I was struggling with what song to post today for Song Lyric Thursday. Until I read this.
And so, a tongue firmly in check dedication to my blogging friend Uncle Keith:
Imagine (by John Lennon)
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Well, if you’ve read this far, then you’re in for a special treat. I have pretty much been ambivalent about this song ever since Lennon recorded and released it. By the by, does anyone remember that short-lived TV series “Quantum Leap” starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell? You do? Remember the episode where he “leaped” into the body of a young man shipping out to Vietnam? The young man had a younger sister and Bakula played guitar and sang “Imagine” to her, upsetting her greatly. I don’t remember much else about that episode, but that’s the most vivid image I have associated with that song.
As to the musical version, A Perfect Circle covered this (and many more anti-war songs) on a compilation entitled “Emotive”.
Here’s a link to their version (which I prefer):
June 5, 2008 at 3:32 am
I love Imagine, but I am SO not into this group.
June 5, 2008 at 3:45 am
[...] 5, 2008 by silverstar98121 Imagine (John Lennon) – Allison Crowe + TopPun peace signs I guess Rob and I are going to have a face-off on versions of Imagine this Song Lyric Thursday. He posted a [...]
June 5, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Thank you for the long distance dedication! I bet I would have like Imagine better, if William Shatner had recorded it.
June 5, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Imagine! There’s….NO HEAVEN!!!!
June 5, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Acerbic indeed, Rob- you and all your commenters. I liked Imagine until you and UK ruined it for me- sigh. Kinda liked Star Trek, too. Really liked Quantum Leap (Scott Bakula also played in the Star Trek series “Enterprise”…), but I was really weirded out by an episode where Scott Bakula leapt into a 1950s housewife, and wore an apron throughout the show. It was kinda like seeing someone I respected coming out of the loo trailing toilet paper…
Sally
June 7, 2008 at 10:36 pm
I always hated that song until I heard Scott Bakula sing it. I seriously dislike John Lennon and never really liked what the song was about, but somehow when Scott sang it, it seemed different somehow… odd. LOL!
June 8, 2008 at 7:55 pm
great version! hadn’t heard it before so thanks for that Rob. I LOVE A Perfect Circle even more now
June 13, 2008 at 9:35 pm
@Silverstar: I can’t believe you think that “A Perfect Circle” sounds like “cats dying”…I’m crushed.
@ UK: you’re welcome. I’ve seen/heard the Shat sing on Youtube. Uh…….no.
@ richard: No heaven….Hmmmmmm. Do you mean in the biblical sense?
@ Sally: I don’t intend to destroy anyone’s likes or dislikes…I’m just writin’…
@ Tanya: Welcome to the Tome: I see you are a big Scott Bakula fan. I enjoyed Quantum Leap. Never really watched Enterprise (although I have nearly always been a Star Trek fan). I also like Scott Bakula in the film “Necessary Roughness”. I don’t watch TV any more though, and haven’t seen a movie with Scott in it for a while.
@ nursemyra: Do you have any/all of their CD’s? Have you given Tool a listen? (It might be a little too metal though…)
June 30, 2008 at 12:52 am
I never cared for the “no Heaven”, first verse of Imagine. In January 08 I saw Scott Bakula sing it live on stage in Washington DC. I was delighted as he started with the second verse.
Too bad Lennon had to use this beautiful song to show his disgust with God.
July 16, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Actually he leaped into the brother of the young man going off to war, his brother. He leaped into himself at a younger age. His sister was upset because Sam had already said their brother was going to die when he went off to war. Because he was playing and singing a song she’d never heard it supported his story of coming from the future and that their brother was going to die.
I really thought Scott Bakula did a wonderful job with the song, very touching.
July 16, 2008 at 7:50 pm
QL Fan: Thanks for the clarification about the episode info. While I enjoyed the series, it has been a while and my memory ain’t what it used to be.
I do remember that it was an acoustic version and that it may have been set on the porch outside?
Thanks for reading and for commenting.