What is so "unique" about John Lennon's song IMAGINE?

Question

I was just wondering people's opininions on John Lennon's song "imagine." Can you help me?



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... I IIII

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace... you whooo

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

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world... you whooo

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 live as one

Answer 1

Think about what was going on in the world at the time that he wrote the song, then re-read the lyrics. Think about who Lennon was, where he came from and the direction of Europe and the US in the 1960's.

I think your answer will become apparent.

Answer 2

Lennon commented that the song was "an anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but because it's sugar-coated[clarify], it's accepted." Lennon also described it as "virtually the Communist Manifesto".

I think what's made this song so popular is not only the message (a multimillionaire musing on people having no possessions) but how catchy it is and the time it came out. It spoke to a lot of people while the war in Vietnam was at it's tail end, leaders were being assassinated, and Watergate was going on. In those tumultuous times a song like this was probably greatly appreciated and easy to relate to.

Answer 3

It's unique because it suggests to imagine a world without all the things we've always had since the beginning of time (violence, war, possessions, money, greed, etc.) What would it be like? Most likely peaceful and tranquil, like the people of the 60s used to believe wholeheartedly in and preached daily. He wanted a peaceful world, and that's what this song is trying to explain.

Answer 4

Well at the time it was written (and even to some degree today), atheism was still pretty taboo. To write a popular song about it was quite an achievement. I suppose though that given its strong socialist/communist bent, many religious people probably dismissed it as just more leftist counterculture. Even today it's pretty much assumed (unfortunately) that if you're atheist then you're also a socialist or communist, and vice versa.

Answer 5

I give frosty a thumbs up. But the song is also utopian, which Marx and his followers thought Communism was. As we all saw, it only led to the murder and starvation of millions, not to mention the theft of their basic human rights. I DO NOT believe that Lennon believed those words himself. He donated to the New York Police Department, meaning he understood the necessity of "law and order," as opposed to the necessity of utopia. And his song "Revolution" put down the Chinese Communists, as well as others.

Answer 6

it is unique because it is an anti-religion song which is not a rant.

people get terribly immature around religion:- whether they are for or against it. 'imagine' is for grown-ups.

Answer 7

There is nothing unique about. It is simply a romanticized vision of monism.