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THE REVOLUTIONARY ARTIST
A VIDEO-SONG-COMMENTARY EXPERIENCE
Joseph Sguigna
Introductory Comments
The conscious transformation that is happening in our times, that is sweeping the world, slowly but surely, has John Lennon, both with the Beatles and with Yoko Ono, as the representative man-artist-poet-musician contributing considerably to this conscious transformation.
As commonplace as this may sound, we are surely at the birth of a brave new world, in which, to quote the great philosopher-psychologist, William James, we are introduced into a seething caldron of ideas, where everything is fizzling and bobbing about in a state of bewildering activity, where...treadmill routine is unknown, and the unexpected seems the only law. He wrote this at the turn of the twentieth century before Einstein's E=MCsquared, before the two world wars, before space travel, before the Sixties, before rock music....before Lennon and the Beatles. We're still engulfed in this "bewildering activity" in our times; only moreso, so far as our psychology and transcendence are concerned.
Lennon's life and work exemplify one man's struggle to reach for some kind of balance between our humanness and our transcendence; and he did this through the aesthetics and joy of his music (with and without the Beatles) and person, through his emphasis on peace, and, most essentially, through his varied visions of Love as the universal power to the universe "Love is the underlying theme to the universe." (Lennon). Being infused with this vision from childhood on, from surrealism to psychedelia, to mysticism, his life led him to the pinnacle of world-renown so that his vision, his Experience, his music, of Love could be propagated world-wide "Now that I know what I feel must be right / I mean to show everybody the light."
And so it has been propagated, from then to now, to always. And it has been my task to bring this message of Love to the forefront of our minds philosophically, psychologically, and aesthetically through the life and work of Lennon.
There is the magic of Lennon and there is the meaning of Lennon.
His magic is obvious, but not so obvious his meaning.
I now offer his public the opportunity to get to his meaning interspersed with his magic.
This meaning is explored in detail in my desktop published book on his life and work titled Of Love and the Man, (See BOOK CATALOG) which is divided into two parts: Lennon's wisdom-autobiography, edited and arranged by myself; and part 2, my commentary on his work and influence.
The following abridged presentation is a pinpoint abridgement of my desktop published book on John Lennon's journey into the transcendence and humanity of human-transcendent Love. My comments linking each video-song are meant to give sequential meaning to the totality of this presentation.
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PREFACE
Lennon has a mystic (spiritually experienced) vision of Love ("I've been aware of soul. I've been aware of that power.") as not only universally human but as transcendently human underlying all things of the universe ("Love is the underlying theme to the universe." JL) This will be the message that he sings to the world during his brief stay here.
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1
The first mention of what is to come regarding Lennon's Love vision is expressed in his "In My Life," in which he sings:
And these memories lose their meaning
when I think of love as something new.
"In My Life"
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Once he and the Beatles were settled in the collective consciousness of their millions upon millions of fans, both young and old, worldwide (1963 - 1965), he proclaims his Love vision in the song "The Word." which he is to disseminate as Its messenger to the popular mind. And his unique contribution to the Love message is to say the word Love as a chant, a mantra.
Say the word and you'll be free
Say the word and be like me
Say the word I'm thinking of
And the word, the word is love
...
Now that I know what I feel must be right
I'm here to show everybody the light
"The Word"
3
In "Yer Blues," even though he is writhing in suicidal despair, he assures himself, reminds himself, that he is here in life for a mighty purpose, and so must carry on despite his human frailty and suffering.
My mother was of the sky
My father was of the earth
But I am of the universe
And you know what it's worth
"Yer Blues"
4
In an alternate demo version of his "God, " Lennon further proclaims himself messenger of world-Love:
I have a message from above,
and I'm here to tell you
that this message concerns our love,
The angels must have sent me
to deliver this to you
now hear me now
brothers and sisters:
God is a concept
by which we measure our pain
...
"God"[1]
To dispel any misunderstanding that might arise from this song, Lennon surely does believe in God God is love but not in the church or religious, theological, sense of the word. As he says, "The concept [is] of imagining no countries, imagining no religion, not imagining no God." He believe in God as the universal Being , or Power or Source or Meaning, of the world. It's just a matter of what we want to call It. He calls It Love: "Love is the universal theme of the universe."
So, in his song, "God," it is not God as Spirit, or Transcendence, that is "a concept," but God as we interpret "Him" as assuager of our suffering mortality.
Similarly, it is not the eternal message of Jesus, nor of Buddha, nor of the Bible, nor of the Gita that Lennon disbelieves, but rather the institutionalizing of this eternal message. Their eternal message, each in his/its own way, is "God is within you" (Jesus), and that through our humanity "I just believe in me, Yoko and me" we can realize this truth. And this, too, is Lennon's world message set in his muse of poetic music.
"God" [2]
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Lennon also believes in the soul inasmuch as we, and all things, are essentially Soul. Again, it is a matter of words and semantics,and culture, that diffentiates what words we use for It; but in the final analysis, It is what It is, whether It be called God, Soul, Spirit, Love, Being, and so forth. "I am that I am." (Genesis) "I've been aware of soul. I've been aware of that power." (JL)
Last night the Wife said,
Oh boy, when youre dead
You wont take nothing but your soul
Think!
"The Ballad of John and Yoko"
6
In "The Word," Lennon sings that Love is 'sunshine.' In "Across the Universe," this 'sunshine' is expanded a millionfold, infinitely, eternally.
Limitless undying Love
which shines around me like a million suns
it calls me on and on across the universe.
"Across the Universe"
7
Lennon's "Tomorrow Never Knows,"identifies Love with the more metaphysical-philosophic concept, 'Being' - which, as he sings, is the meaning within all things. For, if Love is 'all', as he sings in "Because," then, if being is within all things as their meaning, then love must be within all things as their meaning a matter of word substitution. Synonymously, then, Love is the meaning of all things. Relatedly, Lennon says in an interview, "Love is the underlying theme to the universe."
That you may see the meaning of within
it is being, it is being
That Love is all and Love is ev'ryone
it is knowing, it is knowing
"Tomorrow Never Knows"
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In "Because," Lennon reiterates his theme that Love is both eternal and infinite. In this ethereal song, he humananizes this cosmic perspective of Love with the truth that we, as well, are essentially eternal and infinite.
Love is old, love is new
Love is all, love is you
"Because"
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In his whispery, "Love," Lennon sings that Transcendent Love is an identifying reality at the center of our being, in that A is B and B is A for example, yes is no and no is yes, up is down and down is up, and so forth. All distinctions, opposites, and relationships, resolve into the oneness of Love. And this Oneness, is no other than Being pure Being itself.
Also, He subtly, movingly, interchanges both the transcendent and the human identifying aspects of love in this zen-like song so that the receptive listener blends into the mystery of all-embracing Love.
Love is real , real is love
Love is feeling , feeling love
Love is wanting to be loved
...
Love is you
You and me
Love is knowing
we can BE.
Love is free, free is love
...
"Love"
10
In his enigmatic song, "Love is All You Need," Lennon identifies transcendent Love as omniscient (all-knowing) - "Nothing you can know that can't be known") as omnipresent (everywhere) "Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be," as omnipotent (all-powerful) "Nothing you can make that can't be made" and humanistic "Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time."
Put ideally, if we are in touch with the essence of our being: Love, then there isn't anything human that we can't be or do.
Accordingly, to interpret Lennon's meaning of "all you need is love" simply in erotic or humanistic terms is by far to miss his point. The love that is all we need, is, for him, the love that moves mountains, that is the kingdom to which Christ refers in his words "Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all else will be given you." And to change the wording slightly in Christ's answer to the secret of this life, Lennon is, in effect, singing: Seek first the kingdom of Love, and all else will be given you. By this exchange of word-meaning, it will be easier to understand the meaning of Lennon's whole body of work, and of his mission; which is to sing his soul in urgency for his, and, for man's, human realization of this Love.
"Love Is All You Need"
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"Rain" exemplifies further Lennon's insight that Love is an identifying factor inasmuch "everything's the same"; and his further point is that even though our mind necessitates making distinctions in our reality between, say, rain and sunshine, still, "It's just a state of mind". Which is to say, that in the ultimate state of mind the transconscious mind - there are no such things as rain and sunshine; only that which determines both rain and sunshine in our perceiving mind.
If the rain comes they run and hide their heads.
They might as well be dead.
If the rain comes, if the rain comes.
When the sun shines they slip into the shade
And drink their lemonade.
When the sun shines, when the sun shines.
Rain, I don't mind.
Shine, the weather's fine.
I can show you that when it starts to rain,
Everything's the same.
I can show you, I can show you.
Rain, I don't mind.
Shine, the weather's fine.
Can you hear me, that when it rains and shines,
It's just a state of mind?
Can you hear me, can you hear me?
...
"Rain"
12
Lennon repeats his message that "everything's the same" in "Ev'rybody's Got Something to Hide but Me and My Monkey," only in this song he takes a zen-like perspective that inward to this oneness of Love, all dualities, all opposites, resolve into one oneness: down is up and up is down, inside is outside and outside is inside. This certainly is not the case in our reality; yetis the case in ultimate Reality, from whence all dualities and opposites ensue.
"Ev'rybody's Got Something to Hide but Me and My Monkey"
13
In the opening verse of "I Am the Walrus," Lennon emphasizes in no uncertain terms, that we are all essentially one. And being "all one," we are all Love - cf "... Love is you / You and me."
I am he as you are he as you are me
As we are all together
"I Am the Walrus"
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Lennon uses a perfect poetic image to depict the "nothingness," the "oneness," of Love in his "Glass Onion." Glass is seen as an image of purity; while the actual onion, when we peel off the skin layer by layer, we finally come to ...nothing the "void. It is this void that folds each layer of the onion into a symetrial whole.
"Glass Onion"
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Another image of pure being, or "nothingness," is portrayed in Lennon's Strawberry Fields Forever," in which he sings, "nothing is real. Now, this "nothing can be interpreted as the nothingness of the (spiritual) void of pure Being, or Love; and/or indirectly,it can be interpreted as nothing in this, our, reality is real; it perhaps is just a dream; he doesn't quite know for sure:
His further point in this swooning song is that though we may not be on his wavelength of vision, we nonetheless can experience his aesthetic expression of that vision in this song "Let me take you down...; and hopefully this aesthetic experience will open our eyes (mind) so that we understand, rather than misunderstand "all you see."
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see.
"Strawberry Fields Forever"
16
As a concluding postscript to all the previous Lennon's Love-Being songs, his "Revolution Number 9" depicts in aural sound the pure being of Love. This depiction begins almost at the end of the recording in the video below. All that leads up to this aural burst into eternity, so to speak, is the mystery, the "sound and fury" of human life; and after It, the calming peace of enlightenment.
"Revolution Number 9"
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[The Love-As-Erotic Aspect]
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Yes, Lennon is "of the universe," and is "representative of the human race"; but first and foremost, in this life, he is a frail and flawed human being; and so subject to all common human pleasures and pains, wants and needs, and ego. And so, he must love and be loved. He has been loved, but not fully; he has loved, but not fully. And so he suffers for this want. And so, he cries out for help in his song "Help." He needs somebody, "not just anybody." And Yoko Ono was soon to be that person.
"Help"
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Lennon has found his soul mate,Yoko Ono, and he wants her so badly - her body, mind, and soul - that it's driving him "mad."
"I Want You"
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He's "in love for the first time," and he cries out for her not to let him down, as he has been by his mother and father, especially.
"Don't Let Me Down"
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With their love together he has found the fulfillment, the glow, of his life. His eyes and mind are "wide open." Everything is clear. Of course, life is much more complicated than the simplicity of "being in love," as he will find out as the years go on. He has many psychological issues to be resolved, many masks to be shed; but, with Yoko, they at least can be resolved. For those issues to be resolved, love, both transcendently and humanly, is all he needs."
"Oh, My Love"
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"Woman" is Lennon's tribute to both Yoko and to all women. Without the right woman, we men are lost, however "on top of it" we may seem, whatever success or acclaim we may attain.
"Woman"
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III: HUMAN-TRANSCENDENT LOVE
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[The Love-(God)-Within Aspect]
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"Instant Karma" exemplifies the two main objectives of his world task: (1) that we are all eternal in the purity of our being - Love, and (2) that we have to surrender to It by minimizing our ego so that we can love beyond ourselves: to others, to life, to eternity - the truth of all spiritual leaders down through the ages.
Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
"Instant Karma"
23
His point in this appealing song, "India, India" is that go where you will for enlightenment, whether to church, temple, India, guru, a priest, a Zen master, ultimately you have to come back to yourself, where, first, the nirvana that you are seeking is already in your being (soul), so there is no need to traverse elsewhere; and second, your humanity comes first in this life: your loves, your center, whether country or brotherhood.
India, India, take me to your heart
Reveal your ancient mysteries to me
I'm searchin' for an answer, but somewhere deep inside
I know I'll never find it here - it's already in my mind
...
I'm waiting by the river but somewhere in my mind
I left my heart in England with the girl I left behind
I've got to follow my heart wherever it takes me
"India, India"
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In "Hey Bulldog, amidst his apparently nonsense lyrics, "Lennon furthers his message by pointing out that all our attempts at consistent happiness prove in vain; we are too psychologically fragmented, too egoistic, too desiring, too impulsive, too fearing, too vain, and on and on. If we truly want to be happy, that is to say, free to be more loving, more understanding, then we must turn inward to our being to Love itself; or as Lennon, sings, "You can talk to me." "me," again, refers to our inward me: Love, God, Soul...
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
What make you think you're something special when you smile
...
Some kind of innocence is measured out in years
You don't know what it's like to listen to you fears
...
Some kind of solitude is measured out in you
You think you know me but you haven't got a clue
...
You can talk to me
You can talk to me
You can talk to me
If you're lonely, you can talk to me
"Hey Bulldog"
25
The basic message in, "And You Bird Can Sing," is that all that you have achieved and experienced in life on your own merits and worthiness will sooner or later "wear you down; and then where will you be? Well, as Lennon sings, you can turn to your the - Source: Love, or your being, or your God whatever it may be,for the solace, the meaning, the joy, of your life. With that, you can effectively deal with both your successes and failures, your ever-changing moods, aging, grief, and the whole host of human complexities all without palling. In which case, then , truly "Love is all you need." Again, the 'me' and the 'I'll' refer to Love, or God, or Being.
"And Your Bird Can Sing"
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Lennon's "I dig a Pony" is a word play on his "all you need is love" theme that, with and in (the flow of) Love, we can do: celebrate, penetrate, radiate, imitate, indicate, syndicate, anything we want realistically speaking, of course.
"I Dig a Pony"
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"Baby, You're a Rich Man" caps Lennon's overall message, which is: Yes, money is the lord of this world, but now that you have experienced the riches and wonders of the Other world - why would you want to "keep all your money is a big brown bag inside a zoo"? This Experience, this "being in touch," is what it truly means to be rich, to be one of the beautiful people.
"Baby You're a Rich Man"
[The Love-as-Peace Aspect]
For Lennon, one side of the coin is love and the other side, is peace "Love and Peace are eternal." And what can be more powerful than peace wedded to love!
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"Revolution" sets the stage for Lennon's future peace activism. The revolution that he emphasizes is a revolution in the mind that frees the mind from ignorance and injustice. With that change, peace will reign.
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
"Revolution"
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We have to fight for this psychological revolution. We have to fight, face up to, our own demons as well others'. We have to attain a kind of wisdom by "feeling our own pain," as he sang in "I Found Out." Peace is not a passive fixture in life; it has to be ever vigilant against its adversary, war, in all its multiplicities. Peace, we might say, is war against our ego's negative side, against our self-destructiveness, against our lusts, our greeds, and on and on. We have to be ever knowledgeable of "what's going on" about us. We have to be ever seeking, and living by, the transcendent in us. We have to be "mind guerrillas." This is the drift of Lennon's rallying "Mind Games".
"Mind Games"
30
So let us give peace a chance is Lennon's chant for the future of mankind.
"Give Peace a Chance"
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It's up to the people who want peace and what follows from it, justice, to take the initiative, and then finally, the ascendancy over war, and all that follows from that. And Lennon is not just referring to war on the battlefront, but war in our minds, war against our neighbors, war in politics, and, in the end, war of ego against ego. This will take a kind wisdom that balances our humanness with our transcendence a human-transcendent wisdom.
"So, yes, war is over if you want it"; and so merry christmas and a happy new year.
"Happy Xmas"
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And we finally come to Lennon's signature song, "Imagine," in which he sings the ideals of peace and love, that, yes, we will never fully attain in this strifeful life, but we can near it. All we have to do is imagine it can be done be peace warriors, mind guerillas.
"Imagine"
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HIS LATE-TWENTIES
1968 - 1969
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HIS EARLY THIRTIES
1971 - 1973
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HIS MID-THIRTIES
1974 -1975
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HIS LATE-THIRTIES / EARLY FORTIES
1979-1980
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HIS MID-TWENTIES
1967 1969
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HIS EARLY-TWENTIES
1967 1969
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HIS MID-TWENTIES
1965 - 1967
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HIS LATE-TEENS
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HIS CHILDHOOD
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WITH CYNTHIA & JULIAN
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WITH YOKO ONO
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WITH MAY PANG
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WITH HIS FIRST SON JULIAN
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WITH HIS SECOND SON SEAN
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WITH PAUL McCARTNEY
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WITH THE BEATLES
Circa 1968 - 1969
Circa 1965 - 1967
Circa 1963 - 1965
Circa 1960 - 1962
Circa 1958 - 1961
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IMAGES
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DRAWINGS & IMAGES
The Imagine Peace Tower
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