Peaceful Encounter with John Lennon’s “Imagine”

You may say that 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

From John Lennon’s Imagine

Always loved Imagine.  It’s an anthem for what I hope I do for my children, friend, kinfolk, and strangers I meet along life’s way – help us to remember that problem-solving is more important than taking credit; have a willingness to take risks as a way to make a difference; and, to jump at the chance to imagine positive possibilities.  A simple, yet brilliant, song that many of us have performed.

It’s a song for the rest of us, but I hold on to memories of those who have done an exceptional job at communicating the soul of Image: the way Shutter to Think makes it new; Imagina’s global spin on the song; Joan Baez’s makes you think she wrote it as a classic tune (like everything she does); Chet Atkins picks it and makes it groove; Jack Johnson sings the song with heart; Perfect Circle gives it an eerie vibe; the song gets a silkiness from Randy Crawford; and, Gonzalo Rubalcaba throws down a smooth piano flow to makes Imagine sing.  Jordis Unga’s live, soulful performance of Imagine is my favorite.

True story – I made myself a cup of Turkish coffee (ibrik, cardamom seeds, and all), geniused Unga’s performance of Imagine, started reading the paper and came across this:

Cool – ran into a little poetry in my life. Could this work – is all it takes is for us to want war’s demise? What if I wanted peace, instead? What can I, and we, Imagine?

Peace.