So this is Christmas and what have you done? So sang John Lennon.
It was thirty years ago today when we all heard the news. I remember where I was and if you are of a certain age then you do too.
I was born at the tail end of the baby boom, so for me, the Beatles, when I was growing up, were first and foremost cartoon characters. You could see them every Saturday/Sunday mornings on ABC at 10:30am from 1965 – 1969 and then in 1968 came Yellow Submarine which I remember seeing in the theater.
By the time I was old enough to buy my own records around the age of 12 or 13, the Beatles were already broken up and John had begun his lost weekend. McCartney was dominating the airways with Band on the Run and John seemed overshadowed by Wings and his personal problems.
As I began to really learn the Beatles catalog and began to relate to the lyrics as only a 14 or 15 year old can, it was John’s sense of humor, frailty and humanity that I most identified with. I bought McCartney’s albums but John was my favorite Beatle.
In 1974, I was supposed to go to my first concert. Elton John at Madison Square Garden. I won’t go into details but someone screwed me out of my ticket to make a quick buck. I later found out that John Lennon was at the show and sang with Elton that night. That was as close as I ever came to seeing him live and in person and to this day, when I think about it… well, I try not to think about it.
John loomed large over my teenage years. He did not produce any new music until Double Fantasy but I came to see him as so many others did as the voice and conscience of the 60’s. For those of us who saw the 60’s as the great cultural turning point and age of idealism, his was the voice that still resonated.
Even in the late 70’s as “classic rock” was becoming the music of an older generation and disco, punk, new wave, and rap ruled the airwaves and MTV, John’s picture hung on my bedroom wall from the White Album. Phony Beatlemania may have bitten the dust but John was not phony and he remained relevant.
Even before his death, John was unlike any other rock god. He was human, warts and all, but he brought out something noble in me and he inspired me to be a better person. It may be going too far to say that John was a prophet but I am not sure that I really know what that means. Was Martin Luther King a prophet? Was Gandhi a prophet? All I know is that John stood for peace, love, forgiveness, imagination and in the end hope for the future.
John spoke truth to power and he didn’t take any shit from anybody. John would not have liked being called a prophet anyway. John said that he did not believe in politicians or musicians or religions or dogmas or traditions. He just believed in himself… and Yoko… and especially him with Yoko together in love.
I remain influenced by John, I think for the better. I don’t believe in a lot of things either and I tend to be very skeptical. I really wanted to believe in the “Hope and Change” of the last election but so far I have been disappointed.
I went to the Rally for Sanity hoping that we could begin to see the end of the polarization of modern politics, but I see no compromise, I only see anger and selfishness.
It is easy to lose one’s optimism, but John never did even when the FBI was harassing him. He had his Yoko and later his Sean. I am lucky enough to have my own Yoko and my own kids, all of whom inspire me every day.
So, today I remember John and want to thank him for everything he brought to this world. For those who despond over the state of affairs today, please remember that war is over if you want it.
Peace, love, forgiveness, imagination, and hope don’t need to be just words. Your life is what you make of it. Get out there and make John proud.
One Comment
Comments are closed.
Well said Brian.