By Kazuki Nakata
The book John Lennon In His Own Words (Japanese title: John Lennon 120 no kotoba [120 quotes]) was released in Japan in December, 2005, which fell on the 65th anniversary of Lennon's birth and the 25th anniversary of his death. This book is a Japanese translation of K. Lawrence's John Lennon In His Own Words. This book extracted several passages from Lennon's interviews and his private conversations from the time of the Beatles to his death.
The contents are: On Himself, On His Music, On Peace, On Politics, On the Beatles, On Performance, On Fame, On Hair, Clothing Style, His Drug Use, New Media and Film, and What Others Say About Him.
People who think Lennon is a just pacifist will be surprised when they read his remarks in this book. They will come to know that Lennon was a delicate, ironic, bold, and kind man. His personality comes into focus from his words, which are impressive.
About himself he said, "I'm quite normal really. If you read in the Beatle books it says I'm quite normal." (No. 001). We can see his unaffected personality in this quote.
And about fame he said, "On our last tour, people kept bringing blind, crippled, deformed children into our dressing room. This boy's mother would say, 'Go on, kiss him, maybe you'll bring back his sight.' We're not cruel, but when a mother shrieks, 'Just touch him, and maybe he'll walk again,' we want to run, cry, and empty our pockets." (No. 092).
Statement by Lennon caused a backlash when he said, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first ―rock and roll or Christianity." (No. 097).
This is typical of Lennon's irony concerning pop culture. It was not a serious problem in England, but this statement raised a big fuss among fanatical American Christians when the American teen magazine Date Book printed part of it several months after he made the comment. Specifically, people in the Bible belt burned the Beatles' records, the KKK burned Beatles' dolls, and smashed Beatles' albums onto burning crosses.
Lennon apologized for his remark right away, saying, "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or antireligion. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here." (No. 098).
Lennon's apology was received well in the Vatican, but the Beatles still had problems with threatening calls, and letters flooded them after this. They were afraid that assassins lurked somewhere in the halls. The Beatles' performances became dull and sloppy. They were weary of performing anyway because the audience was too loud, so it was one factor in why they never performed live again after their San Francisco performance.
Lennon is also associated with irony and sarcasm. For example, on receiving the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) on October 26, 1965, Lennon said, "I thought you had to drive tanks and win wars to get the MBE." (No. 055). The MBE is mainly awarded to persons who served in a war. Giving the MBE to the Beatles was the idea of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the leader of the Labor party. He meant to show gratitude to the new British exports. However, those against this rose in Britain and some said they would give back their medal. And Lennon's remark made them even angrier.
Four years later, John sent back his medal with a letter in which he wrote, "Your majesty, I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' (his record) slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag." (No. 056). This sarcasm is his attraction, but he directs it at anyone regardless of their status.
Finally, we associate the name of John Lennon with peace. The following lyrics show his desire for peace. "War is over, if you want it." (No. 052). Lennon always talked about peace and he wanted to change each person's mind, emphasizing, "if you want it." He opposed violence and oppression and continued saying that violence can't change the system. The song "Give Peace a Chance" was a great hit throughout the world and became an antiwar song for pacifists. His wife Yoko said, "John tried to change the world with his songs."
Soon after the release of "Give Peace a Chance" the Beatles broke up, but John and Yoko continued their music and supported the peace movement. Their first recordings after the break up of the Beatles were the famous songs, "Imagine" and "Happy Christmas (War is Over)." His message of peace is simple and profound. Sadly, his wish for peace has not been entirely realized. Be that as it may John Lennon is still an important and influential man even now.