Imagine (song)
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| Imagine | ||
|---|---|---|
| Compact Disk single by John Lennon | ||
| From the album Imagine | ||
| Released | October 24 1975. | |
| Recorded | Unknown | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 6 min, 54 sec | |
| Record label | Parlophone | |
| Producer | Phil Spector | |
| Imagine track listing | ||
| Imagine | Working Class Hero | |
"Imagine" is a utopian song, with elements of atheism and communism, written and performed by John Lennon. It appears on his 1971 album Imagine.
In the song Lennon asks us to imagine his view of a utopia, in which there are "no countries", "no religion", and "no possessions", and thus "nothing to kill or die for", only people "living life in peace" and "sharing all the world".
Some writers see this song as unintentionally self-satirical, as the multimillionaire songwriter is depicted in a film of the song playing a white grand piano in an enormous country house, while inviting us to "Imagine no possessions".
When the Liverpool airport was named after Lennon, a phrase from the song, "above us only sky", was painted on the ceiling of the terminal. George Galloway quoted the line I'm Not The Only One for the title of his autobiography. The song was used in the last sequence of the film The Killing Fields and was performed during a show commemorating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek. The song is often used as a celebration of peace.
In 1999, BMI named "Imagine" as one of the 100 most performed songs of the 20th century.
Lennon's original recording of "Imagine" appears 23rd in the list of best-selling singles in the UK issued in 2002.
In the UK, the song is regularly voted at or near the top of polls to find the greatest song or single of all time.
External links
- BMI's 100 most performed songs of the 20th century
- Imagine - covered on "Tribute to Heroes" (9/11/2001) by Neil Young
