Fifty years ago yesterday (May 27), John Lennon began recording “Imagine” at his home studio at Tittenhurst Park in Berkshire, England. There is archive film footage from 1971 that shows a relaxed John at the piano composing the song before turning to his keyboard player to remark: “That’s the one I like best.”
Released on his second solo album, the song encouraged listeners to imagine a world without borders and religious divisions and devoted to each other rather than material possessions. It reached No. 3 on the charts upon release but hit No. 1 after the ex-Beatles’ murder in 1980.
The song was not without controversy. For example, I recall a rare hard-hitting episode of the classic sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (which aired in 1981) addressing the issue of censorship, in a which a fundamentalist preacher demanded that the station ban “Imagine” for promoting both atheism (“Imagine there’s no Heaven”) and communism (“Imagine no possessions).”
Nevertheless, it is now considered (by many) the greatest peace anthem of the 20th century, and it is certainly Lennon’s signature song, including his Beatles’ catalogue – and the image of Lennon playing the song on a piano in the white room while Yoko opens the shutters is iconic.
Yet, while Lennon is gone, the piano remains – having become a symbol of the song and all it stands for. It was toured by George Michael in the early 2000s as a symbol of peace and has not been played since 2007.
I saw the world-famous instrument on display at The Beatles Story in Liverpool a few years back and currently it is on loan at Strawberry Field, the former Salvation Army children’s home (depicted in Lennon’s most famous Beatles’ song, “Strawberry Fields Forever,”) which re-opened in 2019 as a public venue, featuring Beatles exhibitions and its own history.
To that end, Strawberry Field has produced a performance video of the song, played by a student from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and accompanied by a (voiceless) choir that signs the lyrics. It can be found on YouTube or the SF web site.
“I hope people will be inspired by this performance to reimagine a better world in the here and now, where we are not divided by what we believe, or how we look, or where we live,” says Major Kathy Versfeld, Mission Director of Strawberry Field. “One people, one planet, all of God’s creatures working together out of mutual respect and compassion. We live in hope!”
She added that at time of “so much fear and uncertainty around Covid-19,” the piano has proven to be “a beacon of hope, light at a dark time.”
One can only imagine that if Lennon were alive today, he might add a line to the song: “Imagine there’s no pandemic.”
Lyrics
Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people livin’ for today
Ah, ah, ah-ah
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothin’ to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people livin’ life in peace
Yoo, hoo, oo-oo
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharin’ all the world
Yoo, hoo, oo-oo
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one