Gijsbert Hanekroot / Contributor / Redferns / Getty Images CC
Forty years ago, ex-Beatle John Lennon was gunned down at age 40 outside his New York apartment. Many people who were alive then can still recall exactly where they were when they heard the news Lennon had been killed, and in the four decades since, many have certainly wished they could hear what he would have said about music, love, wars, and milestone historic events. In addition to his music, what the world does have are his enduring words of wisdom from his songs, writings, and interviews.
Gijsbert Hanekroot / Contributor / Redferns / Getty Images CC
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
On Society
Ron Case / Stringer / Hulton Archive / Getty Images CC
“Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it.”
On Music
Harry Benson / Stringer / Hulton Archive / Getty Images CC
“Music is everybody’s possession. It’s only publishers who think that people own it.”
On Art and Artists
Art Zelin / Contributor / Archive Photos / Getty Images CC
“My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.”
Icon and Image / Contributor / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images CC
“Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It’s quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don’t expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself.”
Keystone / Stringer / Hulton Archive / Getty Images CC
“If you want peace, you won’t get it with violence.”
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On Honesty
Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images CC
“Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it’ll always get you the right ones.”
On Fear and Love
Susan Wood / Getty Images / Contributor / Hulton Archive / Getty Images CC
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
On Money vs. Love
Brenda Chase / Stringer / Hulton Archive / Getty Images CC
“I was asked in an interview which was more important: money or love. I told the interviewer that if he had to ask the question, he wouldn’t understand the answer.”
“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
