Imagine, The origins behind John Lennon's spiritual classic

Rockapedia | 13th July, 2025

John Lennon's Imagine came out in 1971, and it invites people to picture a peaceful world — no possessions, no countries, no religion, just unity. The idea for the song actually traces back to Yoko Ono’s 1964 poetry book Grapefruit.

A lot of Yoko’s poems start with Imagine... for example, one called Tunafish Sandwich begins, Imagine one thousand suns in the sky at the same time... and another, Rubber Piece, starts with Imagine your body spreading rapidly all over the world like a thick tissue...

Later on, Lennon admitted he probably should’ve credited Yoko as a co-writer. As he told Playboy magazine;

I wasnt man enough...i was still full of wanting my own space after being in a room with guys all the time, having to share everything - Lennon (Playboy)

Besides Grapefruit, another big influence on Imagine was a prayer book that comedian Dick Gregory gave to Lennon. The book talked about the power of positive prayer — basically, if you want something from God, you’ve got to imagine it first.

Musicians who were there during the recording sessions said Lennon could feel that the song was going to be something special.

Imagine itself was one that John played us before we did that whole album. He came up o everyone that was playing, gave us a set of lyrics and said, This is what your about to be saying to the whole world. Imagine was a very emotional kind of song, it had to be very delicately played. - Alan White (Drums)

When Imagine first came out, the reviews were kind of all over the place. Some music critics called out the irony of Lennon singing about no possessions while lounging in a massive white music room in his fancy English estate.

But over time, his utopian message really struck a chord, especially in a world still healing after the war. Imagine ended up becoming one of those timeless classics.

Lennon, of course, had mixed feelings. He actually preferred his earlier album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, which he thought was way more raw and honest. To him, the softer vibe of Imagine felt like a bit of a compromise, maybe even selling out a little.

Imagine was a sincere statement...it was working class hero with chocolate on. I was trying to think of it in terms of children - John Lennon (NME, 1972)

Imagine ended up being the biggest hit of Lennons’s solo career, climbing to No. 6 on the UK charts.

After his tragic death in 1980, the song hit even harder — and finally reached No. 1.