Imagine

Song meaning of Imagine by John Lennon, and what it is about

The song's lyrics inspire listeners to picture a world without money, boundaries dividing nations, or religion. It is the best-selling single of his solo career.

Lennon claimed shortly before his passing that his wife, Yoko Ono, was mostly responsible for the song's lyrics and meaning, and in 2017 she was given co-writing credit.

Many poems from Yoko Ono's 1964 book Grapefruit inspired Lennon to write the lyrics for "Imagine" —in particular, on the back cover of the original Imagine LP titled "Cloud Piece", reads: "Imagine the clouds dripping, dig a hole in your garden to put them in." Lennon later said the composition "should be credited as a Lennon/Ono song. A lot of it—the lyric and the concept—came from Yoko, but in those days I was a bit more selfish, a bit more macho, and I sort of omitted her contribution, but it was right out of Grapefruit."

He didn't think, "Oh, this can be an anthem," Years later, Yoko Ono described how this song was written in March 1971. Imagine, was exactly what John believed, which is that there is only one globe, one nation, and one people. He wanted to spread that notion.

"Imagine" was, according to Lennon, "virtually the Communist Manifesto." The song's basic humanity was highlighted by the simple beauty of Lennon's melody, his kind demeanour, and the poetic touch of co-producer Phil Spector, who bathed Lennon's performance in soothing strings and summer-breeze echo. Lennon was aware that his writing was unique.

He proclaimed "Imagine" to be on par with anything he had written with the Beatles in one of his last interviews.

Imagine lyrics by John Lennon

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... Aha-ah...

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...

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...

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