John Lennon
John Lennon is one of few contemporary artists who only turned to consistent political activism only in the early 1970s after the break-up of The Beatles (Fisher & Flota 125). The enduring legacy of his work included the song “God”, wherein Lennon wrote the lyrics “the dream is over”, which meant that the dream of the gurus, the hippies, members of The Beatles band, or any other supposed savior had ended. The meaning of the term “dream” in the song refers to the belief in the value of countercultural protest for its own sake (Fisher & Flota 125). Lennon addressed political issues in his music but he recognized that style is not political substance. He was able to fuse experiments in technology, instrumentation, lyrics, and song form into artistically and commercially successful recordings, with a hint of activism (Jackson 130). He was able to express his emotions in his music, explained his beliefs and philosophies, at the same time, he also protested political situations.
The most popular work of Lennon is his song “Imagine”, which had been regarded as the most subversive pop song ever recorded in history which had achieved a classic status (Jackson 130).
Lennon strategy in expressing political protest is by creating tension by juxtaposing an understated melody with a frank radical message in order to deceive the listeners to absorb the deeper meaning and message of the song (Jackson 130). The music of Lennon was able to transport political messages in order to create spaces of activism and resistance. He used his songs to represent his political and social opinions. Through the symbolic character of the lyrics, he described the environment, created border and was able to overcome the political boundaries. Lennon’s political statements promoted peace in the meetings with the press in Amsterdam and Montreal due to the potency of the music of The Beatles, which became a pop culture at that time (Wissmann 36).
Lennon’s music included rock, which is intended to explicitly sound off his political aims such as in the song “Sometime in New York City.” As part of his solo work, he invoked the phrase “the people” in his songs or the solidarity of the first-person plural “we” in some of his songs including “Attica State” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Some of the more popular songs were “Power to the People” and “Give Peace a Chance” (Makela 180). Lennon’s identification of a single speaker in his songs and by using the phrase “the people” is became part of the perennial populist rhetoric of political activists like him. In the case of Lennon, he used his songs to convey messages to the public which allowed him to express the wishes and the desires of the people (Makela 180). When he used the words “the people”, Lennon pointed out that it is a political fact that the people have no voice, so they are driven by one common goal and aspiration which is to live in peace and harmony. There were various interest groups that derived their power and authority from the people.
The intention of Lennon in writing his songs is to send out the message in his music that people desire to live simply, to walk freely in the streets and to talk with other persons, and to participate in campaigns and demonstrations (Makela 184). Lennon did not promote destabilization and tumultuous encounters with authorities. Instead he performed in benefits concerts to be able to tell the truth about political issues. He wanted to change the world through his music and lyrics by proving to the world that a true star and icon should not be separated from the realities of everyday life. He transcended from his level of superstardom to return to the streets and be one with the people. He maintained a social and political active relationship with the people and he became sincere and direct with his expressions (Makela 184).
His music depicts messages of activism and its concrete effects are impossible to determine. In fact, during the time of Lennon, not even the administration of then U.S. President Richard Nixon can use the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to persecute Lennon for writing his songs (James 90). Lennon’s made an effort to align himself with other artists, who shared the same political ideals or agendas. His political efforts proved to be successful as many people patronized his music and became actively involved in his political ideologies. Lennon used a clever technique to write meaningful anti-war messages and incorporated it with beautiful melody in order to emphasize his political point. One of his musical influences is in the person of Bob Dylan. Just like Dylan’s lyrics, John Lennon had incorporated a multitude of political, social, and philosophical messages in his songs, which defied the pop music traditions. Both the music of Dylan and John appealed mainly to the escalating counterculture during their time. Lennon had admitted to have been influenced by Dylan. The obvious similarities are present in the works of both artists. In the case of Dylan, he became prominent in promoting the civil rights movement in his album called “The Times are a-Changin”. Lennon’s work also reflected his political messages in popular songs “Power to the People” and “Give Peace a Chance.”
Lennon’s religious and political views were expressed in his songs. Some regarded him to be an atheist based on the lyrics of “Imagine”, when he said, “There is no heaven, no hell below us, above us only sky”. It can be interpreted that Christianity does not exist and that he questions the theological aspects of Christians. He also wrote two landmark peace songs, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” and “Give Peace a Chance” which became the popular anthems to express that he supports the anti-Vietnam movement. It was then during the time of President Nixon when he ordered that Lennon must be deported the Immigration and Naturalization Service when he sang his songs during a re-election year. It was Lennon’s way of telling the public to not vote for Nixon, which resulted to the initiation of deportation proceedings against him by the INS. Lennon’s audience is the general public and he tried to address the political issues to denounce any form of war and to vote for leaders who are not hungry for power at the cost of human lives. His anti-government campaigns are controversial which resulted to his deportation proceedings during the time of President Nixon. Lennon’s political statements are global and universal since he wanted peace all over the world and denounce any form of war and violence.
Bob Dylan has a strong influence on Lennon in the sense that Lennon transformed as a radical, who wanted to spread his political messages after he witnessed the existence of the struggle for power and wealth, at the expense of losing innocent lives and human freedom. Lennon can be regarded as a libertarian who wanted to take full advantage of autonomy and freedom of choice. His songs emphasized that there should be political freedom to believe, recognition voluntary association and that the supremacy of individual judgment must be respected. Lennon’s songs had made a significant impact to the public by influencing them to take a look at the world in a different angle.
Lennon’s music was of high quality, very basic and easily accessible by the general public. He became popular as a solo artist after The Beatles disbanded because he wrote songs showing his true political sentiments. His erratic radicalism exemplified the contradictions of rock. His political awareness moved him occasionally to object war when he produced songs with flower-power anthem such as “All You Need is Love” and denounced militant action in his work “Revolution” (James 90). He also used his massive popularity and financial resources to support various publicity offenses in events such as “Amsterdam and Toronto Bed-Ins for Peace” and “War is Over-If You Want It” billboard campaign (James 90). Lennon also participated in anti-war rallies in New York in 1972, where he wrote the song “Let’s Give Peace Chance.” His rock songs that have anti-war messages were all well-written which had stirred unyielding sections of public opinion against war. The mainstream society at large had been significantly affected by Lennon’s work, songs and lyrics.
The intention of Lennon in writing his songs is to send out the message in his music that he wanted all people to live as one. In his song “Imagine”, Lennon wanted to impart the message that a world without countries or religions means that there is no division. Each one should be treated equally, regardless of religious beliefs and political ideals. Lennon wanted a world that is free from war and oppression, where people can live simply; freely walk in the streets and to converse with others by expressing their own opinions without being persecuted. He wanted to impart the message to his audience to participate in campaigns and demonstrations to tell the truth about political issues (Makela 184). Although Lennon was vocal of this anti-government campaign, he did not promote destabilization and tumultuous encounters with the government officials. He wanted to change the world and for people to look at life in a different perspective by listening to his music. The lyrics or words that he used is his songs is a living proof to the world that a true star icon like Lennon not be dehumanized or be separated from the realities of life. In the end, Lennon was able to step down from the ladder of superstardom to return to the streets and educate the people. He was able to successfully influence the people from many generations to promote a social and political active relationship with them because he was sincere and direct with his expressions (Makela 184). His message to his audience is to promote freedom from religion, hunger, and suffering.
After Lennon was killed by a murderer’s bullet in December of 1980, there were many posthumous releases that ensued which made Lennon a more active public figure in the four years after his death, compared to the last four years when he was still alive (Jackson 131).
Works Cited:
Brown, Robert E. "The Art & Music of John Lennon (Book)." Library Journal 116.5
(1991): 92. Literary Reference Center. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
James David E. Power Misses: Essays Across (un)popular Culture. New York: Verso,
1996. Print.
Fisher, Joseph P. and Brian Flota. The Politics of Post-9/11 Music: Sound, Trauma, and
The Music Industry in the Time of Terror: Sound Trauma and the Music Industry.
Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2013. Print.
Jackson, Kathy Merlock. “The Words and Music of John Lennon by Ben Urish and
Ken Bielen.” Journal of American Culture 31.1 (2008): 130-131. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Makela, Janne. John Lennon Imagined: Cultural History of a Rock Star. New York:
Peter Lang, 2004. Print.
Wissmann, Torsten. Geographies of Urban Sound. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing,
2014. Print.
