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6.04am
31 March 2008
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Written by: Lennon
Recorded: c.20-28 May, 4-5 July 1971
Producers: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector
Released: 8 October 1971 (UK), 9 September 1971 (US)
John Lennon: vocals, piano
Klaus Voormann: bass guitar
Alan White: drums
The Flux Fiddlers: strings
Available on:
Imagine
Power To The People – The Hits
Live In New York City
John Lennon Anthology
Wonsaponatime
Acoustic
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10.05am
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20 August 2013
Offline Nice interpretation of the song’s meaning by Will Burns writing for Forbes.
Think about John Lennon ’s lyric in his famous utopian anthem Imagine , “Imagine all the people living life in peace.” It’s a nice thought, but how does one imagine that, exactly? When people are living life in peace are they just sitting around smiling at each other? Is peace just the absence of war?
If so, it’s not enough.
I think the operative phrase in Lennon’s lyric is “living life” – as in, “Imagine all the people (actively) living life in peace.” The real damage of war is that it prohibits people from actively living their lives. Imagine what would have been created had some form of war not prohibited it.
More at the link.
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10.13am
6 July 2016
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Imagine gets a bashing in this article (as well as some Beatles songs) which I think is harsh http://nypost.com/2016/10/28/i…..-all-time/ It’s not the first time I’ve heard people state they dislike Imagine but it surprises me as I think it’s a great song. Are the lyrics a little too idealistic?
Pivotal Moments in Beatles History No.118: Yoko helps herself to one of George's digestives.
11.28am
1 November 2013
Offline Musically it is a very dull and boring song.
11.51am
Reviewers
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1 May 2011
Offline ‘Imagine ‘ is an ok song that has been shoved down my throat so much under the impression it’s world changing that I got fed up of it. Throw in Yoko’s incessant ploy of marketing John’s legacy on the song to the point that you get a totally false image of John’s life and it becomes a total irritation.
To me John has far better and more significant solo pieces of music that define his catalogue and life.
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11.56am
24 March 2014
Offline it’s a nice dull and boring pop song
"I Need You by George Harrison"
12.12pm
6 July 2016
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I’m still surprised at the responses as I don’t regard it as dull and boring and I don’t get tired of hearing it. I think it’s a great melody. I also think John once deflected some of the alleged hypocrisy in the lyrics by stating that our “possessions” are not necessarily physical but also mental.
Or was that a cop out? 
Pivotal Moments in Beatles History No.118: Yoko helps herself to one of George's digestives.
12.35pm
24 March 2014
Offline i was joking, i meant:
Shamrock Womlbs said
it’s a nicedull and boringpop song
"I Need You by George Harrison"
3.29pm
26 January 2017
Offline I think Imagine is a songwriting feat. It has a very nice tune with simple chords and simple lyrics, with few other artists having written about such idealistic themes and gotten away with it.
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5.05pm
14 June 2016
Offline I think it’s a pretty decent song. The problem is, it’s overplayed and over marketed. I’d probably like it more if it didn’t define John Lennon and his legacy. I mean when people talk of John Lennon , that’s the only song that’s referenced. He had so many other great songs that it makes me sad that Imagine is now the definition of his music.
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"Sometimes I wish I was just George Harrison" - John Lennon
8.49pm
18 May 2016
Offline William Shears Campbell said
I think it’s a pretty decent song. The problem is, it’s overplayed and over marketed. I’d probably like it more if it didn’t define John Lennon and his legacy. I mean when people talk of John Lennon , that’s the only song that’s referenced. He had so many other great songs that it makes me sad that Imagine is now the definition of his music.
Instant Karma is another John Lennon solo song that’s fairly popular even to this day and Don’t Stop Believing is a million times more overplayed than Imagine .
9.00pm
1 November 2013
Offline Might be because Don’t Stop Believing is a better song.
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14 June 2016
Offline @sgtpepper63 said
William Shears Campbell said
I think it’s a pretty decent song. The problem is, it’s overplayed and over marketed. I’d probably like it more if it didn’t define John Lennon and his legacy. I mean when people talk of John Lennon , that’s the only song that’s referenced. He had so many other great songs that it makes me sad that Imagine is now the definition of his music.Instant Karma is another John Lennon solo song that’s fairly popular even to this day and Don’t Stop Believing is a million times more overplayed than Imagine .
I feel like people would know Love before Instant Karma . Most people that I know, only know Imagine .
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"Sometimes I wish I was just George Harrison" - John Lennon
4.21am
27 April 2015
Offline It’s only a bloody song, as John said.
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4.47am
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1 May 2011
Offline Starr Shine? said
Might be because Don’t Stop Believing is a better song.
It’s really not. ‘DSB’ is an excruciatingly painful song that is now played anywhere you go seemingly regardless of the circumstance or event.
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7.13am
1 November 2013
Offline 8.23am
6 July 2016
Offline Not believing in heaven/hell, past/future and wanting social justice & peace is a fantasy?
Pivotal Moments in Beatles History No.118: Yoko helps herself to one of George's digestives.
8.28am
1 November 2013
Offline 8.59am
19 October 2016
Offline It is brilliantly sung, among other things…but it is grotesquely overplayed and over-marketed, particularly in the way it has been used to paint John as some sort of patron saint of social justice when what he actually was – a human being with human flaws – was far more interesting…
9.32am
6 July 2016
Offline I think the philosophy behind the lyrics (perhaps borrowed from Yoko) was that the first step to making something a reality is to imagine it. Maybe it’s another way of saying “Don’t be scared to dream”.
Pivotal Moments in Beatles History No.118: Yoko helps herself to one of George's digestives.
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