"Imagine" that!

Just “Imagine”

       Apparently, the local rag has made a pact with the Devil. Every Saturday morning, a column by the late unlamented Billy Graham, magically appears in the section of the paper where in lies the equally satanic Saturday Stumper crossword puzzle. One is a compilation of relativly arcane and devious hints at meaning, and the other is a challenging word puzzle.

        I’ve mentioned this journalistic reincarnation for the good of the heirs previously, but today’s column caught my eye by its title: “Music Wields influence, Both Good and Bad.”  I have had internal debates over the years, regarding this issue, since there have been some truly loathsome social constructs proffered as “music.”  2 live Crew always seemed to me, especially when being “interviewed" by a journalist who had apparently checked their pride at the door. Misogynistic, crude and without merit, I could never bring my liberal self to concede any value to their attempts at music. It eluded me that people whose verse centered on “bitches with back” and killing cops for sport constituted art as I understood it. Not talking about Tupac here, a poet close to Dylan in some efforts.

        So, setting this up, I wondered what ole’ Billy had to say about the influence of music. He waxed as eloquently as he could (marginally literate, at best) about George Frederic Handel’s masterwork, “Messiah.” Acknowledging that I admire the music, while rejecting the mythology, it is a gorgeous piece of music. It’s a bit for me like “The Last Unicorn” or “Return to Pooh Corner” – nice tunes about fictional constructs. But enough about that. I was quite curious as to what Billy might consider as the Satanic counterpoint to “Messiah.”  Here’s verbatim what appeared: “On the other hand, music can also have the opposite effect on people, causing hopelessness and despair.”  (Ok, Ok, so what is this devil’s music?) “A popular song years ago invited listeners to visualize an existence where there is no Heaven, no hell, where everyone lives only for today.”  

       Wow! “Imagine” that (see what I did there?).  Of all the miserable pathetic, “My wife/sister/cousin eloped with my brother, dog and truck” bullshit songs about immorality he could have slandered, he chose John Lennon? Is that the same John Lennon who valued women, peace and love (Christian concepts, last I looked)? Yep!

        What I really find odd about this, and have for years, is that “Imagine” is performed in religious settings all over the US. I have heard it in a Methodist Church, seen videos of church choirs performing it in churches of various denominations. Apparently, none of these people have read the lyrics. However, and this is the crux, most of those who perform this song see it as a call for the universal brotherhood of man and a plea for humankind to treat others precisely as Jesus is alleged to have urged his followers to live their lives. In fact, regardless of what theologians ever since have extrapolated, the simple message seems to be “treat others as you would be treated,” in the here and now, the emphasis on afterlife being supplied by those creating a revenue producing pseudo-authoritarian sinecure for the priesthood (and charlatans like ole’ Billy, Joel Osteen and Pat Robertson).

        So, since Billy Graham speaks for the Christian world (or certainly acted as if he thought he did), it would follow that most believers would agree with him, right?  Let’s examine that.

        Rolling Stone described "Imagine" as Lennon's "greatest musical gift to the world." BMI named it one of the top 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century; and that year, it received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.  In 2002, a UK survey conducted by the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book ranked it the second-best single of all time.

        Rolling Stone ranked "Imagine" number three on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", describing it as "an enduring hymn of solace and promise that has carried us through extreme grief, from the shock of Lennon's own death in 1980 to the unspeakable horror of September 11th. It is now impossible to imagine a world without 'Imagine', and we need it more than he ever dreamed." Billy Graham never did anything as noble. Despite that sentiment, fundamentalist Christian owned and operated Clear Channel Communications (now known today as iHeartMedia) included the song on its post-9/11 "do not play" list. Really?

        On 1 January 2005, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named "Imagine" the greatest song in the past 100 years as voted by listeners on the show 50 Tracks. The song ranked number 30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance. Australians selected it the greatest song of all time on the Nine Network's 20 to 1 countdown show on 12 September 2006.  So, it must be satanic on a level we don’t understand, huh?

       How about well known, and sincerely humanitarian persons of faith? Surely, they must see beneath the veil and recognize Lennon’s Satanic message? Again…Jimmy Carter said, "in many countries around the world—my wife and I have visited about 125 countries—you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems."

        Of course, there are criticisms, most based on what is apparently an inability to grasp that songwriters, if they do it right, are appealing to emotion and (wait for it) “imagination.”  According to one critic, Lennon's lyrics describe, "Hypothetical possibilities that offer no practical solutions; lyrics that are at times nebulous and contradictory, asking the listener to abandon political systems while encouraging one similar to communism."  This of course is a criticism which could be levelled at Tupac’s “Changes,” Cat Stevens’ Peace Train,” Bob Marley’s “One Love,”  Kermit T. Frog's “Rainbow Connection," and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Even Donald Fagan’s “IGY” and Talking Heads’ “Nothing But Flowers” fall somewhere on that continuum.  Others argue that Lennon intended the song's lyrics to inspire listeners to imagine if the world could live without possessions, not as an explicit call to give them up. One actually commented: "Lennon knew he had nothing concrete to offer, so instead he offers a dream, a concept to be built upon." The ludicrous commentary here is that This theme had been a cornerstone of artists in most medias forever.  

        The morning after the November 2015 Paris attacks, German pianist Davide Martello brought a grand piano to the street out in front of the Bataclan, where 89 concertgoers had been shot dead the night before and performed an instrumental version to honor the victims of the attacks. A simple but pithy comment by a reporter on scene summed up the moment thus: “Imagine belongs to the tradition of hymns or spirituals that visualize a glorious afterlife without prophesizing any immediate end to suffering on earth. This understanding is also compounded by the historical context of Lennon's own violent death, reminding us that the universe can run roughshod over idealistic people. Ultimately, the song captures the fragility of our hope after a violent or destructive event also reveals its tenacity".

       There are scores of “sacred” songs which ballyhoo everything from unconditional love to violent reprisals, all in the name of God. Many if not most derive from the promise that no matter what an arsehole you’ve been, it’ll get better when you die if you just buy into the myth. There are far fewer, but much more meaningful contemporary secular songs with meaning to all of us in the real world and in the present.  For me, “Imagine” (regardless of what Billy Graham may have thought) heads this list, followed closely by Sting’s “Fragile,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger,” Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” and Several by Kenny Loggins. The common thread here? You’re responsible for your own actions, and generally, the author of your own happiness. Imagine that.