Imagine
John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

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...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

CASE STUDIES: Religion in Media/ Modern World

John Lennon – “Imagine”

Peace, the absence of war or other hostilities, an agreement or a treaty to end hostilities and freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations. This is the definition for peace. Many religions within the world seek for World Peace and one of the many ways of expressing how someone feels is through their music. The song “Imagine,” by John Lennon is a good example of how he dreams about the world becoming one.

In this song he takes a look at many different issues around the world involving the difference amongst countries, different religions and hopes to seek equality amongst everyone. This song expresses his thoughts and as you notice in the lyrics he always states, “imagine.”

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

This verse is John Lennon’s thoughts about not living for the past or future but the present and that’s what only matters. In other words take one day at a time and don’t worry about whats going to happen next. Then he starts getting more specific about what is going on around the world.

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...

People need to realize that when you think about having no countries, what would it do for the world. There are no boundaries, which we can or cannot cross because of differences between others. A good example of this is after the events of September 11 when the “Twin Towers” were hit, many people that were Muslim were being judged and yet to this day Americans don’t trust some Muslims into the United States. Now if there were no boundaries we wouldn’t have many of these problems because there is no one to judge. Some people feel that you cannot have no boundaries, but if there aren’t than there won’t be any hatred for example towards the Americans. The Americans retaliated once the “Twin Towers,” were hit, but like John Lennon states in his song, there truly is nothing to kill or die for. While many soldiers feel that they need to kill or die for their country, what good does this bring? No matter what, religion is a big issue, which causes many wars around the world. If there were no religion, then everyone would be equal.

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

In the chorus John Lennon is asking the listeners to believe in what he’s saying, even though it just sounds like a dream because if everyone shares the same dream then it becomes reality.

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

The last concept that he brings forth in the verse is the concept of sharing the world. He asks the listener to imagine there were no processions as and if you can imagine that because when you think about it theirs only paper that states what we own, meanwhile its nothing. When he talks about need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man, he looks at how much everyone consumes and wastes, meanwhile if we only shared with our brothers, than we could feed the whole world. This is a good example of how we take advantage of things we have in the world. Meanwhile the world would be a better place if only we shared.

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

The last part of the song which is considered the chorus, is a repeat about how we may think his dreams are crazy but he’s not alone and if everyone came together, then eventually the “world will live as one.”

When looking at how this song relates to religion, John Lennon talks about how everyone has different beliefs, but because everyone is caught up within their own religion, more and more we are separating ourselves from the world. All religions focus on things we should do and what we shouldn’t do. But because there are so many different religions, many countries are having wars. We need to think about what we need to do to keep this world together and if that consists of just believing and taking in some this song into consideration then at least you know that your trying to make a difference.