MUSIC AND IDENTITY

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MUSIC AND IDENTITY
Music is always dubbed and believed as an art form that uses both voice and silence as a medium to send a message or emotion to a target group. Music in its nature always carries a meaning in it that can be easily decoded while others require keen analysis to interpret it precisely. Great songs should remain relevant despite the generation or the time; well-thought lyrics and exceptional performance by an artist keep a song in its best at all times. The aim is usually to help change people’s opinions about some notions, to mark an individual event or activity in life, for relaxing and mostly recreational purposes among others. “Imagine” was written by John Lennon and also performed by the same artist in the year 1971. He composed the song with the help of his wife Yoko Ono (Wiener, 9). Music should be open and free in expressing views of the artist with passion and without moderation or fear of the following consequences.
The genre of this song is the classic rock that was performed using the piano majorly, and the drums were incorporated later. This music has a unique identity that focuses on the issues that were facing the world at the time of its productions. John Lennon was touched by the wars and all the events that were going around and saw the need to give his opinion through music and to rally other citizens in his course. “Imagine” has been identified with peace and good relations and thus is known all over the world.

The type of this music is evocative in that it stirs the emotions of people to see the picture of what was happening at the time and give them a reason to act on it (Beotra, 1). The song had one of the simplest rock lyrics that were plain and easily interpreted, the mood of the song is peaceful, and the tempo and pace are relatively slow which highlights the song’s genre.
John Lennon composed this song in 1971 at the middle of the Vietnam war when a lot of people and soldiers were losing their lives on a daily basis. He did not approve of the war that was going on, and with his believe that not all issues are solved through a war he expressed this feeling openly. He mobilized the people to believe his peaceful agenda and used the lyrics of his song; which utilized direct and encouraging words (Nichols,1). He sought to break all the disparities among people in the world regarding race, religion, nationality among others so as to achieve peace and harmony all over the world. Regardless of his supposed deportation together with his wife, the artist stood firm and used his song as a tool to preach peace.
Like John, the purpose of the song was complex in that it required the people at that time to try and do the impossible. To unite together despite the ethnic and cultural differences and to be composed of one united people serving the same purpose. From his lyrics;
You may say I’m a dreamerBut I’m not the only oneI hope someday you’ll join usAnd the world will live as one (“John Lennon – Imagine”, 1)
He did portray these ideas passionately and used the simplest piano key of which interlaced perfectly in his bid for peace and harmony; this identified his song with the aspects of peace and also unity. The song is still up to today relevant in bringing people together to handle matters that are of mutual interest to a selected group of people.
Works Cited
Beotra, Eishan. “‘Imagine’ By John Lennon”. prezi.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
“John Lennon – Imagine”. Genius. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Nichols, David. “Review of John Lennon: Imagine.” History Australia 6.2 (2009): n. pag. Web.
Wiener, Jon. “Pop and Avant‐Garde: The case of John and Yoko.” Popular Music & Society 22.1 (1998): 1-16.