A Cultural Approach of John Lennon's Imagine

A Cultural Approach of John Lennon’s Imagine

By

Pramanta Gerinata

Abstract

This humble work is just a piece among million of efforts to establish the supremacy of the Supreme Absolute Truth through transparent via medium of the combination of music and poetry in the form of a song. The peak of culmination of knowledge is not actually self-aggrandizement of sense gratification, rather it should be used for glorifying the eternal almighty Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna along with His pure devotees and only then the perfection of knowledge can easily be attained.

The song itself is a such masterpiece created by a famous Brit-pop rock-star who had made it along with his mature realization on how the world was going to be mental at the time especially for us the youngsters who were and are frustrated due to the strong rooted conceptions of materialism and hedonism in our society which lead us into the darkness of oblivion. But anyway, my humble intention is only to make the people realize that there is a way to make the world as a better place not only for the human being but for all living entities.

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

"Imagine" is a song composed and performed by the most influential Brit-pop rock star in 1970s John Lennon. This song became the most best-selling single of his solo career along with his assassination in New York by a mad fan. Through “Imagine,” Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono encouraged the mass of people to live lives harmoniously through devotion to the Supreme Lord and without attachment to material possession.

This song also explains the natural inclinations of an innocent human being in searching after perfections of happiness by solving all problems of life. Some problems of life that can be found in the song are mainly about: the miseries that must be undergone by living beings in different planetary systems within the universe, the ongoing suffering of humanity such as wars, pestilence and famine, the cycle of reincarnation, and the anxiety caused by the attachment to material possessions.

The analysis of the song’s lyric is conducted through cultural approach and the explanations and solutions related to the subject matters in the song are profoundly based on Vedic literatures. By studying eastern and western cultures the readers can understand the real meaning and background of the song because the cultural background and the song’s meaning are interrelated in every aspect.

In conclusion this work “A Cultural Approach of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ ” is very appealing for the intellectual minds because the author supports the song’s analysis by quoting the authoritative translations and commentaries given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the world's most distinguished scholar and teacher of Indian thought and culture and author of the best-selling Bhagavad-gita As It Is. And for the general point of view this work brings the readers to the mood of contemplation on how a legendary Brit-pop rock-star encouraged the mass of people all over the world that the sufferings of humanity, nay, all living being can be solved only by love and devotion toward the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

1.2 Problem of the Study

There are three major problems of the study which become the binding forces of the song, namely:

1. What is Lennon’s intended meaning in every stanza of the song?

2. How the world’s current situations can be related to the conception of “Imagine.”?

3. And what is the relationship between western and eastern cultures in “Imagine”?

1.3 Objectives of Study

This work is intended to tell the readers in general about the profound meaning of the song, the current situations of the world which are described wonderfully by John Lennon in his famous song Imagine and the relationship between Christian and Vedic cultures which are describe as the backgrounds of the song.

1.4 Scope and Limitation

The scopes or point of views which are used in analyzing the song are Vedic wisdoms and social sciences and the limitation of the study is based on the song’s backgrounds which are Christian and Vedic cultures.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In a paper entitled “Imagine Lyrics and Song Meaning Analysis,” (2012), the author: Colin O’Dwyer in has described the song wonderfully through musical point of view like how Lennon cleverly chose correct tunes while composing the song. The author states that Lennon used chords C major and F major for song’s ending which can make the listeners feel calm and peace, and it is a common fact that these major chords are also particularly used in many devotional songs. But in this essay, the author’s lacking is the understanding of song’s lyrical meanings. For instance, in the second stanza, line fourth, Lennon sings “And no religion too.” The author interprets it that John Lennon wanted to make a peaceful atmosphere in the world by refusing to accept any kind of religion. But that is not the fact. The truth of this line was revealed when Lennon was interviewed by a reporter from a well-known magazine Playboy, Lennon clarified it by saying “If you can imagine a world at peace, with no denominations of religion—not without religion but without this my God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing—then it can be true ...” So actually Lennon was not a supporter of communistic idea where the existence of religion is blatantly refused but he felt that if the majority of people are so much attached to their false egos that always dictate that their religion is better than others religion then there will be always war and conflict among those who say that their religion is the only path of salvation and then the result will be peace and prosperity can never be achieved.

In an article entitled “Song Analysis of John Lennon's 'Imagine',” (2013), by Marjorie LaPrade, she has summarized the controversial subject matters such as the divisiveness in the human society which is created due to the differences of so-called religion and ideology. But unfortunately, it appears that the author didn’t provide the reader about the solutions for the problems brought by Lennon in his song “Imagine.” Because at that time people were so much disgusted with war and conflicts even they felt that they were