John Lennon

[[File:Lie In 15 -- John rehearses Give Peace A Chance.jpg|thumb|165px|"I resent being an artist, in that respect, I resent performing for fucking idiots who don’t know anything. They can’t feel. I’m the one that’s feeling, because I’m the one that is expressing." —John Lennon, expressing his love for his fans.<ref>[http://www.jannswenner.com/archives/John_Lennon_Part2.aspx Jann S. Wenner: The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon, Part II] 4 February 1971</ref>]]
{{music|1}}[[File:LennonSignature.jpg|thumb|165px|right|Signature]]
'''John Ono Lennon''', born '''John Winston Lennon''' {{lived|1940|1980}}, was an [[England|English]] musician, 
wife beater
 abusive boyfriend and father, unfaithful husband,<ref>{{wpa|John Lennon#Personal relationships}}</ref> and [[Pacifism|peace activist]] (go figure), best known for being a member of [[the Beatles]]. He is considered the pessimist Beatle, with optimistic [[fun:Sir Paul McCartney|Sgt. Pepper]], spiritual George Harrison, and Ringo. John was the most publicly political member of the Beatles, opposing the [[Vietnam War]] and promoting peace in general. For this, he was hounded by the [[FBI]], who even put music reviews of his solo work in his dossier, "Lacking Lennon's usual standards" and "Yoko can't even remain on key."<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21thu4.html While Nixon Campaigned, the F.B.I. Watched John Lennon] New York Times, 21 September 2006</ref>

He attracted fierce criticism from [[conservative]]s and the media for, among other things, his many [[LSD]]-influenced songs, his comment that the Beatles were more popular than [[Jesus]], appearing [[naked]] with his wife [[Yoko Ono]] on the cover of an album of bizarre sound experimentation titled ''Two Virgins'', and the chorus of "Ballad of John and Yoko", with its shocking (at the time) reference to [[Christ]] and [[crucifixion]].<ref>[http://lyrics.wikia.com/The_Beatles:The_Ballad_Of_John_And_Yoko The Ballad Of John And Yoko], LyricWiki</ref>

John was murdered in 1980 by Mark David Chapman, a longtime fan of the Beatles who, after becoming a [[born again]] [[Christian]], was angered by John's comment that the Beatles were "{{sl|More popular than Jesus|more popular than Jesus}}",<ref name="Killer">Jones, Jack (1992) ''Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon''. Villard Books. ISBN 0-8129-9170-2.</ref>{{rp|118}} as well as by the lyrics of his post-Beatles songs "God" and "Imagine".<ref name="Killer" />{{rp|177-178}}

Opinions are divided over whether he was a political/social revolutionary or just a dick, but as with most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, which is to say, he was both.

==War protest==
Lennon spoke out against the [[Vietnam War]] in particular and [[war]] in general. This is pretty apparent in songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". He also starred in a movie (
shamelessly plugged
 featured in the song "A Day in the Life".<ref group=note>"I saw a film today, oh boy/The English Army had just won the war/A crowd of people turned away/But I just had to look/Having read the book."</ref>) "How I Won The War" was based on an earlier novel by Patrick Ryan about the pointlessness of armed conflict.

== More popular than Jesus ==
{{cquote|Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock'n'roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.|||John Lennon}}
Lennon said in 1966 that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus". The remark went unnoticed in the [[UK]], but sparked gigantic controversy in [[Jesusland]], resulting in public burnings of the Beatles' records, a ban of the Beatles' songs on the radio, and public demonstrations. It remains in history as a monument to how… eccentric America is.

== Other statements about religion ==
After the break-up of the Beatles, John released the song "God" in 1970. In the song's lyrics, John sings that he does not believe in [[magic]], the ''[[I Ching]]'', the [[Bible]], [[tarot]], [[Hitler]], [[Jesus]], [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]], [[Buddha]], {{wpl|Mantra|mantra|,}} ''[[Bhagavad Gita|Gita]]'', [[yoga]], kings, [[Elvis]], {{wpl|Bob Dylan|Zimmerman|,}} or the Beatles.<ref>[https://genius.com/John-lennon-god-lyrics John Lennon - God Lyrics]</ref>

In 1971, John released the song "Imagine". The song contains the lyrics "Imagine there's no countries / It isn't hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion, too", and has been called an "atheist anthem".<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/hermione-eyre-atheists-should-be-louder-and-prouder-422404.html Atheists should be louder and prouder], The Independent, November 1, 2006.</ref> However, he also sings about having no possessions, which is awkward considering {{sl|"Imagine no possessions"|the number of possessions he had}}.

In 1980, John stated in a ''Playboy'' interview that "People always got the image I was an anti-Christ or antireligion. I'm not. I'm a most religious fellow. I was brought up a Christian and I only now understand some of the things that Christ was saying in those parables. Because people got hooked on the teacher and missed the message."<ref name=playboy>[http://www.john-lennon.com/playboyinterviewwithjohnlennonandyokoono.htm 1980 Playboy Interview With John Lennon And Yoko Ono], Playboy, January 1981.</ref> He also said that "the whole religion business suffers from the '{{wpl|Onward, Christian Soldiers||'}} bit. There's too much talk about soldiers and marching and converting. I'm not pushing [[Buddhism]], because I'm no more a Buddhist than I am a Christian, but there's one thing I admire about the religion [Buddhism]: There's no [[Proselytization|proselytizing]]."<ref name=playboy />

== Notable compositions and/or recordings ==
=== With the Beatles===
* Help!
* In My Life
* Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
* Tomorrow Never Knows
* Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
* A Day in the Life
* Strawberry Fields Forever
* I Am the Walrus
* Revolution
* All You Need Is Love
* Happiness Is a Warm [[Gun]]
* Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey
* Revolution #9 ''(unfortunately)''
* Come Together

=== Post-Beatles ===
* Give Peace a Chance
* Power to the People
* Instant [[Karma]]!
* [[God]]
* Imagine
* Jealous Guy
* Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
* [[Woman]] Is the [[Nigger]] of the World
* Beautiful Boy

==Bad things==
===Relationships===
John's first wife was Cynthia Lennon (née Powell). Before they were married, there was an instance in which he became angry after seeing her dance with [[The Beatles#Other Beatles|Stuart Sutcliffe]] at a party. The following day at the college Cynthia and John attended, John followed her into a bathroom and struck her, causing her head to hit the pipes on the wall behind her.<ref>Lennon, Cynthia (2005). ''John''. Crown Publishers. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-307-33855-6.</ref> As a result, she broke up with him, until three months later, when Lennon apologized to her and asked to get back together. She agreed, and later recalled that he was never again physically abusive towards her, although he could still be "verbally cutting and unkind".<ref>Lennon, Cynthia (2005). ''John''. Crown Publishers. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-307-33855-6.</ref>

John admitted to hitting women in a 1980 interview, saying, "I used to be cruel to my woman, and physically – any woman. I was a hitter. I couldn't express myself and I hit."<ref>Quoted in [https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-chris-long-stirs-beatles-debate-after-calling-john-lennon-bad-guy/ Eagles' Chris Long stirs moral debate after calling John Lennon 'a bad guy'], Philly Voice, May 7, 2018</ref> He also hit his son Julian when he was a boy for trivial reasons such as bad table manners, according to their housekeeper.<ref name=vice/>

After marrying Cynthia, John repeatedly cheated on her, including with Yoko Ono.<ref name=vice>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ypa9b5/you-dont-have-to-imagine-john-lennon-beat-women-and-childrenits-just-a-fact You Don't Have to 'Imagine' John Lennon Beat Women and Children—It's Just a Fact], Vice, Sep 10, 2015</ref> After Cynthia returned home one day to find John and Yoko sitting on the floor wearing robes, Cynthia and John's marriage was soon over. John actually tried to sue ''Cynthia'' for divorce on grounds of adultery, seeking full custody of their son Julian, which he didn't receive.<ref name=lareview>[https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/when-loving-lennon-became-difficult/ When Loving Lennon Became Difficult], Los Angeles Review of Books, December 18, 2020</ref> When the divorce was settled, Cynthia was driven to auction off much of what John left behind in order to make ends meet.<ref name=lareview />

==="Imagine no possessions"===
He wrote the above words in "Imagine", but {{wpl|Elton John}} penned an alternative version about John and Yoko's acquisitiveness: "Imagine six apartments, it isn’t hard to do, one is full of fur coats, another’s full of shoes."<ref>Quoted in "More a Voyeur", Colm Tóibín, ''London Review of Books'', Vol. 41 No. 24 · 19 December 2019, pages 3-6</ref> They owned five apartments in the Dakota building, one of New York's most exclusive addresses, used for various purposes including one for Ono's studio and for storage.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/schumpeter/2010/12/09/imagine-no-possessions Imagine No Possessions], The Economist, 9 Dec 2010</ref>

Some have argued, however, that this is misunderstood, because the line "I wonder if you can" appears directly after. 

== See also ==
* [[LSD]]
* [[Heroin]]
* [[Primal scream therapy]]
* [[Transcendental Meditation]]
* [[Yoko Ono]]
* [[Frank Zappa]]
<!-- * [[Thom Yorke]] -->

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|1|80%}}

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[[Category:Anti-war activists]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Christianity]]
[[category:Culture]]
[[Category:Entertainers]]
[[Category:Musicians]]
[[Category:New York]]

Categories: Anti-war activists, British people, Christianity, Culture, Entertainers, Musicians, New York