John Lennon - Wikiquote John Lennon All we are saying is give peace a chance Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis . If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles . John Ono Lennon ( 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980 ), born John Winston Lennon, was a singer , songwriter, guitarist, political activist, humorist , painter, writer and founding member of The Beatles . He was married to Yoko Ono . Contents Quotes[ edit ] We're more popular than Jesus now…Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. You are what you are. Get out there and get peace . Think peace, live peace, and breathe peace and you'll get it as soon as you like. File:Laurel Hardy dancing2.gif I think our opposition, whoever they may be, in all their manifest forms, don't know how to handle humor … we stand a better chance under that guise, because all the serious people, like Martin Luther King , and Kennedy , and Gandhi , got shot. We're trying to sell peace , like a product, you know, and sell it like people sell soap or soft drinks.

And it's the only way to get people aware that peace is possible, and it isn't just inevitable to have violence . You feel alone if you're the only one thinking 'wouldn't it be nice if there was peace and nobody was getting killed .' So advertise yourself that you're for peace if you believe in it. We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA. Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NUTOPIA. NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people . NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic . The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility. I really thought that love would save us all . Reality leaves a lot to the imagination . For our last number, I'd like to ask your help. Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry. Royal Variety Performance in London (4 November 1963) attended by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret.

Of this incident Mark Hertsgaard reports in A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles (1995): "The remark provoked warm laughter and applause, and was greeted with profound relief by Beatles manager Brian Epstein , who had feared Lennon would make good on his pre-performance threat to tell them to "rattle their fuckin' jewelry." No — we need money first. When asked if they wouldn't sing because they couldn't, in a press conference at John F. Kennedy Airport (7 February 1964) There's only one person in the United States we ever wanted to meet … not that he wanted us. And we met him last night. We can't tell you how we felt. We just idolised him so much. … You can't imagine what a thrill that was last night. Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis . If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles. Statement (28 August 1965) after meeting Elvis Presley , as quoted in The Leading Men of MGM (2005) by Jane Ellen Wayne, p.

386; also partly quoted in The Beatles: The Authorized Biography (1968) by Hunter Davies, p. 19 It was a load of rubbish. It was like meeting Engelbert Humperdinck . Later comments on meeting Elvis , as quoted in The Beatles: The Biography (2005) by Bob Spitz, p. 583. "One cave she wolf go too farther, and I wolf leaf her" he said to his fave rave horse. Of course the horse didn't answer, because as you know they cannot speak, least of all to a garlic eating, stinking, little yellow greasy fascist bastard catholic Spaniard. They soon made it up howevans and Jesus and wee Spastic were once morphia unitely in a love that knew no Suzie. The only thing that puzzled Jesus was why his sugarboot got so annoyed when he called her his little Spastic in public.

"A Spaniard In The Works" from A Spaniard In The Works (1965); this has sometimes been misquoted as if Lennon were speaking specifically about Jesus Christ , when in fact, it is part of the odd narration of an odd story with elements of satire, about a Spanish groom named "Jesus El Pifico". 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 and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me. One of the most controversial statements Lennon ever made, this was published in England's Evening Standard newspaper (4 March 1966) as part of an interview with writer Maureen Cleave. I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down.

I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this. News conference in Chicago, where he apologized for the above statement, which was accepted by the Vatican. (11 August 1966) We thought being offered the M.B.E. [Member of the Order of the British Empire] was as funny as everybody else thought it was. Why? What for? We didn't believe it. It was a part we didn't want. We all met and agreed it was daft. Quoted by Hunter Davies in The Beatles (1968) Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war—for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more. Quoted in The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics (1969) I was looking for a name like the Crickets that meant two things, and from crickets I got to beetles.

And I changed [to] B E A because … B E E T L E S didn't mean two things, so I changed … the E to an A. And it meant two things then. … When you said it, people thought of crawly things; and when you read it, it was beat music. Pop Chronicles : Show 27 - The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!: The U.S.A. is invaded by a wave of long-haired English rockers. Part 1 , 1969. It was just a gradual development over the years. Last year was "All You Need Is Love." This year it's "Give Peace a Chance." Remember love. The only hope for any of us is peace. Violence begets violence. If you want to get peace, you can get it as soon as you like if we all pull together. You're all geniuses and you're all beautiful. You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are. Get out there and get peace. Think peace, live peace, and breathe peace and you'll get it as soon as you like. Okay?

Statement to the press in July 1969 after the release of the Plastic Ono Band's single "Give Peace a Chance", as quoted in The Beatles: An Oral History by David Pritchard and Alan Lysaght (1998) New York: Hyperion. ISBN: 0786864362. OCLC: 39093547. p. 285. That's part of our policy, is not to be taken seriously, because I think our opposition, whoever they may be, in all their manifest forms, don't know how to handle humor. You know, and we are humorous, we are, what are they, Laurel and Hardy . That's John and Yoko , and we stand a better chance under that guise, because all the serious people, like Martin Luther King , and Kennedy , and Gandhi , got shot. As quoted in BBC interview with David Wigg (8 May 1969) What's Bagism? It's like...

a tag for what we all do, we're all in a bag ya know, and we realised that we came from two bags, I was in this pop bag going round and round in my little clique, and she was in her little avant-garde clique going round and round, and you're in your little tele clique and they're in their...ya know? and we all sort of come out and look at each other every now and then, but we don't communicate. And we all intellectualise about how there is no barrier between art, music, poetry... but we're still all "I'm a rock and roller, he's a poet" … so we just came up with the word so you would ask us what bagism is, and we'd say "WE'RE ALL IN A BAG BABY!" Interview on The David Frost Show (14 June 1969) We're trying to sell peace, like a product, you know, and sell it like people sell soap or soft drinks. And it's the only way to get people aware that peace is possible, and it isn't just inevitable to have violence. Not just war — all forms of violence.

People just accept it and think 'Oh, they did it, or Harold Wilson did it, or Nixon did it,' they're always scapegoating people. And it isn't Nixon's fault. We're all responsible for everything that goes on, you know, we're all responsible for Biafra and Hitler and everything. So we're just saying "SELL PEACE" — anybody interested in peace just stick it in the window. It's simple but it lets somebody else know that you want peace too, because you feel alone if you're the only one thinking 'wouldn't it be nice if there was peace and nobody was getting killed.' So advertise yourself that you're for peace if you believe in it. Interview on The David Frost Show (14 June 1969) I'd like to say "thank you" on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition. Closing line of the Beatles' rooftop concert on (30 January 1969), this was also the last line of the Let It Be film and the album version of "Get Back" When I was about twelve, I used to think I must be a genius, but nobody's noticed.

Either I'm a genius or I'm mad, which is it? "No," I said, "I can't be mad because nobody's put me away; therefore I'm a genius." Genius is a form of madness and we're all that way. But I used to be coy about it, like me guitar playing. But if there's such a thing as genius — I am one. And if there isn't, I don't care. John Lennon interview with Rolling Stone magazine (December 1970) If people take any notice of what we say, we say we've been through the drug scene, man, and there's nothing like being straight. The Dick Cavett Show (24 September 1971) All that business was awful, it was a fuckin' humiliation. One has to completely humiliate oneself to be what the Beatles were, and that's what I resent. I didn't know, I didn't foresee. It happened bit by bit, gradually, until this complete craziness is surrounding you, and you're doing exactly what you don't want to do with people you can't stand — the people you hated when you were ten.

As quoted in Rolling Stone (7 January 1971) , and requoted in The Sociology of Rock by Simon Frith, 1978 ISBN 0094602204 It's just natural, it's not a great disaster. People keep talking about it like it's The End of The Earth. It's only a rock group that split up, it's nothing important. You know, you have all the old records there if you want to reminisce. Interview on Scene And Heard by David Wigg (25 October 1971) If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry . 1972 Mike Douglas Show , quoted in: Lawrence, Ken (2005) John Lennon: In His Own Words, p. 107. We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA. Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NUTOPIA. NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic. All people of NUTOPIA are ambassadors of the country.

As two ambassadors of NUTOPIA, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of our country and our people. Declaration of Nutopia, co-signed with Yoko Ono , (1 April 1973); also published in the liner notes of Mind Games (1973) ' It makes rock concerts look like tea parties. Commenting on American Football, in interview with Howard Cosell on ABC Television (December 1974) The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility. Interview for KFRC RKO Radio (8 December 1980) I've always considered my work one piece and I consider that my work won't be finished until I am dead and buried and I hope that's a long, long time. Interview with RKO Radio on the day of his murder (8 December 1980) I really thought that love would save us all. I've sold my soul to the devil. On the commercial success of the Beatles, as quoted in Lennon (1985) by Ray Coleman Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives.

… I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it. "What Can I Tell You about Myself which You Have Not Already Found Out from Those Who Do Not Lie?" in The Beatles Anthology (2000) Reality leaves a lot to the imagination. As quoted in Sunday Herald Sun [Melbourne, Australia] (13 January 2003)] [ specific citation needed ] Well, I just want him to grow up happy. That's the main thing. I wouldn't say I was a born writer; I'm a born thinker. p. 9 All kids draw and write poetry and everything, and some of us last until we're about eighteen, but most drop off at about twelve when some guy comes up and says, "You're no good." That's all we get told all our lives. "You haven't got the ability. You're a cobbler." It happened to all of us, but if somebody had told me all my life, "Yeah, you're a great artist," I would have been a more secure person. p.

9 I don't mind people putting us down, because if everybody really liked us, it would be a bore. You've got to have people putting you down. It doesn't give any edge to it if everybody just falls flat on their face saying, "You're great." We enjoy some of the criticisms as well, they're quite funny; some of the clever criticisms, not the ones that don't know anything, but some of the clever ones are quite fun. p. 120 All you need is love. Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me. Christ, you know it ain't easy You know how hard it can be The way things are going, they're going to crucify me. We're only trying to get us some peace. Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come. You say you want a revolution, Well, you know, we all want to change the world... But when you talk about destruction, Don't you know that you can count me out.

"Revolution" (Single version) Variant: You say you want a revolution, Well, you know, we all want to change the world... But when you talk about destruction, Don't you know that you can count me out — in. "Revolution 1" - The Beatles [White Album] version (in this recorded performance of the song, Lennon interjects "in", after saying "count me out"). There's nothing you can do that can't be done Nothing you can sing that can't be sung Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game It's easy. The Hendersons will dance and sing As Mr. Kite flies through the ring don't be late Messrs. K and H. assure the public Their production will be second to none And of course Henry the Horse dances the waltz! "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (1967) Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me. Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields . Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever.

Half of what I say is meaningless But I say it just to reach you " Julia " on The Beatles (1968); these lines were adapted from lines of Sand and Foam (1926) by Khalil Gibran : "Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you". When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind. "Julia" (1968); these lines were adapted from lines of Sand and Foam (1926) by Khalil Gibran : "When life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind." You say you want a Revolution; you better get it on right away. Christ, you know it ain't easy You know how hard it can be. The way things are going, they're going to crucify me. Well, we all shine on Like the moon and the stars and the sun Yeah, we all shine on C'mon and on and on, on, on John Lennon, in " Instant Karma! " (written 27 January 1970) God is a concept by which we measure our pain.

I was the dreamweaver, but now I'm reborn... Mother, you had me, but I never had you. "Mother" They hate you if you're clever, and they despise a fool. "Working Class Hero" They keep you doped with religion and sex and TV, And you think you're so clever, and classless and free, But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see. "Working Class Hero" First you must learn to smile as you kill. "Working Class Hero" God is a concept by which we measure our pain. "God" I don't believe in Elvis I don't believe in Zimmerman I don't believe in Beatles . I just believe in me Some call it magic — the search for the grail . Love is the answer and you know that for sure. Love is a flower , you got to let it — you got to let it grow . Yes is the answer and you know that for sure … Millions of mind guerrillas Putting their soul power to the karmic wheel. We're playing those mind games together Pushing the barriers, planting seeds Playing the mind guerrilla Chanting the mantra, Peace on Earth.

We all been playing those mind games forever Some kinda druid dudes lifting the veil. Doing the mind guerrilla, Some call it magic — the search for the grail . Love is the answer and you know that for sure. Love is a flower, you got to let it — you got to let it grow. "Mind Games" Yes is the answer and you know that for sure. Yes is surrender, you got to let it, you got to let it go… "Mind Games" So keep on playing those mind games together Doing the ritual dance in the sun. Millions of mind guerrillas Putting their soul power to the karmic wheel. "Mind Games" I want you to make love, not war — I know you've heard it before. "Mind Games" — the final fading statement on the track. Disputed[ edit ] This is ex-Beatle, John Lennon. I've been wanting to write you, but I guess I didn't really want to face reality. I never do this, this is why I take drugs. Reality frightens me and paranoids me. True, I have a lot of money... but basically, I'm afraid to face the problems of life.

Let me begin to say, I regret that I said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus . I don't even like myself anymore — guilt. My Cousin, Marilyn McCabe has tried to help me. She told me you were praying for me. … I want happiness. I don't want to keep up with drugs... Explain to me what Christianity can do for me. Is it phoney? Can He love me? I want out of Hell. I am, I hate to say, under the influence of pills now. I can't stop. I only wish I could thank you for caring. Letter to Oral Roberts in 1972, as quoted in Oral Roberts : An American Life‎ (1985) by David Edwin Harrell, p. 310; later published in How to be a Successful Teenager (1994) by Rick Jones, Ch. 5 : The Secret About Material Things, p.

54; the accuracy of this is disputed in "The Gospel of John Lennon" in This Land Press (7 March 2011) Once a thing's been done it's been done, so while this nostalgia — I mean for the '60s and '70s, you know, looking backwards for inspiration, copying the past — how's that rock 'n' roll? Do something of your own. Start something new, you know? Live your lives now. Know what I mean? Kurt Cobain , quoted in Journals (2002) Was it a millionaire who said "Imagine no possessions"? He must have been a gardener that cared a lot, Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop; But now it all looks strange, it's funny how one insect Can damage so much grain. Bernie Taupin , in the song " Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) (1982), written after Lennon was murdered and first recorded by Elton John . I definitely did look up to John. We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest and all that kind of thing.

Paul McCartney , quoted in Playboy Magazine (1984) John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him. Yoko Ono , in a statement after his death, as quoted in The John Lennon Encyclopedia (2000) by Bill Harry John Lennon was many things to many people. A poet, a rocker, a leader, a troublemaker, a father, a husband — a man. Growing up, to me, he was a hero. The work of John Lennon was marked by its exquisite beauty and by its brutal honesty. So in that vein, let me say, that while I'm both deeply honored to be here — I'm also incredibly pissed-off. I'm outraged because this passionate prophet of peace, and so many others, are not with us here — because we live in an all-too-violent world. And so in the spirit of this occasion it is up to all of us, to do what we can, not only to keep John's songs alive, but help rebuild New York — and that includes your host... John Lennon - Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) Lyrics | SongMeanings John Lennon Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) is found on the album Lennon . Found on more albums: Mr.

Holland's Opus [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Imagine: John Lennon [Original Soundtrack] Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon Double Fantasy [Japan CD] Lyrics submitted by kevin , edited by Storminnorman Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) song meanings Oldest First +2 General CommentJohn always felt he had neglected his first son Julian, but rather than trying to make that up to Julian, John spent every minute he could with his new son Sean. I love the line, "Life is what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans." and it's so true too but no one seems to notice. He even refers to "Getting Better" in that last verse. I miss John @ChaosFluro24 +1 General CommentIm sure that you all are right.. However, I kinda look at this song in a different way. (Sorry, ended up a little longer than I expected..)The way I see it, Close your eyes The monster's gone He's on the run and your daddy's here He is most likely talking to his son. Maybe he could be talking to us? We are in a time of war. A time of seperatness. A time with more borders than bridges.

Hard times for sure, just as it was for them. Maybe he is saying close your eyes, and have no fear. The monster (this attitude, or feeling of seperatness which governs our reality) is on the run (as a peace activist, he believed what he was doing was making a change) and your daddy's here (maybe you could look at him as the father figure, trying to protect the world from war and hate.) Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Beautiful boy Again.. I'm sure you are all right and he is talking about his son.. I interpret as he sees 1) the tremendous amount of beauty this world has to offer, 2) how much beauty is being ignored, and 3) he sees the unlimited amount of potential beauty. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful (three times..) Out on the ocean sailing away I can hardly wait To see you come of age But I guess we'll both just have to be patient 'Cause it's a long way to go A hard row to hoe Yes it's a long way to go But in the meantime Out on the ocean sailing away.. I believe I heard somewhere that he had prophesized his own death?

I'm sure the Nixon Administration and their antics had led him to believe that this was possible. I think, and again this is just my interpretation, he is saying that he may not live to see (sailing away) this world become a better place (or come of age), but he can hardly wait. So I guess we'll both just have to be patient, because it's a long way to go. This isn't going to be easy, and there's a lot of progress to be made (A hard row to hoe). Before you cross the street Take my hand Life is what happens to you While you're busy making other plans Again.. My interpretation.. Before you cross the street, take my hand. Maybe before people make rash, life altering, world impact decisions (like going to war, whether it be Vietnam or Iraq..) they should listen to what he has to say (take my hand), and "Give Peace A Chance". We are constantly drawing Battle Lines, (making plans) for war, or drawing borders (too keep people out instead of welcoming them in). We are too busy.. And what life could be is just passing us right by. I believe we get a glimpse every once in a while though.

But somehow the people that understand this "pose a threat". I guess it lightens one too many pocketbooks for comfort... Before you go to sleep Say a little prayer Every day in every way It's getting better and better Maybe he is saying that once brought to light, we can fix the situation. Put in a little effort (say a little prayer), and every day in every way, it's going to get better and better... Just a thought.. Life is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans | Quote Investigator Life is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans John Lennon? Allen Saunders? Quin Ryan? Walter Ward? Henry Cooke? Robert Balzer? L. S. McCandless? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, a medical emergency threw all my carefully constructed plans into complete disarray. I was reminded of a remarkably astute and ruefully humorous saying credited to the musical superstar John Lennon: Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. When did he say this? Was he the first to express this idea? Quote Investigator: John Lennon did compose a song containing this saying and released it in 1980.

The song was called “Beautiful Boy” or “Darling Boy” and it was part of the album “Double Fantasy”. Lennon wrote the lyrics about his experiences with his son Sean whose mother is Yoko Ono. YouTube has a streamable version of the song , and the phrase can be heard at 2 minutes 16 seconds into the track which has a total length of 4 minutes 12 seconds. Lennon sings [BBJL]: Before you cross the street take my hand. Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. But the general expression can be traced back more than two decades before this time. The first known appearance was in an issue of Reader’s Digest magazine dated January 1957. The statement was printed together with nine other unrelated sayings in a section called “Quotable Quotes” [RDAS]: Allen Saunders: Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. —Publishers Syndicate The newspaper comic strip “Steve Roper” was written by an individual named Allen Saunders and distributed by Publishers Syndicate. It is likely that the attribution above was referencing him.

Saunders also worked on the strips “Mary Worth” and “Kerry Drake.” But the saying has not yet been located in any of these comics. Three important reference works list the Reader’s Digest citation to Saunders: The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs [DPAS], The Quote Verifier [QVAS], and The Yale Book of Quotations [YQAS]. Here are additional selected citations in chronological order. Many of the quotations published in the widely-circulated Reader’s Digest were reprinted in other periodicals. For example, a Charleston, South Carolina paper printed the saying in January 1957 [SCRD]: “Life,” reads a line of an article in The Reader’s Digest, “is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” How true. The trouble is most of us don’t realize this except in retrospect and then life has already happened. In June 1957 the adage appeared in a Texas newspaper as a freestanding filler item. The attribution given was the same as that in the Reader’s Digest: “Allen Saunders, Publishers Syndicate”, but the magazine was not mentioned [DRAS].

In September 1957 the quote was included in an advertisement for Swanson’s, a clothing retailer. The words were listed together with several other sayings and no attribution was provided [THSW]. In November 1957 the quote appeared in “The Irish Digest” as a filler item. No attribution was listed [IDAN]. In March 1958 the popular syndicated columnist Earl Wilson published a version of the saying in a subsection titled “Earl’s Pearls”. The words were identical except for the use of the contraction “we’re”. This time a new person named Quin Ryan received acknowledgement [EWQR]: Some people have everything – except fun … Life, says Quin Ryan of Chicago, is what happens to us while we’re making other plans … See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil — and half the women’s clubs would fold up in a hurry. In April 1958 a slightly modified version of the saying was printed in a column of the Boston Globe. The word “when” replaced the word “while”, and no credit was given [BGAN]: Life is what happens to us when we are making other plans.

In September 1958 a variant of the adage was published in a Chicago Tribune column “A Line O’ Type or Two”. The statement was credited to Quin Ryan [CTQR]: PAINFUL TRUTH Life is what happens to every man’s Career while he’s making other plans. Quin Ryan In 1961 the maxim was associated with another person in the pages of the Los Angeles Sentinel [LSWW]: Bon vivant, Walter Ward, from somewhere in Italy writes to say, “Life is what happens to us while we’re making other plans.” In 1962 the syndicated columnist Larry Wolters reported on the expression in “Radio TV Gag Bag”. This column specialized in collecting jokes and bon mots that were broadcast on radio and television stations in the United States.

Wolters identified the performer who delivered the line [CTHC]: Henry Cooke: “A thoughtful man is one who gives his wife a birthday present without mentioning her birthday past.” Also: “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” In 1963 the saying reappeared in the column of Earl Wilson, but this time the word “busy” was inserted, and the phrase was reassigned to Henry Cooke [EWHC]: REMEMBERED QUOTE: Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans. — Henry Cooke. In 1964 the syndicated columnist and quotation collector Bennett Cerf ascribed a version of the saying to the author Robert Balzer [BCRB]: Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans. —Robert Balzer. In 1964 the maxim reappeared in the column of Larry Wolters now called “Gag Bag”, but this time the phrase was reassigned to Robert Balzer [LWHC]: Robert Balzer: “Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.” In 1965 Earl Wilson decided that the expression was interesting enough to print another time.

He assigned the following concise version to someone named L. S. McCandless [EWLM]: REMEMBERED QUOTE: “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” — L. S. McCandless. In 1967 a variant of the adage was printed in the popular “Dear Abby” column of Pauline Phillips [DAPP]: Confidential To Del Ray Beachcomber: Yes. See your lawyer about changing your will. Fate is what happens to you while you’re making other plans. In 1979 “1,001 Logical Laws” compiled by John Peers included the saying and connected it to someone named Knight [LKJP]: Knight’s Law: Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans. In conclusion, based on currently available evidence this piece of wisdom can be credited to Allen Saunders. John Lennon also included it in the lyrics of a song many years later. The expression is quite popular and has acquired multiple attributions over the decades. (Many thanks to Jay whose question initiated this exploration.) [BBJL] YouTube video, Title: John Lennon – Beautiful Boy, Uploaded by TheInnerRevolution on Nov 22, 2009.

(Accessed at youtube.com on May 4, 2012) link [RDAS] 1957 January, Reader’s Digest, Quotable Quotes, Page 32, The Reader’s Digest Association. (Verified on paper) [DPAS] 2012, The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, Compiled by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro, Page 145, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper) [QVAS] 2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Page 123-124 and 305, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified on paper) [YQAS] 2006, The Yale Book of Quotations by Fred R. Shapiro, Section Allen Saunders, Page 666, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper) [SCRD] 1957 January 27, News And Courier, Lowcountry Gossip: Beaufort TV Viewer Finds Quiz Programs Distasteful by Chlotilde R.

Martin, Page 11-B, Column 1, Charleston, South Carolina. (Google News Archive) [DRAS] 1957 June 21, Denton Record-Chronicle, Round About Town by R. J. (Bob) Edwards, Page 4, Column 3, Denton, Texas. (NewspaperArchive) [THSW] 1957 September 24, Titusville Herald, A Little of This and That, [Quotation within an advertisement for a store named Swanson’s], Page 2, Column 2, Titusville, Pennsylvania. (NewspaperArchive) [IDAN] 1957 November, The Irish Digest, Volume 61, [One of two unrelated freestanding quotations at the bottom of the page], Page 52, Irish Digest, Dublin, Ireland. (Verified on microfilm) [EWQR] 1958 March 01, Rockford Register-Republic, Earl’s Pearls by Earl Wilson [Syndicated], Page 2-A, Column 4, Rockford, Illinois.

(GenealogyBank) [BGAN] 1958 April 10, Boston Globe, “All Sorts: That Boston Accent…What Did He Say?” by Joe Harrington, Page 25, Boston, Massachusetts (ProQuest) [CTQR] 1958 September 18, Chicago Tribune, A Line O’ Type or Two, Page 16, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest) [LSWW] 1961 September 14, Los Angeles Sentinel, Theatricals: The Stem by Paul C. McGee, Page C2, Los Angeles, California. (ProQuest) [CTHC] 1962 August 12, Chicago Tribune, “Radio TV Gag Bag” by Larry Wolters, Page C28, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest) [EWHC] 1963 April 30, Aberdeen American News [Aberdeen Daily News], Earl Wilson’s New York, Page 4, Column 5, Aberdeen, South Dakota.

(GenealogyBank) [BCRB] 1964 January 15, State Times Advocate, Try and Stop Me by Bennett Cerf, Page 10-C, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (GenealogyBank) [LWHC] 1964 May 17, Chicago Tribune, Larry Wolters’ Gag Bag, Page 115, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest) [EWLM] 1965 November 19, Dallas Morning News, It Happened Last Night by Earl Wilson, Section: A, Page 27, Dallas, Texas. (GenealogyBank) [DAPP] 1967 December 8, Plain Dealer, Dear Abby: Fresh News; Stale Money by Abigail Van Buren, Page 39, Column 4, Cleveland, Ohio. (GenealogyBank) [LKJP] 1979, 1,001 Logical Laws, Accurate Axioms, Profound Principles, Compiled by John Peers, Edited by Gordon Bennett, Page 81, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York.

(Verified on paper) Life Is What Happens While We're Not Checking Facts | The Huffington Post Life Is What Happens While We're Not Checking Facts 12/06/2012 03:01 pm ET | Updated Feb 05, 2013 Claudia Gryvatz Copquin Award-winning journalist Fact-checking has never been more accessible to the average person, even though Google and other search engines are sometimes alarmingly wrong. But who wants to dig? Take for instance one of my favorite quotations, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans," which is mistakenly and repeatedly attributed to the late John Lennon, who was killed on December 8, 1980. It's true that Lennon worked the phrase into his lovely song "Beautiful Boy," but he didn't come up with it, despite what Google says -- over and over again. So who coined it? According to the Yale Book of Quotations editor Fred R. Shapiro, the origin is attributed to writer and cartoonist Allen Saunders .

A variation of the quote, "Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans," was published in Reader's Digest in January 1957, when Lennon was 17. Here's another surprise. Sometimes our most trusted sources of accurate information get it wrong as well. Case in point: Brian Williams, who deserves a noogie. Even his NBC nightly news program didn't bother to mine through internet misinformation when, during a broadcast last week, he told America that Gilda's Club, the free cancer support and information centers, is changing name to Cancer Support Community . But that's not quite true. Williams was referring to a network of some 50 affiliate centers, including one in New York City, that alternately go by the names Cancer Support Community , Gilda's Club and The Wellness Community. The real story is that effective January 2013 one Gilda's Club affiliate in Madison, Wisconsin will change name to Cancer Support Community. Albeit, for a mind-numbingly stupid reason.

Quoted in the Wisconsin State Journal , the club's executive director Lannia Syren Stenz explained the name change: "One of the realizations we had this year is that our college students were born after Gilda Radner passed, as we are seeing younger and younger adults who are dealing with a cancer diagnosis." That the center is rebranding itself because young people don't know who Gilda Radner was deserves ire and outrage and even petitions . Rightly so. She had me at "Cheddar Cheese." I was a restless adolescent in 1975 when, one humdrum weekend, while mindlessly flipping TV channels I came upon a group of adults dressed as bees. Gilda Radner, one of those first Not Ready for Prime Time Players, was an enchanting childlike-woman, charming and funny and I'd never seen anyone like her before. I couldn't wait for Monday mornings at I.S.

145 in Queens, when my friends and I could recap and mimic her zany characters, one of whom was the hard-of-hearing, frumpy Emily Litella, who referred to fake news anchor Chevy Chase as "Cheddar Cheese." After corrected by Chase for her typically misguided high-pitched on-air rants, she'd deliver a demure, "Nevermind," which became part of the national lexicon while I was growing up. Her other characters were equally engaging and my friends and I became Radner groupies, hanging out on Saturdays at the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Center, home of NBC, in the hopes that we'd spot her. Once we even sent a stuffed teddy bear up to her office. And we were rewarded beyond our wildest expectations when she sent a sweet thank you note down with a page. That's who Gilda Radner was and while it's a true shame and somewhat shameful that the Wisconsin cancer center is detaching itself from her name, here's a fact: like Lucy, Frank Sinatra, John Belushi, John Lennon and so many others, ultimately it's really up to us, the fans, to keep the flame alive generation to generation. Of course, should that fail, there's always Google.

Follow Claudia Gryvatz Copquin on Twitter: More: Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans - YouTube Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Mar 18, 2013 Am încercat să combin un poem scris de Rick Holland pe muzica lui Brian Eno, "Pour It Out", cu imagini luate din altă parte și a ieșit ceea ce se vede: Viața, așa cum e. Frumoasă și simplă. Pour it out. In new ways. Imagine it... Just loose enough to let dreams get through. Lose enough to let dreams get heartitude. Category Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. - John Lennon - BrainyQuote Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

Find on Amazon: John Lennon Cite this Page: Citation John Lennon John Lennon October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980 "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." -John Lennon The Beatles were unmistakably the most popular and most influential of all rock groups and John Lennon was the leader. He was perhaps the most impassioned and talented of all the members. His accomplishments were not only in music, but in art and literature. John's self-portrait I guess being a Beatle must infer that you have no brains, which also must have meant that John stood out from the rest because he was the "writing Beatle." This was one of the books he wrote, with his typical play on words for the title. The newer editions now come with an introduction by Yoko Ono. I guess it's her "write" to do it. Born and raised in Liverpool, England, his father was a ship steward who was frequently away from home. His mother who dated frequently during his absence, left her son John in the care of his Aunt Mimi. His Aunt provided a stable environment for John, one that he did not have with either parent.

I know it's not real clear, but here is John Lennon's birth certificate. Submitted by Ted at Celebrity Collectables. Aunt Mimi (d. 1991) and John As a child he was aggressive and terrorized his classmates at the Mosspits Infants’ School and was eventually expelled from kindergarten. That same year, his father Fred, took the young boy to Blackpool for a vacation. His plans were to move with the boy to New Zealand, but when Lennon’s mother Julia showed up unexpectantly, those plans were quickly changed. Lennon would not see his father again until he became an adult. Lennon, at the age of nine began to read about Vincent Van Gogh and other eccentric artists. He felt he could relate to these people, as he described himself as one-half “monk” and one-half performing flea. By age 15, Elvis Presley and Rock and Roll had replaced John’s former idols. He had made his mind up that he was going to be a rocker either that or a thug. Although discouraged by his Aunt, his mother Julia taught him how to play a used guitar, refocusing John's ambition in a more positive direction.

She became a bigger influence in his life until she was tragically killed by a drunk driver in 1958. While attending the Liverpool Art College he met and married Cynthia Powell a young student who he had gotten pregnant. Both the marriage and the birth of his son, Julian (named after his mother) had to be kept discrete. After all what kind of image would that be, a family man by day, and rocker by night? John’s first band, The Moondogs, consisted of Paul McCartney, Stu Sutcliffe and George Harrison. As the band evolved the members and the name changed. They played local clubs in Liverpool and then ventured to Hamburg, Germany. Upon returning to Liverpool a manager of a family owned record store, Brian Epstein, discovered and became The Beatles’ manager. His first course of business was to get them a recording test with George Martin who at the time was the head of A&R at Parlophone Records, an EMI affliate. Their first recording was a Lennon-McCartney tune entitled “Love Me Do” which reached #17 on the British hit parade. Their second, “Please, Please Me” reached #1.

On November 9, 1966, to the dismay of many Beatle fans, John met Yoko at the London’s Indica Gallery. She approached John telling him that she was in need of a patron to help her financially with her artistic endeavors. Soon after their first meeting she gave him a copy of her book “Grapefruit” and then began to stalk him. She sent him hundreds of notes begging him for money and even resorted to threatening suicide if he did not finance her art. Finally John agreed to a “business meeting” with Yoko while Cynthia was away on vacation. She ended up spending the night and continued the affair mostly in the back seat of his Rolls Royce. The affair remained a secret until May, 1968 while Cynthia was again away on vacation in Greece. Yoko used this opportunity to move in with John. As you can imagine the abandonment of Cynthia for some eccentric Japanese artist was not well received by the British Press. By the 1970's the Lennons/Onos moved to New York, where they became active in the anti-war movement.

This plus all of John’s controversial activities and drug use caused the Immigration and Naturalization Service to initiate his deportation in 1972. This made him extremely paranoid, thinking that President Nixon was out to get him personally. He dropped out of the counter culture and stopped his political activism. The couple moved from the trendy Greenwich Village to the more respectable Dakota. The Dakota entrance where John was shot. Photo submitted by Robert Obey 1 West 72nd Street, N.Y., N.Y. Photos submitted by Frank Fontana The Summer of 1973, John began a highly publicized affair with Yoko’s secretary May Pang. Together they moved out to California to begin what Lennon referred to as the “Lost Weekend.” He spent his time drinking and raising hell. Yoko, then after seeing that perhaps she was on the verge of losing Lennon and his money forever, begged him to come home. Upon his return she appointed herself as his business representative and assumed complete control of his money. To seal the deal she became pregnant with Sean who was born on John’s thirty fifth birthday. It was no coincidence that Sean was born on John’s birthday. Previously Yoko had tried several times, to complete this feat only to end up miscarrying.

She believed in the superstition that if a son is born on his father’s birthday, he will inherit the father’s soul upon his death. So on October 9, 1975, Sean was surgically removed by caesarean section, prematurely. At this point John went into semi-retirement to become a house husband. Yoko’s beliefs were that it was enough that she carried the child for almost nine months, now it was time for someone else to take over. During this time John had time to obsess with his health and weight. He considered sugar to be the world’s poison and banish it from the house. Also he managed to control his habit of ingesting food indiscriminately. Once a husky man, prone towards obesity, he became nearly an anorexic. John at 5 feet 10 inches, weighed only 140 pounds. Unfortunately John could not kick his chain smoking, nor the 20 cups a day espresso drinking habits. Not to mention all the drugs he continued to do. While John was out of the public eye his relationship with Yoko was pretty rocky and there were rumors of divorce. She had become infatuated with Sam Green an art and antique dealer.

During 1980, they began an affair. Sam is mentioned in John’s Will as the person who will assume custody of Sean in the event of both Yoko and John’s death. Finally John went back to recording five years after Sean’s birth. His first album was “Double Fantasy.” Coincidently, the same album he autographed for Mark Chapman the day of his murder. December 8th, began as any other day for John. That afternoon he was at Studio One working on his newest album, “Walking On Thin Ice.” He had gotten a hair cut that day. Doug Mac Dougall, their bodyguard had called to make an appointment the next day to discuss security arrangements, but Yoko blew him off, thinking that extra security measures were not needed. He frequently criticized the Lennons for the way they routinely mixed with fans, and adhered to a predictable schedule. But no one listened. At 5:00pm John and Yoko left with the RKO crew and accepted a ride with them since their car had not yet arrived. A bespectacled chubby young man, held out one of Lennon’s record albums and asked him to autograph it. John accommodated the young man and quickly signed it.

Amateur photographer, Paul Goresh (another fan who had sneaked into John’s bedroom the previous year) snapped the picture of the event. John autographing Mark Chapman's record . Mark looks on, grinning. Perhaps John's last living photograph. At 6:00pm, while at the Record Plant, John called home to ask assistant Frederic Seaman, to bring him some tapes from a previous recording session. As Frederic was leaving he bumped into Goresh who introduced him to David Chapman. Goresh told Frederic that Chapman had come all the way from Hawaii to get John’s autograph. Lennon and Yoko left the studio at 10:30pm to get something to eat and then go home. As John was getting out of a limousine, he passed by the gunman. Then he heard someone call out his name. Just as he was turning to see who was calling him, five shots rang out. Two hit him in the back. He struggled up six stairs and inside the alcove to a guard area he collapsed. Security pulled him into the office until the police arrived. The police from the 20th Precinct without hesitation put John in the back seat and rushed him to Roosevelt Hospital.

It is said that while enroute he was mumbling incoherently. Soon after arrival, he died from multiple gunshots to his left shoulder and chest. His left lung and left subclavian artery were pierced and he subsequently died of a an internal hemorrhage. John Lennon's Death Certificate Submitted by Celebrity Collectables, thanks Ted! Oddly, John had considered himself a violent man that would meet a violent end. John was taken in a body bag from the morgue to the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel at Madison and 81st Street. From there he went to Ferncliff Mortuary in Hartsdale, for cremation. Lennon was extremely fearful of the practice of cremation, and despite this, Yoko chose to burn the Beatle. I’m sure she was aware of his feelings, because he had once wrote against the practice in a song. According to the documentary, “The Real John Lennon,” none of his family in England were consulted about what to do with his remains. In fact, in his Will, only his son Sean is mentioned, nothing is said about Julian.

Former assistant, Frederic Seaman, against Yoko’s wishes, wrote an excellent book about John Lennon entitled, “The Last Days Of John Lennon.” In it he said, that MacDougal who was present at the cremation, said that John’s face was serene and calm up until it was time to go into the oven. Then suddenly it turned into a “pained, macabre grin,” "they" say due to rigor mortis. There are conflicting stories as to what happened to his ashes. Some say Yoko scattered him on Strawberry Fields, others say she still has them. Most recently she auctioned off a print of the bloodied Lennon glasses, I believe for $50,000. Strawberry Fields located in Central Park directly across the street from the Dakota. It is believed that John's ashes were tossed here. Photos submitted by Robert Obey Submitted by Frank Fontana Submitted by Frank Fontana According to photographer Frank these two people are named, John and Paul (the person on the right bears an uncanny resemblance to you know who). Could he be in hiding? First Elvis sightings, now Lennon sightings. Apparently they frequent Strawberry Fields and sing in John's memory.

These are the glasses that belonged to John and the ones he wore on that fateful night, note his blood. Well Yoko not being too humble or sad to turn a buck, ebayed this print for $50,000. I guess everybody needs their own Graceland. John Lennon's Last Will and Testament Submitted by Celebrity Collectables, thanks Ted! “Life Is What Happens . . .” Isn’t a John Lennon Original | Clearing Customs “Life Is What Happens . . .” Isn’t a John Lennon Original February 6, 2013 § 3 Comments Who says you can’t learn anything from the comics? (Actually, I’ve never heard anyone say that, but it sounds like something somebody might say.) Last week, in Jimmy Johnson’s Arlo and Janis comic strip, Arlo is looking at a calendar and ponders, “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” He comments that we’ve probably heard that that line came from John Lennon, but it actually originated with Allen Saunders, the writer of the dramatic comic strips Mary Worth and Kerry Drake.

Arlo closes with, “Lucky so-and-so never had to be funny!” (See the February 1 strip here .) While I was a missionary in Taipei, I helped some Taiwanese friends study the Bible with the hopes that they would continue meeting when I wasn’t with them. One group was made up of students at a technology university and another consisted of former university students who had degrees from the US. This second group had started meeting at a McDonald’s for a weekly Bible study even before I met them. During one of my family’s trips to the States, hosts for each group planned to keep the meetings going while we were gone. One group met for two weeks, but then the host had to travel outside the country. And in the other group, the hosts weren’t able to continue organizing the meetings because of an illness in the family. In our monthly newsletter, I wrote, It reminds us of John Lennon’s famous phrase: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” But even though their schedules didn’t work out as well as they, and we, had hoped, we are greatly encouraged by their desire and willingness to try. I stand corrected by a comic-strip character. Lennon used the “Life is what happens .

. .” line in his song “Beautiful Boy” in 1980, but according to Garson O’Toole of the Quote Investigator, that was over 20 years after a nearly identical phrase appeared in the “Quotable Quotes” section of Reader’s Digest. In the January 1957 issue, Saunders was given as the source of “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” So there you have it. All those quotation sites on the web should replace John Lennon with Allen Saunders. Life often does get in the way of our plans, doesn’t it? Reminds me of the Yiddish proverb, “Man plans, God laughs.” At least I’m pretty sure it’s a Yiddish proverb. And I guess I’ll stick with that until Dilbert says otherwise. The 63 Most Inspirational John Lennon Quotes - Curated Quotes The 63 Most Inspirational John Lennon Quotes Curated by: Tammy Lamoureux from lamourfoto.com Last updated: 02/10/15 Whether or not he’s your favorite Beatle (he totally is), John Lennon was a quotable man.

Taken both from his lyrics and from his regular talking words, these are the best John Lennon quotes we could find. ♥ Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. - Everything is as important as everything else. - We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. - How can I go forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing? - John Lennon “ Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not, it’s not the end. - The more I see the less I know for sure. - I really thought that love would save us all. - Reality leaves a lot to the imagination. - John Lennon “ I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? - John Lennon “ When you do something beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun, every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps. - Creativity is a gift. It doesn’t come through if the air is cluttered.

- John Lennon “ What we’ve got to do is keep hope alive. Because without it we’ll sink. - John Lennon “ If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. - John Lennon “ You’re all geniuses, and you’re all beautiful. You don’t need anyone to tell you who you are. You are what you are. - There are no problems, only solutions. - John Lennon “ Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life. - John Lennon “ I can’t wake you up. You can wake you up. I can’t cure you. You can cure you. - John Lennon “ There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. - Before Elvis there was nothing. - Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears. - John Lennon “ It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love. - The more real you get, the more unreal the world gets.

- I don’t know which will go first- rock ‘n’ roll or christianity. - Love is the greatest refreshment in life. - John Lennon “ I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I’m one of those people. - John Lennon “ I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It’s just that the translations have gone wrong. - John Lennon “ There’s an alternative to violence. It’s to stay in bed and grow your hair. - Everybody loves you when you’re six foot in the ground. - It’s better to fade away like an old soldier than to burn out. - John Lennon “ Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty.

- John Lennon “ Get out there and get peace, think peace, and live peace and breathe peace, and you’ll get it as soon as you like. - Living is easy with eyes closed. - As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot. - Happiness is just how you feel when you don’t feel miserable. - If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace. - One thing you can’t hide – is when you’re crippled inside. - John Lennon “ A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality. - John Lennon “ We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight. - John Lennon “ Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives…. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends … and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it. - One thing I can tell you is you have to be free. - All you need is love! - I don’t believe in yesterday, by the way. - All we are saying is give peace a chance.

- I don’t want to be king, I want to be real. - You have to be a bastard to make it, and that’s a fact. - John Lennon “ If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that’s his problem. Love and peace are eternal. - John Lennon “ When I was about twelve, I used to think I must be a genius, but nobody’s noticed. If there is such a thing as a genius…I am one, and if there isn’t, I don’t care. - John Lennon “ If everyone could just be happy with themselves and the choices people around them make, the world would instantly be a better place! - John Lennon “ Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war – for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I’d say we deserve ours more. - God is a concept by which we measure our pain. - John Lennon “ Trying to please everybody is impossible – if you did that, you’d end up in the middle with nobody liking you. You’ve just got to make the decision about what you think is your best, and do it.

- John Lennon “ They torture and scare you for twenty odd years. Then they expect you to pick a career. When you can’t really function, you’re so full of fear. - John Lennon “ A mistake is only an error, it becomes a mistake when you fail to correct it. - They’ll never be able to forget us. - John Lennon “ When you’re drowning, you don’t say, “I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me, you just scream.” - John Lennon “ As in a love affair, two creative people can destroy themselves trying to recapture that youthful spirit, at twenty-one or twenty-four, of creating without even being aware of how it’s happening - John Lennon “ I used to think that the world was doing something to me, that the world owed me something. And that either the conservatives or the socialists or the fascists or the communists or the Christians or the Jews or the fascists were doing something to me. And when you’re a teeny-booper, that’s what you think. I’m 40 now, I don’t think that anymore—because I found out it doesn’t fucking work. I am part of them.

There’s no separation. Were all one. “Give peace a chance," not “Shoot people for peace." “All you need is love." I believe it. It’s damn hard, but I absolutely believe it. -

Question: What, according to John Lennon, "is just what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans"?
Answer: Life