John Lennon: Listening to ‘Imagine’

‘You may say I’m a dreamer/ But I’m not the only one.’ Listening to these words mixed with the music in John Lennon‘s ‘Imagine‘ (rb.gy/m8ha3k) melts away much canker and cynicism, even if for the duration of this timeless song. The pleasure of listening to ‘Imagine’ is that of tasting Utopia – you know it is impossible, unreal, even foolish, and yet….

The song’s simplicity creates a strange stitch that resonates with the human spirit even as one realises how ungraspable it is. Which is not a bad thing at all. And that is the very joy you derive out of it.

Barriers between people dissolve, and a world of unity and peace emerges for the duration of the song. Lennon’s words evoke a sense of collective yearning for a better world.

The purity of his message and the sincerity in his delivery tug at the heartstrings – which he himself found to be ‘too saccharine’ at times – fostering a connection that goes beyond mere auditory stimulation. The iconic piano riff and Lennon’s distinctive voice linger in the mind well after we return to the real world.