John Lennon - Imagine (Llibret)

2

imagine the clouds dripping. dig a hole in your garden to put them in. yoko ’63

imaginecrippled insidejealous guyit’s so hardi don’t wanna be a soldiermama i don’t wanna diegimme some truthoh my lovehow do you sleep?how?oh yoko!

3

to critical praise but only muted approval inthe marketplace. The conclusions were, to him, pretty obvious. He might be a trail-blazer in all kinds of ways, but he was at heart a populist – an artist but also anentertainer. The task was to frame his ideas in music that listeners loved and took insidetheir hearts. Plastic Ono Band had beenadmired, but often from a distance. The roleof the next album – the record that becameImagine – was an attempt for maximumcommunication offering hopes to thebleeding, battered world.

On the musical level he certainly succeeded.Imagine is the best-loved album of his solocareer, while its title track is perhaps his most revered. By contrast to its austerepredecessor the new music had melodies in abundance, and colour and variety. It hadflashes of broad humour and moments ofabsolute joy.

In his home outside London, at TittenhurstPark in Ascot, John had built a studio wherehe could record the raw tracks, withoutrecourse to his traditional base at AbbeyRoad. The producer Phil Spector returned tohelp John oversee an informal family ofmusicians. Among them were GeorgeHarrison, and friends like Klaus Voormann

Just a year on from theimplosion of The Beatles,John Lennon’s life had yet tosettle. In 1971, while lawyerspicked over the remains ofhis old band, he travelledwith Yoko to meet her familyin Japan, and to Americapursuing custody of Kyoko,her daughter by ex-husbandTony Cox. Within John’s own,ever-enquiring mind, a war of ideas was raging.

In London and New York he had been drawnto the radical underground, where hippy idealsof the 1960s met the hard-edged politics of anew decade. But this being John, nothing wascut and dried. In parallel he was cultivating analmost mystic line of thought, much of itinspired by the art and poetry of Yoko Ono.

John’s first post-Beatles album, John Lennon/

Plastic Ono Band, had emerged in late 1970

4

and the drummer Alan White, who had allplayed on John’s tremendous debutcollaboration with Spector, ‘Instant Karma!’.The Rolling Stones’ favourite pianist NickyHopkins was there, and members of the Apple label’s Badfinger.

As Yoko says: “It was so good to havebreakfast in our own home and walk right intothe new studio next to it. We could smell thegrass and the trees from the garden and heardthe birds chirping. We felt like they werehelping us.”

Imagine took shape in the early summer, after which the tapes were taken to New Yorkfor final overdubs (not least the magisterialsaxophone of King Curtis) at Record PlantEast. It seems that everyone involved, andcertainly John himself, had a sense of itsbeing exceptional. Here were songs that threwrevealing light on his whole personality at thatpoint – from the devout but imperfect lover tothe embattled former Beatle; a manpreoccupied by his inner doubts yet ready foranyone when his righteous fury was aroused.

The keynote song itself was drawn fromYoko’s work. It was so influential upon Johnthat he later said she deserved a co-credit. As far back as 1964, in her collection of

5

poems called Grapefruit, Yoko began eachpiece with an invocation to “imagine”: one example, from 1963’s Cloud Piece, is quoted on the album cover. Whether inspiritual or earthly matters, the idea runs, we must visualise our goals before we canachieve them. It’s a theme to which Lennonreturned frequently, and the hymn-likesimplicity of its setting reflects his basic faith – namely, that our collective imaginations are a force for good.

The cover-art, from a photograph by Yoko,further shows John in a dreamer’s role, literally with “head in the clouds”. But typicallyof Lennon there was an earthier touch, as well,in a giveaway postcard of him wrestling a pig– satirising, as most fans at the time wouldhave spotted – Paul McCartney’s pastoralimage on his own solo LP of that year, Ram.For all that ‘Imagine’ has a generosity of spirit,the infamous ‘How Do You Sleep?’ is narrowand hard, despite its lush and spaciousarrangement. John would later say that theattack on his former musical partner was, in fact, as much an assault upon himself.

‘Gimme Some Truth’ looks out with anidealist’s impatience to the political world,while ‘Crippled Inside’ has that quality (moreobviously than ‘How Do You Sleep?’) of a

tirade that is leavened with self-reproach. Its knockabout honky-tonk contrasts withLennon’s previous album, Plastic Ono Band,though the lyric shares a “primal scream”acuteness. Likewise ‘Jealous Guy’, anotherunflinching look into the writer’s own sense of failure, is spun into a different realm by itsethereal melody. If John felt that his lastalbum – forbiddingly stark to some ears – had not found the mass audience its songsdeserved, he was not about to make the same mistake with Imagine.

Emotional range is central to this record’senduring appeal, with light and shade at every turn. From tough, grinding rockers like‘It’s So Hard’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Be A SoldierMama’ we are sent to the solace of ‘Oh MyLove’ or the confessional vulnerability of‘How?’. And the album skips away in a songof sheer delight, ‘Oh Yoko!’, possibly thehappiest thing that John Lennon evercommitted to record.

On its release in September 1971, the Imagine album was recognised as a roundedself-portrait of this complex, candid,passionate man. It re-established hiseminence in the commercial firmament,among a rising generation of rock’n’roll starssuch as Led Zeppelin and David Bowie.

6

It was clear the 1970s John Lennon would notsit in the shadow of his 1960s self.

When he left England for America, on 3September 1971, it was just another trip inJohn’s turbulent existence, probably in searchof some fresh cause to champion, morebattles to fight and unknown songs to sing.Nobody knew, of course, that he would neversee his homeland again. For now, New Yorklooked like the city to be – the capital of theworld, as he believed – where new adventuresbeckoned with siren allure.

8

Imagine

Imagine there’s no heavenIt’s easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleliving for today...

Imagine there’s no countriesIt isn’t hard to doNothing to kill or die forand no religion tooImagine all the peopleliving life in peace...

You may say I’m a dreamerbut I’m not the only oneI hope someday you’ll join usand the world will be as one

Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungera brotherhood of manImagine all the peoplesharing all the world...

You may say I’m a dreamerbut I’m not the only oneI hope someday you’ll join usand the world will live as one

Crippled Inside

You can shine your shoes and wear a suitYou can comb your hairand look quite cuteYou can hide your facebehind a smileOne thing you can‘t hideis when you’re crippled inside

You can wear a maskand paint your faceYou can call yourself

the human raceYou can wear a collar And a tieOne thing you can‘t hideis when you‘re crippled inside

Well now you know that yourcat has nine lives babeNine lives to itselfBut you only got oneAnd a dog’s life ain’t funMamma take a look outside

You can go to churchand sing a hymnJudge me by the colourof my skinYou can live a lie until you dieOne thing you can’t hideis when you’re crippled inside

Jealous Guy

I was dreaming of the pastAnd my heart was beating fastI began to lose controlI began to lose control

I didn’t mean to hurt youI’m sorry that I made you cryI didn‘t want to hurt youI’m just a jealous guy

I was feeling insecureYou might not love me any moreI was shivering insideI was shivering inside


I was trying to catch your eyesThought that you were trying to hideI was swallowing my painI was swallowing my pain


It’s So Hard

You got to liveYou got to love You got to be somebodyYou got to shoveBut it’s so hard, it’s really hardSometimes I feel like going down

You got to eatYou got to drinkYou got to feel somethingYou got to worryIt’s so hard, it’s really hardSometimes I feel like going down

But when it’s good it’s oh so goodAnd when I hold you in my arms babySometimes I feel like going down

You got to runYou got to hideYou got to keep your woman satisfiedBut it’s so hard, it’s really hardSometimes I feel like going down

I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die

Well, I don’t wanna be a soldier mama, I don’t wanna dieWell, I don’t wanna be a sailor mama, I don’t wanna flyWell, I don’t wanna be a failure mama, I don’t wanna cryWell, I don’t wanna be a soldier mama, I don’t wanna dieOh no oh no oh no oh no

Well, I don’t wanna be a rich manmama, I don’t wanna cryWell, I don’t wanna be a poor man

mama, I don’t wanna flyWell, I don’t wanna be a lawyer mama, I don’t wanna lieWell, I don’t wanna be a soldier mama, I don’t wanna dieOh no oh no oh no oh no oh no

Well, I don’t wanna be a beggar mama, I don’t wanna dieWell, I don’t wanna be a thief nowmama, I don’t wanna flyWell, I don’t wanna be a churchmanmama, I don’t wanna cryWell, I don’t wanna be a soldier mama, I don’t wanna dieOh no oh no oh no oh no

Gimme Some Truth

I’m sick and tired of hearing thingsfrom uptight-short sighted-narrowminded hypocritics

All I want is the truthJust gimme some truth

I’ve had enough of reading thingsby neurotic-psychotic-pig headedpoliticians


No short haired-yellow belliedson of Tricky Dickyis gonna Mother Hubbardsoft soap mewith just a pocketful of hopeMoney for dopeMoney for rope

I’m sick to death of seeing thingsfrom tight lipped-condescending-mommies little chauvinists


9

and since you’ve gone you’rejust another day

How do you sleep?Ah how do you sleep at night?

A pretty face may last a year or twoBut pretty soon they’ll see what you can doThe sound you make is muzak to my earsYou must have learnedsomething in all those years


How?

How can I go forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing?How can I go forward when I don’t know which way to turn?How can I go forward into somethingI’m not sure of?Oh no, oh no

How can I have feeling whenI don’t know if it’s a feeling?How can I feel something if I just don’tknow how to feelHow can I have feelings when myfeelings have always been denied?Oh no, oh no

You know life can be longand you got to be so strongAnd the world is so tough Sometimes I feel I’ve had enoughoh no, oh no

How can I give love when I don‘t knowwhat it is I’m giving?How can I give love when I just don’tknow how to give?How can I give love when love issomething I ain’t never had?

Oh no, oh no

How can we go forward when we don’tknow which way we’re facing?How can we go forward whenwe don’t know which way to turn?How can we go forward into something we’re not sure ofOh no, oh no

Oh Yoko!

In the middle of the nightIn the middle of the night I call your nameOh Yoko, oh Yoko My love will turn you on

In the middle of a bathIn the middle of a bath I call your nameOh Yoko, oh Yoko My love will turn you onMy love will turn you on

In the middle of a shavein the middle of a shave I call your nameOh Yoko, oh YokoMy love will turn you on

In the middle of a dreamIn the middle of a dream I call your nameOh Yoko, oh Yoko My love will turn you onMy love will turn you on

In the middle of a cloudIn the middle of a cloud I call your nameOh Yoko, oh YokoMy love will turn you onOh Yoko, oh Yoko, oh Yoko, oh Yoko, oh Yoko

I’ve had enough of watching scenesof Schizophrenic-ego-centric-paranoic-prima-donnas


Oh My Love

Oh my love for the first time in my lifemy eyes are wide openOh my lover for the first time in my lifemy eyes can see

I see the wind, oh I see the treesEverything is clear in my heartI see the clouds, oh I see the skyEverything is clear in our world

Oh my love for the first time in my lifemy mind is wide openOh my lover for the first time in my lifemy mind can feel

I feel sorrow, oh I feel dreamsEverything is clear in my heartI feel life, oh I feel loveEverything is clear in our world

How Do You Sleep?

So Sgt. Pepper took you by surpriseYou better see right thru that mother’s eyesThose freaks was right when they saidyou was deadThe one mistake you made was in your head


You live with straights who tell youyou was kingJump when your mamma tell youanythingThe only thing you done was yesterday

10

John Lennon and The Plastic OnoBand (with the Flux Fiddlers)

Produced by John & Yoko and Phil Spector

Imagine: John Lennon: Pianos. KlausVoormann: Bass. Alan White: Drums

Crippled Inside: John Lennon: ElectricGuitar. Klaus Voormann & SteveBrendell: Upright Bass. GeorgeHarrison: Dobro. Nicky Hopkins: Piano.Ted Turner, Rod Linton & John Tout:Acoustic Guitars

Jealous Guy: John Lennon: Guitar/Whistling: Klaus Voormann: Bass. Jim Keltner: Drums. John Barham:Harmonium. Alan White: Good Vibes

It’s So Hard: John Lennon: Guitar.Klaus Voormann: Bass. Jim Gordon:Drums. King Curtis: Sax

I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die: John Lennon:Guitar. Klaus Voormann: Bass. JimKeltner: Drums. George Harrison: SlideGuitar. Nicky Hopkins: Piano. Joey &Tommy Badfinger: Acoustic Guitars.Mike Pinder: Tambourine. SteveBrendell: Marracas. King Curtis: Sax

Gimme Some Truth: John Lennon:Guitars. George Harrison: Lead Guitar.Klaus Voormann: Bass. Alan White:Drums. Rod Linton & Andy: AcousticGuitars. Nicky Hopkins: Piano

Oh My Love: John Lennon: Piano.Nicky Hopkins: Electric Piano. KlausVoormann: Bass. Alan White: Drums/Tibetan Cymbals. George Harrison:Guitar

How Do You Sleep?: John Lennon:Guitar. George Harrison: Slide Guitar.Klaus Voormann: Bass. Alan White:Drums. Nicky Hopkins: Piano

How?: John Lennon: Piano. KlausVoormann: Bass. Alan White: Drums.John Barham: Vibes. Nicky Hopkins:Piano

Oh Yoko!: John Lennon: Guitar/ Mouth Organ. Klaus Voormann: Bass.Alan White: Drums. Nicky Hopkins:Piano. Rod Linton & Andy: AcousticGuitar. Plus the J & P duo

All songs written by John Lennonexcept track 7 by John Lennon andYoko Ono.

Tracks 1, 3, 10 c Lenono Music. 2, 8, 9c Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. 4, 5c Northern Songs Ltd/Lenono Music.6 c Lennon Music administered bySony/ATV. 7 c Lenono Music/OnoMusic

A joint interest in ‘Oh My Love’ claimedby Ono Music Ltd. Whip and Mirror byYoko Ono. Cover Design and Photo:Yoko Ono; Typography: GeorgeMaciunas

Basic tracks made at Ascot SoundStudios. Engineers: Philip McDonald,Eddie Klein (no relations), Eddie Offor,Eddie Veal, Eddie Beer. Food by Val andDiana. John & Yoko’s personal assistant:Dan Richter. This and that: Mal Evansand Peter Bendry. Flux Fiddlersoverdubbed at Record Plant, NY.Engineers: Roy Sicala, Jack Douglas,Shelly Yukus (sleep). This and that: Tomand Arlene and Al Steckler. Stringorchestrations: Torrie Zito. Cloud Piece,1963 by Yoko Ono, on back cover

All arrangements by Lennon except ‘OhMy Love’ by Lennon/Ono. Alan Whiteappears by courtesy of WizardRecords Ltd. An Apple Record. An EMIRecording

Remaster Project Production Producer: Yoko Ono. Project Co-ordinator: Allan Rouse.Remaster Engineers: Paul Hicks, Sean Magee. Audio Restoration: Simon Gibson. Remastered at AbbeyRoad Studios, London, England, 2010

Sleeve notes by Paul Du Noyer.Additional Photography: PeterFordham (c 1971 Yoko Ono), Spud Murphy (c 1971 Yoko Ono).Drawing by John Lennon

Art direction by Yoko Ono. Design byPeacock. Artwork Co-ordinator: Karla Merrifield. Photo research: Xilonen Oreshnick. Projectmanagement by Timothy Ryan, JaneVentom, Kris Perera and Guy Hayden

Digital remaster. p 2010. The copyright in thissound recording is owned by EMI RecordsLtd. c 2010 EMI Records Ltd. This label copyinformation is the subject of copyrightprotection. All rights reserved. c 2010 EMIRecords Ltd.

!

John Lennon - Imagine (Llibret)

Documents

Transcript of John Lennon - Imagine (Llibret)