John Lennon

By:Autumn Thomas

The Life of John Lennon• If John Lennon had only ever been one of the Beatles, his

artistic immortality would already have been assured. His work was not only a profound musical and literary sensibility, but a vision of life that was simultaneously reflective and realistic. John's mother, Julia, drifted in and out of his life during his childhood, and then died in a car accident when he was seventeen. Lennon's father disappeared for good when John was five, but returned when his son became famous. Both of these events contributed to John's fear of abandonment. Imagery played a big role in John’s lyrics and tied with the tragedy of his murder in 1980, often leads to his being referred to as a ``gentle prince of peace gazing off into the distance at an Eden only he could see.``

The Life of John Lennon C`td

• John Lennon married Yoko Ono in 1969, leaving his first wife, Cynthia, and their son Julian in order to do so. John reunited with Yoko in 1975, and their son Sean was born a year later. For the first five years of Sean`s life, Lennon withdrew himself from public life, and he focused on his family. Then in 1980, he and Yoko made a comeback, only to have John shot to death on December 8, 1980. His death broke the hearts of many and shocked everyone. Though he is gone, his music will live on forever. It has only grown since then.

Imagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today...

Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one

Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungerA brotherhood of manImagine all the peopleSharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one

IMAGINE by John Lennon

Questions

1. What do you think John Lennon was thinking when he wrote this song?

2. Does this song reveal John’s feelings on the how the world works?

3. Do you think John thought that this song could still be applied today? Do you think that he thought people would still be acting the way they do?

Analysis of Imagine

• What John is trying to say in this song is that there could be a world like that described in the song. People just have to come together and agree with one another.

• There is the repetition of the word imagine throughout the poem, but no other literary devices. It is more known as a war anthem.

• My opinion of the poem is that it is very inspirational and can be used in many different situations.

Ooh I need your love babeGuess you know it's trueHope you need my love babeJust like I need youHold me, love me, hold me, love meAin't got nothing but love babeEight days a week

Love you every day girlAlways on my mindOne thing I can say girlLove you all the timeHold me, love me, hold me, love meAin't got nothing but love babeEight days a week

Eight days a weekI love youEight days a weekIs not enough to show I care

Ooh I need your love babeGuess you know it's trueHope you need my love babeJust like I need youHold me, love me, hold me, love meAin't got nothing but love babeEight days a week

Eight days a weekI love youEight days a weekIs not enough to show I care

Love you every day girlAlways on my mindOne thing I can say girlLove you all the timeHold me, love me, hold me, love meAin't got nothing but love babeEight days a weekEight days a weekEight days a week

Eight Days A Week

Picture yourself in a boat on a riverWith tangerine trees and marmalade skiesSomebody calls you, you answer quite slowlyA girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Cellophane flowers of yellow and greenTowering over your headLook for the girl with the sun in her eyesAnd she's gone

Lucy in the sky with diamondsLucy in the sky with diamondsLucy in the sky with diamondsAaaaahhhhh...

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountainWhere rocking horse people eat marshmellow piesEveryone smiles as you drift past the flowersThat grow so incredibly high.

Newpaper taxis appear on the shoreWaiting to take you awayClimb in the back with your head in the cloudsAnd you're gone

Lucy in the sky with diamondsLucy in the sky with diamondsLucy in the sky with diamondsAaaaahhhhh...

Picture yourself on a train in a stationWith plasticine porters with looking glass tiesSuddenly someone is there at the turnstyleThe girl with the kaleidoscope eyes

Lucy in the sky with diamondsLucy in the sky with diamondsLucy in the sky with diamondsAaaaahhhhh...(repeat two more times)

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Original drawing of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”