# Better song? Imagine or Heal the World **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107 "2020-03-23T17:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/21 "2020-03-24T16:28:07Z")
Imagine is better if sung to the tune of Folsom Prison Blues (a la Puddles and Pinball Wizard). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/22 "2020-03-24T18:38:28Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Never heard of “Heal the World”, and “Imagine” is a fascist song, so can’t vote. I know fascism is a poorly defined term, but this is one of the more absurd statements I’ve read in a while. If you stretch you could call it communist but even that requires you to project an awful lot onto the minimalist lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/23 "2020-03-24T20:53:27Z")
Never heard of _Heal the World_. Googling indicates it might be a Michael Jackson song. I know a lot of his songs, not this one. Gave that one a little bit of a listen. Nope. Not one of his best by a long shot. Not worth a second listen, IMHO. No wonder it’s comparatively obscure. When it isn’t as “good” as _Ebony and Ivory_, that’s saying something. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/24 "2020-03-24T22:24:49Z")
Next poll: Afternoon Delight? Or Having My Baby? ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/25 "2020-03-24T22:25:34Z")
I agree that _Imagine_ is a bit overplayed and melodically simple, and that its enduring appeal is mainly in its association with John Lennon in his late 1960s/early 1970s “peacenik” phase (charges of hypocrisy aside). It’s still more true to form and better on its own than _Heal The World_, IMO a very forgettable piece. > [@ftg](#): > > Never heard of _Heal the World_. … When it isn’t as “good” as _Ebony and Ivory_, that’s saying something. Yeah, that, pretty much. Plus, treacle aside, at least _Imagine_ offers a concrete path to peace: forgo religion, nationalism, and materialism (who said this song was “fascist?” It explicitly advocates erasing the idea of a “country” worth dying for!). _Heal the World_ offers nothing but a wish for the world to be healed. Or, for people to want the world to be healed. OK? MJ’s _Man In The Mirror_ says something similar but far more effectively, because at least it’s introspective. It never says what the “change” that needs to happen actually is, but at least he’s talking directly to the Man In The Mirror and asking him to Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change. (Give your change?) Also musically superior to either _Imagine_ or _Heal The World_. Though to me, better than any of those for this kind of sentiment would be U2’s song, [Peace On Earth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZiH77MgoSY). I don’t think it ever charted, not in the UK, Europe, or the USA, but it never fails to move me. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/26 "2020-04-02T21:12:00Z")
I chose ‘Imagine’ for its melody, but there should have been an option for, “Having needles jammed into my ears”, which I would have chosen instead. ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/27 "2020-04-03T02:44:59Z")
When you witness something awful, sometimes you are moved to do something. Since Imagine has a great amount of unmotivated approval, I can only assume the MJ song has motivated more people to do something about it. The world can’t help but benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107/28 "2020-04-03T03:40:28Z")
For me it is a question of which do I dislike the least. I guess Imagine, by a hair. A very fine hair. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-song-imagine-or-heal-the-world/850107.md?page=1)