
Song written by John Lennon. He recorded it on his 1971 album of the same name. The best-selling single of his solo career, the lyrics encourage listeners to imagine a world of peace, without materialism, without borders separating nations and without religion. Shortly before his death, Lennon said that much of the song’s lyrics and content came from his wife, Yoko Ono.
Lennon and Ono produced the song together with Phil Spector. Recording began at Lennon’s home studio at Tittenhurst Park, England, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July. In October, Lennon released ‘Imagine’ as a single in the United States, where it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was first issued as a single in the UK in 1975, to promote the compilation ‘Shaved Fish’, and reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart that year. It later topped the chart following Lennon’s murder in 1980.
In 2008, ‘Imagine’ was performed by all the artists involved in the Night of the Proms tour in Germany. During these performances, Kim sang the very last verse.
Lyrics
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Livin’ for today
Ah
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Livin’ life in peace
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one