John Lennon, Imagine - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction 

@foxdenham I noticed that too. Vlad has great chops in video creation. Kudos Vlad.

I also noticed and appreciated the artistic touch of fading from black and white to color. Nice job Vlad!

It's amazing that a woman of her age has not heard this song especially one who plays piano. This is not a negative criticism but merely a neutral observation

The song goes from mono to stereo when he starts singing, very clever. The song itself is very atmospheric and evocative

He’s saying imagine there’s no barriers between people such as the fear of god or satan or religious differences or haves and have nots

Only Buddha is perfect, and he’s fat and bald- Me

The same can be said of everyone I’ve meet in my 72 years.

​@@ed.z., I'm sure George would agree.

@@ed.z. exactly

Paul described John as a beautiful person

Do you know Beatles' Helter Skelter and I Want You (She's So Heavy), the most "metalish" Beatles songs? I also recommend, for a metal head like you, songs like Yer Blues, Oh! Darling, Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey or Happiness Is A Warm Gun. Or from their psychodelic era Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite, Tomorrow Never Knows, It's All Too Much. Or artsy songs like Yesterday, In My Life, For No One (the baroque trilogy of songs of the Beatles). I could go on but it's up to you to dive deeper in Beatles' catalogue. You won't be disappointed. They were so amazingly versatile!

The Beatles practically invented heavy rock. Although I give that to Leslie West and Mountain, from NYC. My home town, 25 years ago.

There is tragedy that we lost him but there is glory that we had him. Gone way too soon but he and his mates changed the world for the better, forever.

​@@ed.z.I'd like to have a dollar every time I cranked up Mississippi Queen on my Macintosh, back in the day. Back when almost all the music coming out was good! 😮

@@sx20Ramar me too! My C 26 Mac preamp still sings.

Now we need to know more about your incredible life, please.

@@IwasInThe60s I have indeed had an incredible life - part of this is because I have a big mouth. I find that good musicians, like Amy, are also passionate people. I think that is much of the secret - if there is one. I may mention some of the musicians I have met it it comes up, but in the mean time, I am really enjoying Army's insights and the joy she takes in expanding her horizons

@@MoreAThanI There is no way to tell some people anything, especially if they have invested their lives in mastering "cancel culture" You seem to be on the way there, unless you can say more clearly what you wish to, and it is something else.

On my one visit to NYC we did all tourist stuff and included Strawberry Fields. To just be there on a random day with other people who also have great appreciation for John and his music was the highlight of the trip. Definitely a moving experience.

Fans hold jam sessions there on his birthday and the anniversary of his passing. There are quite a few videos on RU-vid showing some of the concerts. The communal singing is very bonding and heart-warming. The closest entrance in via 72nd street on the West side across from the Dakota. And a beautiful mosaic too!

The best song writers of the 20th century NO ONE HAS COME NEAR WHAT THESE LADS DONE IN 7 YEARS .

ThNk you for sharing your creativity with us. Ringo has certainly adopted “peace and live” as his life’s credo.

Same here. ☮️

Yes. A terrible day.

And 6 months later, Bob Marley died.. But Henry Kissinger lived to be 100 years old, go figure...

​@@hansemannluchter643criminals always live longer !

Someone reckoned I would not be able to cry, as I am on beta blockers, but I can!

So why don't you start enacting his vision by giving away all of your possessions? Like... now. All of it. Gotta start somewhere, right?

​@frossbog are you a commie ?!

@@frossbog I do believe you missed the point. Try listening again and really trying to allow yourself to envision what paradise, heaven or just a planet without hateful, critical and cruel, fearful and biased people may look like. John Lennon was able to see it and put that vision to a melodic lullaby type of music. If you let go of the vitriol and envision a world without cruelty or violence, not with your old political fears of outdated ideas; then, I think you’ll see the beauty he was speaking about. Try to be a dreamer. Imagine.

The communist ideal of the song is surely coming to fruition. Sadly.

I guess her point was that when you first hear that line, you don't know exactly what it's communicating. Usually when people talk about heaven, it's to give them hope that there's something out there that's better than the current world. You don't know what the song is about, and it opens with this line. It would also work in a nihilistic song that tries to tell you that nothing matters and there is no hope. That's a more "traditional" understanding of the line on its own - if there is no heaven, then there is no hope. The message of that line only becomes clear when you listen to the song further. So, it's definitely a bold choice as the first line of the song. He could have chosen a less radical line like "imagine all the people living life in peace" that everyone can immediately get behind. But not everyone can get behind "imagine there's no heaven" - it may sound shocking to a lot of people who find hope in the idea that they and their loved ones go to a better place after they die. He could have also opened with "imagine there's no hell", which again a lot more people would immediately get behind (then again, I guess some people's morality is quite strongly based on the idea that if you do bad things, you deserve harsh punishment, and if there was no hell, then there would be nothing to stop bad people from doing bad things - but I definitely think that there being no hell is a more popular idea than there being no heaven). But he didn't. He first destroys the concept that gives a lot of people hope, especially during a difficult time (remember that the song was written during the Vietman war when a lot of people had to deal with the death of their loved ones). It isn't difficult to imagine there's no heaven when there's so much suffering in the world, but the thought of there being a heaven still gives people hope. This is also why it was a bit ironic that this was the song that the celebrities decided to sing when covid lockdowns started (all in all, not sure how the message of the song relates to the pandemic). A lot of people were dying, and the song starts with "imagine there's no heaven". It is not a comforting thought in that context, and I think that is exactly the point of the first line. But it becomes a comforting thought as you listen to the song further - this is the life that matters, and it is possible to make the world a better place as long as more people start imagining a better world. It still doesn't help you deal with loss, but it helps with creating a world where not so many people have to go through the pain of losing someone they loved. So, imagining that there is no heaven actually helps with creating a "heaven on earth" - it gets us closer to heaven, even if that seems contradictory at first. I think the message of the first verse is that we should focus on the current day. Live in the moment and try to improve this world right here and now - don't just wait for a better future in the afterlife that may not even exist. This becomes clear in the end of the first verse: "Imagine all the people living for today". If everyone did this, even if they actually believed in an afterlife, our current world would be better. It's not exactly telling you not to believe in an afterlife. It's simply telling you to focus on this world, and not worry about the afterlife right now. Our goal is to improve the world today, and not wait until our death when we hope to go to a better place.

You're completely right my friend 👍🏻😀 I noticed that too, I hope Amy reads your comment. This E major is the crucial point there!

Well, John stole a song that Frank Zappa had written. FZ wasn't mentioned on the record that The Plastic Ono Band released.

He was a secular prophet. Even Jesus' apostles had complications in their home lives and flawed personalities. That's the point: to be imperfect and strive anyway, to reach for the stars and never grasp them but to never stop trying.

Very well said and articulated.

To me, John Lennon has a lot in common with another Legend, Bob Marley.

Unbelievable!

That’s a beautiful comment Lee, you basically said what I was going to say. Well done.

@@Hartlor_Tayley Thanks Hartlor. That means a lot. I think Amy did a great job of expressing the sentiment of this song, giving it the attention it deserves.

I remember the school choir where I worked chose this. We thought it was a brave choice, one we Approved of.

@@LeeKennison thank you kindly. yes she did and I also appreciated all the content she brought. The song really transcends what is actually written in the song and she brought that aspect out.

@@bobseago1513 I miss those days

Listeners were merely a lot younger when this first came out. 🤗

@@mikes9305 Precisely. Childlike views of the world should be for children, not grown men. Yes John I can imagine a world without borders or possessions and it wouldn't be good. I want to live in a community that takes care of itself, not one that tries to take care of everyone else. And I have a unique set of interests and ambitions that I wish to pursue - not interested in the Left's pursuit of group-think utopia that inevitably leads to hell on Earth. Think Soviet Union, think the CCP, think Pol Pot. No thanks.

@@djknox2 Don't connect me with your anti-left sentiments, please. I'm a moderate.

@@mikes9305 So am I.

@@djknox2 Well I don't perceive this song to be a path to Pol Pot. Freedom of expression... The ideas may be unrealistic but by thinking about them, most persons will realize that they're merely wishful sentiments on the part of the writer.

That's very moving about David Bowie.