For many Americans, yesterday, December 7th, was a “red letter day,” the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. I am certainly aware of the significance of this date. My father served in the US Army stationed in Okinawa during World War II and received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service.
Yet it is today’s date that is very much etched in my memory. It was forty years ago today, on December 8th of 1980, that a young man named Mark David Chapman shot and killed then 40-year-old singer/songwriter John Lennon, one of the four Beatles and subsequently a solo artist. We had moved to Dallas just a few months earlier, and I can still remember the endless stream of his songs playing on the radio in our condominium there. The murder took place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan outside the Dakota, where Lennon lived with his wife, Yoko Ono, and son Sean. I still notice that building and think of him every time we drive by it at #1 West 72nd Street just across from Central Park.
A memorial to Lennon lies just across the street in the park.
Chapman pled guilty to Lennon’s murder and was given a sentence of 20-years-to-life. He became eligible for parole 20 years ago but his bids have been denied eleven times, and he remains in a prison in upstate New York.
Lennon left an
enormous body of music. Many of the songs recorded by the Beatles were composed
by Lennon and bandmate Paul McCartney, who is still going strong at 78 years of
age. I have to admit I am less familiar with his later work, but the song that
really sticks out in my mind is “Imagine,” released in 1971, which was to be
the best-selling single of his solo career. I cannot agree with his view on
religion, but otherwise it is an inspiring song:
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world, you
You
may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
As I was typing this, I wondered whether “some day” should be one word or two: the spell checker in MS Word seems to want me to treat it as one word. I did a search and found this:
Someday is an adverb and is defined as at an undetermined time in the future. It describes when an action or event will take place.
Some day is a phrase that refers to a 24-hour span of time in the future that has not yet been specified.
I wonder if, in fact, the lyric should read “someday you’ll join us.” I look forward to hearing from some of my readers who are grammar gurus! Meanwhile, I did find the lyric as “someday you’ll join us” on a number of sites, including
Meanwhile, peace and love and good health to all today and every day!
Love,
Rebecca
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