Why no uproar about John Lennon’s “Imagine”?

[NDP]

@Sternvogel

Also, the final verse created some controversy:

And the three men I admire most
The Father Son and Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

Among the interpretations of this lyric are that the Holy Trinity literally abandoned the world (remember the frequent “God is Dead” references made during the late '60’s and early '70’s) or that Don McLean is blasphemously equating Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper to the three aspects of the Christian Divinity.

Given that the song was about all the social and cultural upheavals that occurred in America between Buddy Holly’s death and the early 70’s, I thought it was actually a reference to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.

[Musicat]

@Sternvogel

Also, the final verse created some controversy:

And the three men I admire most
The Father Son and Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

Among the interpretations of this lyric are that the Holy Trinity literally abandoned the world (remember the frequent “God is Dead” references made during the late '60’s and early '70’s) or that Don McLean is blasphemously equating Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper to the three aspects of the Christian Divinity.

@NDP

Given that the song was about all the social and cultural upheavals that occurred in America between Buddy Holly’s death and the early 70’s, I thought it was actually a reference to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.

I think it is a prediction. The Father, Son & Holy Ghost are Bush I, Bush II, and Rumsfeld. After their defeat in the next election, they will leave Washington. “The day the music died” refers to 9/11, obviously. :rolleyes: Or maybe rising gas prices. The demise of Napster?

Or else Don McLean just liked the way the words rolled off his tongue and had no hidden meaning in mind. Who knows?

Imagine, in contrast, is pretty unambiguous.

[look_ninjas]

@NDP

Lennon was too rich to be a commie.

“Was it a millionaire who said ‘Imagine no possessions?’” - Elvis Costello.

I seem to recall that “Imagine” made it on the infamous Clear Channel “Do Not Play” list, but there don’t seem to be any copies of that floating around anymore. If there was a thread on it here, it seems to have vanished into the ether. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

[Krisfer_the_Cat]

My mother first founfd the song in Spanish while she was in Peru in 1991…

needless to sat she was rather surprised that it was an old song orginally in English… yeah Mom gotta lover her!

[EvilGhandi]

wolf_meister,
“Guess God is a Beatles fan.”

One could just as easily assume that satan, using his unholy powers, was destroying that station opposing him.

[Marley23]

@Psycho Pirate

I can guarantee you that John Lennon believes in a literal Holy God now.

How much are you willing to wager on that one?

[Cardinal]

As a churchified Christian, I thnk I can state that it’s because no one will care. I understand that there are evangelicals who make asses of themselves routinely, but it’s also true that complaining about things like Lennon or Kiss or Slayer lyrics would just be spitting in the wind. There’s too big a divide to have a discussion on it. It’s like the typical American response to Muslims complaining that women are wearing tight clothing at the pool.