of anyone related to country => Everywhere will be one so people don't have to make war anymore . Also , there is no country ... no different political views => no fight ( again ) . But all people have to think so peacefully like John did otherwise this world would be a chaos LOL

    What a crap I've written !

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  5. anonymous
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    Aug 12th 2010 !⃝

    did anyone of you know about the group illuminati?? they're the group who wants to have a new world order meaning a one world one government. . . and john lennon and the beatles are a member of this group. .in the line "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. . " it is quite obvious in this lines right? pls. search more about this group. . then you'll know something scary. .

  6. Tyler77
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    Jul 20th 2010 !⃝

    John Lennon preaching from his mansion about how people should forget about real life and be more like him.

    "Imagine there's no Heaven"

    I don't need to Imagine that John, it's simply a fact.

    "It's easy if you try"

    Easy for you maybe. Less easy for brainwashed religious types.

    "No hell below us"

    Again, the only thing below me is the planet Earth.

    "Above us only sky"

    And a bunch of spy satellites and polluting jet planes.

    "Imagine there's no countries"

    Ah yes, like there was when we lived as nomads and speared our food and each other, living to the age of 20 if we were lucky.

    "It isn't hard to do."

    No, it isn't. We only have to turn on the news and look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, to see what happens when there is no government.

    "Nothing to kill or die for"

    Except finite resources in a short lifespan

    "And no religions too."

    Forgetting that religious war is always a disguise for a struggle over the finite resources.

    "Imagine all the people, living life in peace"

    Nobody lives their life in peace John. We must all fight to survive.

    "You may say that 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"

    In other words, join John's religion - it's the only true one. Oh hang on, that's what they all say...

    "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can"

    Patronizing bastard.
    Most of the world doesn't need to imagine that John. It's their daily reality. They certainly can't afford consumer luxuries like Beatles records. And hang on, aren't you writing this on your grand piano in your mansion, with a gold-plated Rolls Royce in the garage?

    "No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man"

    People are different John, you will never change that. It's a natural human survival trait to fight others, for we are animals in a hostile universe, competing for limited resources.

    "Imagine all the people, sharing all the world."

    We already do share the world. It's just some of us share more than others.

    This bloody song gets right on my tits.

  7. jadedfeatures77
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    May 12th 2010 !⃝

    All of the comments here dont exactly interpret the song, you guys are just taking the lyrics as they are and putting them into explanations, most of this song is about the new world order, which is when the world will truely live as one, most celebrities do sing about this, you can find it in stairway to heaven "when all is one and one is all", for more info on the new world order and celebrities following it you can refer to youtube or google. he even denies heaven and saying no hell below us because one day earth will be hell and there wont be anymore skies as he also mentions "imagine no skies".

  8. m320753
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    Apr 26th 2010 !⃝

    Unfortunately this beautiful song goes against my and many others tenet of faith.

  9. mgzaw99
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    Apr 25th 2010 !⃝

    If John Lennon were alive today,what would he say about the world with terrorism & nuclear weapons.The controversial image of John Lennon was destroyed by his masterpiece IMAGINE.This song is modern classic.John Lennon is genius.Also a Legend.

  10. caliscope
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    Apr 7th 2010 !⃝

    The song is by far one of the most misinterpreted songs ever written. It’s played so often on the radio and at weddings that most people only hear what they want to hear. They really believe that it is a beautiful song about love and peace. I believe Lennon used musical slight of hand to sell this as the main theme of the song but, this is not necessarily the true message of the song.

    The song is about the whole world living as a commune, where no one owns property, no one has faith, and everybody gets along because there is no self interest. Lennon is advocating communism and by standing up and saying that you love this song, YOU are also advocating communism. How many million people did Stalin and Mao kill in the name of communism?

  11. anonymous
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    Feb 19th 2010 !⃝

    Its simply means "Life is absurd!"

  12. NTom64
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    Jan 10th 2010 !⃝

    Ah, John Lennon. One of the greatest artists of all time. This song, in my opinion, is one of his best. Imagine simply means that, although John knew the things described in his lyrics could never happen, he wanted them to, and wanted other people to stop whatever they where doing, drop their "phones" or "laptops" and listen,imagine, what the world could be like.

  13. anonymous
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    Jan 7th 2010 !⃝

    I think that this song is simply about removing all things that separate us from one another. Such as having different possessions, borders of countries, and the different religions. Instead of having all these things that divide us, why can't we all just live as one, one "brotherhood of man."

  14. truelove808
    click a star to vote
    Dec 10th 2009 !⃝

    To me what i get is Lennon describing heaven. I believe that this place he is talking about in heaven, no hunger, no possession. Thats what heaven is, its a place where we can all be as one.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  15. anonymous
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    Dec 2nd 2009 !⃝

    Whatever he may have "Imagined", unless he made things right with Jesus after he was shot, then he is in a place called hell right now.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway



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