This is my Tribute to John Lennon on his 60th birthday!
“Oh and I’ve been calling, oh hey hey Johnny? Can’t you come out and play?”
Anyway, I want y’all to post a lil something about what Lennon might mean to you. He means a lot to me, and I can safely say that his music saved my life. I was going through a tough time (Teen Angst at it’s best) when I “discovered” The Beatles. Their music really helped me through it, as well as inspired me to write my own songs. The Beatles is also the reason I met my BF, and well, the reason we grew so close.
I suppose it just sounds like I’m crazy, and I am. But I’m still here, and the happiest I have ever been, because I had John Lennon’s music, words, art, and life to see me through some tough times.
*"Let me take you down, because I’m going to Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields Forever
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
It’s getting hard to be someone
But it all works out
It doesn’t matter much to me."*
Confusion. Lots and lots of confusion. How can people get so worked up about something so trivial as music. Confusion as to whether, had the Beatles stayed together, we would now see them for the empty phenomenon they were (as we to some level realize now with the Stones, Grateful Dead, Devo).
Confusion as to what is in most people (that I lack) that makes them so prone to manipulation by words put to noise.
More specifically, Lennon’s death means to me confusion at how easily put to a lie was the idea that all life is equal (from the Denis Leary joke asking how Chapman could have missed Yoko Ono to the more serious assertions that someone should just have killed Chapman on the spot).
That, and a couple really bad movies, is what John Lennon means to me.
obfusciatrist I hope that there is somebody in your life, whether that person be famous or personal friend, that means something wonderful to you. I realize that Lennon is not that important in your world, but I hope that you can empathize with me, because you have somebody similiar in your life.
No, they were not an empty phenomenon. However, if they had stuck around for another twenty years like the Dead or the Stones, they might well have become one.
One of the best things they did was to quit while they were on top.
“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…”
“Christ you know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re gonna crucify me.”
Spoken like a true prophet, obfusciatrist. The first verse is an ideal alternative to what has happened throughout history and what is currently happening in Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, India/Pakistan, especially the Mddle East, and other places around the world. His violent death at the gun toted by a publicity-seeker was the harbringer of the me-generation and the temporary loss of remembrance of his ideals. If you are still confused about what John Lennon meant to the world and to us, and why we fans are still saddened by his loss, then you will always be confused.
pepperlandgirl: No, I can’t really empathize. I simply do not form emotional bonds with people I don’t know personally, and rarely then.
I’m not trying to invalidate your feelings, though. I openly concede that I am the broken one. Music, and especially the Beatles, confuse me. That’s what John Lennon means to me, so that is what I shared.
I know that Baglady spent the afternoon crying when Lennon was shot. If she ever leaves me, my total lack of interest in music will probably play a role.
Lazarus: I contend that they were. I don’t think the Stones have become a hollow shell, I think they always have been and it was just the length of their careers that highlighted it.
Just thought I’d share this with ya’ll, though some of you probably already know the story anyway.
I was in Prague a few months ago, and they have what is known there as the “John Lennon Wall”. When Lennon was murdered, someone erected a mock grave in his memory at this location. As I understand the story, the grave was torn down by the police, but the wall there came to be a symbol for freedom and protest of the communist government. Grafitti spread across the wall, messages of freedom and peace, while the police continued an ongoing struggle to keep the wall clean of any anti-communist messages.
That was several years ago, the government is no longer communist, of course, and I guess the wall has become kind of cheesified since then. But it was still moving to see it.
Here’s a picture of the wall I took on 3 May 1998. I wonder how much of his face remained when you were there, Cabbage. I understand that chipping parts of it for souvenirs is a popular tourist activity.
To add to your story, it actually was the French embassador, whose office overlooks the wall, that convinced the Prague police to let the graffiti stay.
Thanks for the picture, Montfort. The wall looked considerably different when I was there. The painting of Lennon in your picture wasn’t there at all, but there was a newer picture in its place with lighter colors. It hadn’t been chipped away at all, and they must have repaired the chipping from before because I didn’t notice any. I’ve got a picture somewhere around here, but no scanner, but maybe I can get it scanned somewhere if you want to see it.
I am a huge Beatles fan. Since the age of 13, they have been the primary musical focus in my life. I respect them more than any other group of musicians that I listen to.
I do not deify John, or any of the other Beatles. LazarusLong was right–they broke up when they knew they had achieved all they could, musically, as a group.
John, in my perception, is a man who spent the greater part of his life (like the first 35 years) in great emotional pain, which allowed him to create amazing music. Even his happiest music has an edge around it.
John died before I really understood who the Beatles were and what their impact was. He is sorely missed, thought. As the recent wealth of historical material on the group indicates, he probably would have been sufficiently separated by time at this point (unlike the Playboy interviews in 1980) to really talk about the experience without some of the bitterness.
I’m just glad I have the music. I brought all my Beatles CDs to work today to listen to. It never gets old.
John Lennon is one of my heroes. For his music, art, poetry, philosophy etc. I like that he was real. He always said what was on his mind, for better or worse. I think some of his music, art, poetry, philosophies are pure crap, but I’m sure he would be the first one to admit that some of it was, and anyone big enough to say so was okay in his book.
I’ve read a myriad of books about him and The Beatles (just got the new Anthology book yesterday), and I see a real person, who displayed himself to the public warts and all. He had a lot of bad qualities to offset his good ones, and he made no bones about it. I admire that in a man.
It was no accident that Mrs. Batty and I got married on his birthday.
*Instant Karma’s gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead
What in the world you thinking of
Laughing in the face of love
What on earth you tryin’ to do
It’s up to you, yeah you
Instant Karma’s gonna get you
Gonna look you right in the face
Better get yourself together darlin’
Join the human race
How in the world you gonna see
Laughin’ at fools like me
Who in the hell d’you think you are
A super star
Well, right you are…*
I heard about John’s death over the radio, coming off a midwatch on a dry-docked submarine in Newport News. The crew offices outside the facility were empty except for the desk watch and me. I told him “Lennon was shot and killed today in New York.” The kid gave me a blank look and said “Who?”
Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Ev’ryone come on
I absolutely love the Beatles. I think they are great. I like more of their “weird stuff” though. I prefer Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album, or Abbey Road over some of their more conventional albums. The Beatles are one of my favorite bands, and they also made some really cool movies. Yellow Submarine was trippy.
