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First, this is coming off kind of strange sounding because what has it got to do with things such as socialism and world governance, which no one wants anyway?
Are you kidding?!? "Imagine" is basically the Communist Manifesto set to music. Nobody wants socialism or world governance? I never heard Lennon say anything that suggested he was against either.
"Imagine" has to be put into context. It was the beginning of Lennon's ill-fated "political" phase, which culminated in an unlistenable double album in 1972, Some Time in New York City, which was what the Beatles would have sounded like if George and Paul were replaced by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin and if Yoko were given free reign. It came from the same impulse behind the equally unlistenable single "Power to the People"
As for whether or not people like "Imagine"... Religion doesn't have much to do with it; I think very religious people didn't listen to much rock music in 1971 anyway. And I know plenty of atheists who dislike the song too. Frankly, it is a monotonous dirge. It is slow, not especially melodic, not easy to sing, and not very catchy. The very next song on the Imagine album, "Crippled Inside" is a far more fitting representation of Lennon's strengths. It is rollicking and propulsive, it is funny and features good wordplay, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it has a jaunty, singalong quality. I'd gladly hear "Crippled Inside" again, "Imagine" not so much.
I've heard that some people sing it with the lyric "and one religion too."
Hmmmm. That's interesting but I don't see how it fits. What is the too referring to? What else is there one of? No countries, no wars, no possessions, one religion too?
Just today I was watching John and Yoko on the Dick Cavett Show.
At one point John said that music is to be felt. Not analyzed, not thought about. Felt.
I just know how I feel whenever I have an opportunity to listen to "Imagine." One can imagine there's no heaven or hell; imagining that doesn't mean they don't exist. Humans have minds with which to imagine a number of things. Imagine -- image. Humans are made in God's image.
How do you feel when you get get an opportunity to listen to "Imagine"?
Just today I was watching John and Yoko on the Dick Cavett Show.
At one point John said that music is to be felt. Not analyzed, not thought about. Felt.
I just know how I feel whenever I have an opportunity to listen to "Imagine." One can imagine there's no heaven or hell; imagining that doesn't mean they don't exist. Humans have minds with which to imagine a number of things. Imagine -- image. Humans are made in God's image.
How do you feel when you get get an opportunity to listen to "Imagine"?
As George wrote, "It's all up to what you value."
Fair enough. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I don't think he meant this just as an intellectual thought exercise. I think he is saying that the world would actually be a better, happier, more peaceful place without religion and if people assumed there was no heaven or hell.
I would get it if a religious person wasn't fond of this part of the song but said he or she still liked broader messages of the song, though. I'm not a religious person but there are songs with religious meanings that I can still relate to and enjoy listening too. Often there's some aspect of the psychological experience the singer is describing that I feel I can still relate to. I then find it interesting to think about both the similarity and differences in our world views.
Or I'd get it if someone said they don't care about song lyrics and just listen for pleasant sounds (which appears to be what Boxus is saying). There's nothing wrong with that but it's a different kind of explanation.
I think he is saying that the world would actually be a better, happier, more peaceful place without religion and if people assumed there was no heaven or hell.
Also not trying to be a jerk, but "wouldn't it be?"
No Religion, no heaven/hell does not mean anarchy for most. It means people doing the right thing for the sake of it being right, not because you're afraid of eternal damnation. The problem with heaven, hell and country is that it has an incredibly strong influence on people, and can get them to do things for others that they may not do for themselves.
I don't think there is a black and white line between philosophically and actually saying something. I think as people, we can recognize that it would not ever happen, that it's hypothetical, but in theory it WOULD be better.
I'm also not saying my interpretation is right and all others are wrong. Just one way to look at it.
It's interesting to look at the comments on the song here at youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVg2EJvvlF8
I guess the song is more controversial/less universally liked than I realized.
Sort of tired of what "religious" people think about everything from Songs to what you eat to what you wear or who you have sex with and marry.
As a song it is quite lovely imagining a world without your "purgatory" religious traditions and views culminating in the ensuing chaos inflicted on non believers.
"No Religion, no heaven/hell does not mean anarchy for most. It means people doing the right thing for the sake of it being right, not because you're afraid of eternal damnation."
And yet, without "religion" -- or rather, without God -- why would people have any idea what "right" and "wrong" are? As C.S. Lewis wrote, someone had to set a standard of right by which people might live. Who do you think set that standard? Who created the human mind to be able to realize that standard, and to make a decision whether or not to abide by it? Like Lewis, I believe it is God who set that standard, who gave people minds to be aware of it, and the desire to agree with it and live by it.
Christians don't "do the right thing" for fear of "eternal damnation." That's got it backwards. Christians try to do good because our hearts have turned towards God and because He wills that we all do good. That doesn't mean we always succeed -- of course not. We are humans, and we live in this world. But Christians have no fear of eternal damnation -- we are saved by grace, through faith, and this is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
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