Imagine by John Lennon
John Lennon's āImagineā is built from a plain piano frame and a lyric that asks the listener to picture a world without familiar borders, possessions or religious divisions. The recording's restraint is part of its invitation: the idea arrives in a voice that does not need a crowded arrangement to feel large. Released as the title track and lead single from Lennon's 1971 album, the song was made with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Phil Spector producing. Lennon's own published account also credits Ono's 1964 book Grapefruit as a major source for the song's imagining language. The Library of Congress added the 1971 single to the National Recording Registry in 2023. A piano arrangement can return the work to its most visible instrument, but its voicings, repeats and duration remain choices of the selected edition.
About Imagine
John Lennon's āImagineā is built from a plain piano frame and a lyric that asks the listener to picture a world without familiar borders, possessions or religious divisions. The recording's restraint is part of its invitation: the idea arrives in a voice that does not need a crowded arrangement to feel large.
Released as the title track and lead single from Lennon's 1971 album, the song was made with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Phil Spector producing. Lennon's own published account also credits Ono's 1964 book Grapefruit as a major source for the song's imagining language.
The Library of Congress added the 1971 single to the National Recording Registry in 2023. A piano arrangement can return the work to its most visible instrument, but its voicings, repeats and duration remain choices of the selected edition.