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Saturday, October 9, 2010

Imagine!

Happy Birthday,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Dear John Lennon,
Happy Birthday...

Today, October 9, marks John Lennon's birthday. He would have been 70. Imagine!

I miss him. I grew up to his and The Beatles' music and to "Imagine," which was recorded and released in 1971 and which I deem to be one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. Who doesn't have memories rekindled by this song?

Most of my pocket money went on buying the records of The Beatles and John Lennon. Why did I ever give them away? The record player was always turning and playing their music at full blast when we lazed around at home.  And when friends passed by, we used to sit and talk, giggle and gossip and dream to their songs -- the first dance, the first kiss, the first love...

I often wonder what John Lennon would have thought of the world today... of all the wars since he was shot dead on December 8, 1980. His work as a peace activist and his criticism of the Vietnam War after his 1971 move to New York triggered sustained attempts by the Nixon Administration to try and deport him from the U.S. How many countries would have wanted to deport him today?

Yoko Ono's  Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland
To celebrate the singer/songwriter's 70th birthday, his wife Yoko Ono -- the artist, musician and peace advocate -- will relight the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland this Saturday night. She is hoping the @Twitter community will join her in this event and tweet a million wishes to the Imagine Peace Tower at @IPTower. 

Yoko Ono talks about the Imagine Peace Tower in this video and we can join her and John Lennon's family, friends and fans on this day and watch the lighting live at the IPT site a 8 pm GMT, 11 pm Beirut, midnight Dubai, 9 pm UK, 3 pm NY, midday LA, 5 am Japan.
Google, the search engine giant, joined in the celebrations yesterday by launching an auditory doodle.

If you've forgotten the words of “Imagine”... please try, at least for one day, to sing along and as Yoko Ono says, "let's make a wish, let's send light to each other and say I LOVE YOU."


 

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 that 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 that 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

Happy Birthday John Lennon