Thursday, October 20, 2011

Happy belated birthday John Lennon

John Lennon would have been 71 on October 9th had he not been robbed of his life at the age of 40. It is hard to imagine that we have lost 31 years of greatness. John Lennon stood up for what he believed in, and that was peace. He despised war and hatred of any kind, and referenced that in several of his songs. He also stood up for civil rights and women's rights. I will not talk in detail about his murder in this post. The anniversary of his death is not until December 8th. John was killed that evening by an obsessed fan named Mark David Chapman. All John did was sign an autograph for him despite having recorded all day. The murder of John Lennon was an unspeakable tragedy. This completely unnecessary tragedy was announced during a football game which Howard Cossell was announcing. Cossell was absolutely crushed by the news, and he did not think the game should have continued. My friend Patrick and I were watching the movie "Imagine" a while back, and we were moved to tears by the fact that someone killed this great man. Here was a man who dedicated his life to making a difference in the world taken away by two swift gun shot wounds. John had a rough upbringing for sure. His father left him and his mother at a very early age after his parents had separated. John's father left permanently when he was five, and only came back into his life when he was famous as a Beatle. John was put into the care of his aunt Mimi because she thought that Julia (John's mother) was unfit to raise him. However, Julia was a big part of John's life until she was run over when he was in high school. Her unfortunate death hit John very hard, and effected him for the rest of his life. The first song on his first solo album "Plastic Ono Band" has funeral bells at the beginning of it, and it is called "Mother." Everytime I listen to a song that John wrote whether it is on a Beatles album or one of his solo albums, there is always a meaning behind them which makes me think. He had a such a deep soul inside of him, that it is absolutely remarkable. He loved his wife Yoko very dearly, and was a terrific father to Sean and his son from his first marriage Julian. Both of his sons were robbed of their father, especially Sean who was three when the murder took place. John wrote a song called "Beautiful Boy" for Sean. Only a person with a very good heart would think of something like that. It is amazing how John was able to live such a unique life despite his rough upbringing. He wanted peace in the world above all else. It was more important to him then fame. "Imagine all the people living life in peace." How a human being can write something like that is beyond me. John shared so much with the world in his brief 40 years on this planet. Although his time was short, I for one am glad that we had him at all. "I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will live as one." I could not agree more, and I certainly could not say it any better. Violence, war, hatred, and discrimination have no place in this world. John expressed emotions through music in a powerful way. I am thankful that he was a part of this world.

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