If there’s any song that doesn’t need an introduction, it’s got to be this one. Imagine is famous
the world over as an anthem for peace, embodying the spirit of harmony that both John Lennon and
Yoko Ono promoted through their music and art. It is a basic message, asking for freedom from
hunger, religion, and suffering.
Imagine is still as relevant as ever, but it’s also clearly a product of its time. The song emerged
fresh from the cultural upheaval of the 1960s, and was released in the midst of the Vietnam War, in
1971. Lennon, like many young people at the time, found the staggering loss of life in the war tragic
and unnecessary. He vigorously advocated that there were always alternatives to conflict and
violence and that it was unwise to blindly accept things the way they were. Aware of the influence
Lennon could exert over his huge number of fans, the United States government felt extremely ill at
ease about Lennon’s protests and agitations. It even attempted to deport Lennon from the country.
The day John Lennon was assassinated, the world stood still. As journalist Peter Hamill
remembered, “The telephones ringing, back and forth across the city…and then the dials being
flipped from channel to channel. Yes. It was true. Somebody had murdered john Lennon…It made no
sense, like a cruel trick. This was the guy who sang ‘Give peace a chance,’ shot down in cold
blood…Not a politician. Not a man whose abstract ideas could send people to wars; not someone
could marshal millions of human beings in the name of justice; not some actor on the stage of
history. This time, the object of attack was a man who had made art, someone who had made us
laugh, who had taught young people how to feel, who had helped change and shape an entire
generation from inside out. This time someone had murdered a song.”
Of all the songs that were murdered along with John Lennon, none is more relevant at this
moment than his anthem that has changed the world, Imagine. Just take a look at the Imagine Tower
in Iceland or the John Lennon Wall in Prague to see the lasting impact this song has had worldwide
and across generations. It is gorgeous, profound, and transcendent, and will remain many people’s
fondest memory of John Lennon.
【題組】39. What is the purpose of the passage?
(A) To introduce the life and music of John Lennon.
(B) To promote freedom of speech and artistic creation.
(C) To pay tribute to a classic song and the artist who created it.
(D) To explore the historical background of the Beatles generation.
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