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Originally Posted by roachboy
this is among the most overrated songs of the past 40 years.
there is no particular political message to it, beyond a statement that anticipates the rodney king school of thought---can't we all just get along?
there's no statement in it about communism.
there's no statement in it about politics, about a political program, about what is or what can or should be done.
there's no relation between this and a critique of capitalism.
you want an idea of lennon's notions of class warfare, check out "working-class hero"
you want an idea of lennon's ideas concerning revolution, check out that song from the white album.
it's a bit of pop fluff.
that's all it is.
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I actually agree with this, mostly. I wouldn't say it was just "pop fluff", it has a great meaning to it, but people try to read more into it. The song is pretty much just about a Utopian society where people just lived and didn't worry about the main causes for war, Religion, Nationality, Money, etc.
What is truly ironic about Lennon is that in many ways he was hypocritical and did not come close to practicing what he preached, of course Yoko had a lot to do with that also. He was a HUGE spender, who was very reclusive at times, because he did not like the "ordinary man". He was very anti-semitic. He was at times very sexist, racist and class elitist. He talked of forgiveness and liked to play victim, but was extremely vindictive and hateful of people he felt slighted him.... ask Tommy Smothers and Paul, to name a few. His private life was very much at odds with what he wrote in his life.
I also believe, judging by everything I have read on him, different biographies, interviews by him and others, etc. many would be surprised by his politics should they have stayed relatively the same, in todays world.
I know from personal experience and I believe many if not all of us do to some extent, it is far easier to preach ideals and great thoughts than to practice them. I relate a lot to Lennon in many aspects, in that, you believe and preach one way but in the end you live almost completely opposite.
I think the vast majority of Lennon's work was not written so much for a change in society, although people read into it as such, but more a change in his own life and his own beliefs. He preached love, yet he was never faithful. He preached how much he loved his children yet for Julian he very rarely talked to him and Sean, while he talked about being a stay at home father and being very caring.... he was living with May Ping in L.A. and had burned holes in his nasal septum from coke.
His was an interesting tale.... but then again, in the end so are many of our lives, we just don't have books and people watching and picking apart our every move.
He was a true every man..... great in what he believed publicly and who tried to live by what he preached, to the best of his ability..... yet, driven mad by what he preached and not able to live to those lofty ideals.
I think in the end George lived closer to what Lennon preached than Lennon could ever come close to.