Ono hopes late husband’s idea will inspire others to find peace
Posted on October 11, 2007
It’s almost impossible not to recognize the haunting introduction of The Beatles’ song “Imagine” when it comes on the radio. The unforgettable chords make you shiver along with the compelling lyrics constantly asking you to picture a world with no trouble or strife. On Tuesday, John Lennon’s dream came one step closer to becoming true.
Tuesday marked what would have been Lennon’s 67th birthday and he received a great posthumous present from his wife, Yoko Ono. In honor of his ideals, a “peace tower” was erected in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The tower will project a beam of light each year from Oct. 9, Lennon’s birthday, through Dec. 8, the anniversary of Lennon’s death, to spread the message of how short life can be.
“[It will only be lit this long] so it has the feeling of shortness of life,” Ono told BBC News.
The light will emerge from a seven-foot wishing well that is engraved with the words “imagine peace” in 24 languages.
Ono explained that the idea wasn’t necessarily novel, but was actually one that she and Lennon came up with in 1965. Lennon was very interested in the tower, but it never came to fruition during his lifetime. Ono only put it into action after collecting many wishes, or “notes of peace,” from various people that she received because of her “wish trees” that she put up in many art galleries around the world.
In order to preserve these wishes, she devised that they would be put on the tower, each topped with its own tree. Ono continued to say that she is still collecting wishes and they are very much appreciated.
This December marks the 27th anniversary of Lennon’s death. His music, his solo career and his Beatle songs continue to be some of the most cherished music of all time. Lennon’s influence has not seemed to have died down since he came on the scene.
Here at JMU, his influence seems wide spread. Whether it is a quote heard by a student, a song on someone’s iPod or a cover song performed at TDU’s open mic night, Lennon and The Beatles have seemed to changed modern music and students’ lives at JMU.
Freshman Jason Brown strongly agrees with the presence of Lennon’s music in his life.
“I love the Beatles,” Brown said. “I pretty much listen to them everyday. They taught me how to play the guitar.”
Brown also thought that The Beatles were so strong a presence that they affected almost every artist involved in music, even ones here at JMU. I think even if people don’t know it, they were influenced [by The Beatles],” he said. “I think they also influenced other [popular] musicians who could have also indirectly influenced JMU artists.”
It is directly present at TDU’s open mic night every Tuesday evening. People are bound to hear a song that was either written or covered by Lennon when they go to listen to the artists. His direct impact is very clear and strong upon this generation.
If there is one thing that is true about The Beatles’s music, it is that it hasn’t died with today’s culture. The groundbreaking changes that the new sound caused in the ’60s still has a distinct difference compared with all music. While many bands, such as The Mittens and Badfinger have come close in sound, they didn’t manufacture the punch that The Beatles did on American culture.
The sculpture of the peace tower also reflects the imaginative ideas of Lennon and The Beatles. When asked about the obscurity and abstract way that Ono and Lennon have tried to spread peace Brown laughed skeptically at the idea.
“I don’t know if it will get the message across as far as spreading peace,” Brown said. “I mean it’s a cool idea, it’s very John Lennon!”
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