John Lennon: Imagine Meaning
Song Released: 1971
Imagine Lyrics
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...
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What would the world be like, with nothing to worry about?
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Quite a beautiful song but it's about how we all have more similarities than differences and we need to ignore the things that most certainly divide us IE religion government and corporations: the three evils.
We need to just put down our guns and stop squabbling and imagine how great the world would be. -
Why does my heart keep telling me this is not an athiest song? How come every time I hear a good sermon about the huge problem in our world, HYPOCRICY (especially people who call themselves christians but really are just big hypocrites), I want to stand up and sing this song? Why do I hear the ideas in this songs when I hear some readings in the bible (SOME readings, religion has been messed up by tradition and imperfect humans, so when a pastor preaches he doesn't always explain things that Jesus taught - humans are just incredibly stubborn)
John Lennon wasn't an athiest. He even said so,
"I'd always suspected that there was a God, even when I thought I was an atheist. Just in case. I Believe it, so I am full of compassion, but you can still dislike things. I just hate things less strenuously than I did. I haven't got as big a chip about it because maybe I've escaped it a bit. I think all our society is run by insane people for insane objectives..."
Imagine there's no heaven etc.
this line I hear all the time, and I say this idea to people all the time. There's a verse I heard a few weeks ago. I think its in Luke, but it says something about not doing things so that YOU can get rewarded, so that YOU can get something out of it (Imagine there's no heaven), and also says not to Not do something because you're afraid of whait society will think or that you'll be punished for it and not to build your mind off of what other people who think they are better than you tell you to believe or think (No hell below us; above us only sky). I was sitting there as I heard this and I'm thinking "that's in 'Imagine', that's what it means!"
And that's happened with other parts of the song. On Easter he was talking about living for today and that same idea. I had that same excitement "that's in the song!" This old man came as a guest pastor or something to our church once and started talking on the same idea as John Lennon does in this quote,
"I don't need to go to church. I respect churches because of the sacredness that's been put on them over the years by people who do believe. But I think a lot of bad things have happened in the name of the church and in the name of Christ," - by some of the hypocrites who go to them and end up getting us stereotyped like Islam is by the few radicals who love to blow stuff up - "Therefore, I shy away from church, and as Donovan once said, 'I go to my own church in my own temple once a day.' And I think people who need a church should go. And the others who know the church is in your own head should visit that temple because that's where the source is. We're all God. Christ said, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.' And the Indians say that and the Zen people say that. We're all God. I'm not a god or the God, but we're all God and we're all potentially divine - and potentially evil. We all have everything within us and the Kingdom of Heaven is nigh and within us, and if you look hard enough you'll see it."
Religion complicates things with tradition. It'll make you think Christ or God meant something when he said this, when he really meant that. You've got to free your mind and Imagine, what does it all truly mean? (No religion too)
A lot of people say they don't want to go to church because they're all hypocrites there. And that's what I hear in the first part of the song. They're people who celebrate Christmas and Easter and may even go to church every sunday but don't really listen to the sermon. These people have the nerve to pick on a song like this, but don't even look in the mirror at themselves and realize they're the ones who are wrong here.
Yoko Ono once said something like "If half the room doesn't walk out angry, I haven't done it right." That's what I think about when I hear this song. A lot of people, the first time they hear it (including me), just want to punch him in the face. Imagine there's no heaven? Why would you want to do that? But (in my opinion) it's more deep than that. It's not saying let's Imagine they're no God, Imagine he's no reward, then who would you be? Would you still do something good even though YOU wouldn't get anything out of it? That's what God truly wants us to be like, and obviously what John Lennon wants us to be like, completely unselfish and generous.
And yeah, the first time I heard this I was kind of upset. But I remember I heard the line "living life in peace" and I thought how Jesus preached about peace. Something about it made me want to listen to over and over (It's the most listened to song on my iPod, about 4 times more than the 2nd most listened to song on my iPod). Then I started hearing these ideas in church and I started to realize what it truly meant. I read some guy saying something about this song has a simple meaning and you can't really go in depth with it. I though, "what song are you hearing?" I could sit and talk about this song for hours. To me it's really deep and it a song meant to be analyzed more than one time. That's why its my favorite song, because it carrying out the wisdom I hear from God in a way that you've never heard before. It makes you second guess things and then you start to get upset because as you think about what it means, you want everyone in the world to see it that way too. You hear songs in church all the time saying "Jesus loves you, he died for you..." yeah, I've been hearing that over and over again my whole life and I'm very very thankful, but they're more than just believing in what he did for us, it's listening to what he was saying. And I hear that in this song.
Maybe I just look too much into things, but that's what art is, you're supposed to come up with you own meaning, and you shouldn't criticize the artist on what you get out of it. -
This song should offend religious people. Lennon was obviously anti-religion and a huge atheist. Listen to the song, "God." To all the people on here saying that religion teaches peace and tolerance...get real. Religion is the # 1 reason for war, terror, poverty, and hell on earth.
He said to imagine there's no heaven and imagine no religion because he meant it literally. He thinks religion and god suck and I agree with him. God is a concept. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest any kind of supernatural creator or god exists. The countries in the world that are the most peaceful, have the lowest rates of crime, murder, and poverty, and the highest rates of education, and the best social policies, and equal opportunities for women, are the countries that have the highest rates of atheism. And please shut up about Stalin. He was one nut, nothing more. The Stalin argument is like saying that Helter Skelter is an evil song because Charles Manson killed a load of people because of it. Stalin was one nut; religion is widespread, deeply-rooted, uncompromising evil. Fuck Jesus, Mohammed, Krishna, Buddha, and the Jewish Prophet (whenever the fuck he gets here and whoever the fuck he is). -
Well most peoples minds are so limited only to the thoughts of living your life, going to church and dying but there's more too it that we can all just live together nicely and possesions and greed and hunger could be solved by just being peaceful and equal
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i wish people would give it up on the communism, atheism comments because this song is really not about either one. all it is saying is that if we took out the main things that start war there would not be war. the main things that people fight about is power, possesions, and religion. take those out and you can't fight about them. and about john being a communist, communism does look good on paper, but it just can't work out. what i mean is that it takes out classes, possesions, and much more, so really, there is nothing to fight about, nothing to be jealous of.
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I can't think of a Beatles Christmas song, but OK. The problem is, when people show an outrage, and say "who is he to say this" he's a human being, and all of us have a right to say these things, to question what makes life the way it is. Accept or deny it, Religion, Nationalism, Materialism, all of these things ARE great dividers in society. Without these things, people wouldn't have as much to fight over, people could live to benefit all of society rather than just their own little corner of the world. Maybe it's a communist message, but in a sense, true communism, like that which John talks about here, could be hugely beneficial to society, but there is no way to that goal, human beings always have an aim, a goal, the need for a reward, recognition.
That's why it's wrapped up in the coating of the title imagine. He asks you to imagine a perfect world, a world where people are the same, people have nothing to divide them, a world that benefits all of its inhabitants, rather than having countries full of people dying of illnesses that we in our rich countries take for granted, scraping together what little money they can get, just to eat for a day. Religion, or difference of religious opinion, as most reasonable people know, is the cause of more conflict throughout history of the world than money or anything else. Whether it was the crusades, enforcing their religious belief on people who until then had been living in relative happiness without this pressure, to the present day problems between fundamentalist Islam and the heavily christian western world. You can hide behind your belief that religion doesn't cause conflict, but it's clear, that it indeed does.
It's an image of Utopia, the perfect, unattainable world, John knew this would cause widespread emotion, from solidarity, to outrage, but those who are outraged or disgusted by this song, are the ones who are causing all the problems of society. -
Imagine no religion, no countries?!
You're kidding me right? Who is John Lennon to say that religions are an evil source in this world and divide us. Look at the work of people like Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Religions are not the sole and principle cause of the wars and conflicts of today. Perhaps if people like Saddam and Mahmoud had some real religious beliefs, that is if they actually followed the teachings of the quran (which are peaceful) there wouldnt be any problems.
So no, religions are not the problem, it's psychopathic lunatics that are the problem. Religions and religious people have helped millions on this planet. Also, I find Lennon a little hypocritical, the Beatles put out quite a few christmas songs if I remember correctly. -
Imagine is about being in heaven. Everything he says points out in imagine is what we ALL want to achieve when we get to heaven. If you are in heaven - he is right, there is no heaven or hell (you are in heaven, remember! you will not care to prove to anyone that you are. There is no hell. You are in heaven, why would you even conceive a hell? Why would you care? It is heaven. All you have is the skies above you. There is nothing underneath. If there was, something else to fear and feel for from our life on earth, then it would not be heaven. Heaven is the get away of all get away.
"how was your trip to the Bahamas?"
"it was heaven! I didn't have a care in the world. I didn't have to think about a thing!"
It is possible however that we are confused about what really happens in heaven. Maybe we take on more spiritually that we ever imagined. Maybe it is a lot more work that what we have been told. Hopefully, because we are in heaven we will be okay with it.
Either way his song still reflects us. Either heaven is easy and simple or we don't really know what we are in for.
If you were in heaven, why would you imagine it? Why would you even think about a hell? If I was in heaven and you said what about hell.. I would say...what about who? I am in heaven, son! There is no hell.
Living for today and dreaming seems top priority heaven goals to me. No boundaries, no hurt, no pain. No hard feelings. No limits. No killing. No dying. No religion. No greed. No madness, no hunger, no anything but complete happiness.
Why would there be a religion? You are the religion! You re living in the ultimate! There is no question. No need for a label. IT IS! It is. It is. It is. It is like living among only humans and declaring to be human. Yeah, so.
You would share all the world. You would live for today.
Dream on (talking to me). Because he talks about a heaven I want to be apart of. We all live as one. -
If there was no hell or heaven, people would do whatever they want without worrying about their consequences. Peace would only be a reality if everyone searched for the same thing in life. It would also be kind of boring..
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This song is DEFINITELY not an Atheist anthem!
John is talking about things that he feels interferes with people living their life peacefully and the things that impede that - he's not saying there is no heaven or hell but he's saying that if there wasn't such a concept people would live for today - not worrying about the future (with the concept of Heaven and Hell, people aren't living for the day, but the afterlife, whatever that may be)
When he's saying imagine no countries or religions he explains himself right there - nothing to live or die for.
Man, the world lost one of their great ones on that sad day, I know he would've made a big impact and who knows, maybe our world would've been a little closer to his imagining. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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John Lennon's song is a piece that tries to test the world's view against religion, war, possessions, and peace. The song sends a pricking message to the whole world; it may have contradicted to their ideals and views on how life should be lived and how the world should be treated. But his message is something wonderful and calm. What if all of us tries to stop and live the moment and forget all about religion, wars, and our possessions, then we will attain peace--the kind of peace that transcends towards all humanities, saying, we are all but one brothers. After all, religion is not anything we should live for; religion can't save us, it's our faith. If all are equal, the world will not be divided and all of us shall live a peaceful life; that is, free from worries and hatred.
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