The Beatles Top 60 Solo Songs: #10: “Imagine”- John Lennon. “Imagine” may be the most famous song that John Lennon wrote- including songs he wrote for The Beatles. It’s like “Yesterday” is for Paul McCartney. It’s hard to believe that this didn’t get to #1 it peaked at #2. It was the best selling single of his solo career. Rolling Stone which used to cover music extensively once called “Imagine”- John Lennon’s greatest musical gift to the world.” The magazine would rank “Imagine” at #3 in their 500 Greatest Songs Ever list. Former President Jimmy Carter has said “”in many countries around the world – my wife and I have visited about 125 countries– you hear John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’ used almost equally with national anthems.”

While the song is full of contradictions- ‘imagine no possessions”- John and Yoko [ who is now given a songwriting credit for the song} certainly weren’t living that life. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything John is singing-bottom line is- it’s just a song- and a great sounding song at that.

Here is John Lennon on “Imagine.”

The concept of positive prayer … If you can imagine a world at peace, with no denominations of religion – not without religion but without this my God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing – then it can be true … the World Church called me once and asked, “Can we use the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ and just change it to ‘Imagine one religion’?” That showed [me] they didn’t understand it at all. It would defeat the whole purpose of the song, the whole idea.