Yoko Ono Named Co-Writer of John Lennon’s 'Imagine'

 

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Forty-six years after its release, John Lennon’s classic song “Imagine” is formally getting a co-writer -- his widow, Yoko Ono.

The British musician first gained worldwide fame in the early 1960s, as a member of The Beatles. The group officially broke up in 1970, shortly after Lennon married Ono, a Japanese singer and activist¹.

By then, Lennon was already writing songs of his own. Perhaps no Lennon song, however, is more famous than “Imagine.”

“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

Living life in peace.”

The song was released in 1971. It called for peace during the Vietnam War, and urged people around the world to live in unity². Its message, music experts say, has remained important and relatable through the years.

In 2011, the magazine Rolling Stone named “Imagine” the third-greatest song of all time. It wrote, “John Lennon wrote “Imagine,” his greatest musical gift to the world, one morning early in 1971 in his bedroom….His wife, Yoko Ono, watched as Lennon sat at the white grand piano….and virtually completed the song.”

That story, however, changed this week at a National Music Publishers Association event in New York City. On Wednesday evening, the association honored “Imagine” with its song of the century award.

Its chief executive, David Israelite, also made a surprise announcement. He said Ono would officially receive credit as a co-writer of “Imagine.” Israelite said the decision was made based on Lennon’s wishes.

John Lennon himself said in a 1980 interview with the BBC that Ono played a role in writing the song. He said it “should be credited as a Lennon-Ono song, because a lot of it, the lyric³ and the concept, came from Yoko.” Lennon also said that some of the ideas of “Imagine” came from Ono’s book “Grapefruit,” and that not including her as a writer was “selfish” on his part.

Parts of that interview were played Wednesday during the announcement. Israelite said it was his honor to “correct the record” and give Ono credit for “Imagine.”

Ono and her son, Sean, attended the event to accept the song award. Israelite’s announcement, however, came as a surprise.

Sean Ono Lennon told Billboard⁴ magazine that Wednesday “may have been the happiest day of mine and [my] mother’s life.”

He also described the surprise announcement on Facebook. He wrote it was the “proudest day of my life” and that “patience is a virtue⁵!”

John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married from 1969 until Lennon’s murder in December 1980.

Words in This Story

widow - n. a woman whose husband has died

virtually - adv. very nearly : almost entirely⁶

lyric - n. the words of a song

patience - n. the ability to wait for a long time without becoming annoyed or upset

virtue - n. a good and moral quality

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

4 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

5 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。