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VOA - Voice of America |
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"Strawberry Fields" is a peaceful spot in Central Park
dedicated to John Lennon's memory, a mere 50 or so meters
from the Upper West Side apartment building where he lived and died. The usual
gaggle of tourists and fans are sitting on benches, some in
contemplation, others in song.
Three decades ago, a deranged fan was able to get close enough to the
musician to shoot him. The murder shocked the city and the
world. Rock and roll photographer Bob Gruen, who knew John
Lennon well as a friend, says the pain from that shock can last a lifetime.
"When you get a deep wound, eventually the wound heals but
you still have scar and if you touch the scar you still feel
the pain. And so it's something like that where you never get over
it but you eventually get used to it. He didn't really say
things that people didn't know. In fact, what he said was
everybody does know, but he said it in a very simple,
easy-to-understand way. He just had a magical way of
expressing things."
John
Lennon wrote the melancholy song "In My Life" during the Beatles'
earlier days. Its tone is in sharp contrast with the
saccharine lyrics that were typical for boy groups at the
time.
Reporter Larry Kane, the author of "Lennon Revealed," got to
know the Beatle during the band's American tours.
"John Lennon was a man who was very embittered and angry most
of his life. He was born to a father who was never around, a
mother who disappeared mostly. He had a best friend who died
of a brain hemmorage at the age of 20. But he was also on the
flip side of all that, all the drugs and all the problems. He was also one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met,
in terms of his ability to overcome those demons that lurked
inside of him and produce beautiful music and beautiful poetry...
and beautiful writing."
Lennon often used his fame to make a point in theatrical ways.
This is "Give Peace
A Chance," which he and Yoko Ono recorded in the early
1970s in a Montreal hotel room with their friends during
the couple's weeklong Bed-In for Peace. |
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance |
A watershed moment for Lennon came in 1971, when he left his
native England and settled in New York City with her wife Yoko Ono.
Photographer Bob Gruen says Lennon saw the Big Apple as the
world's artistic and cultural center, and felt he could be
almost anonymous here.
"You know, in England, people would chase him down the street and get
hysterical when they saw him. But in New York, people see
famous people a lot. But you know, we're kind of busy, and everybody's
got somewhere to go. So he could go to the
corner store, buy a newspaper, and go into the espresso
shop and have a coffee and read the paper, and people wouldn't
bother him so much. You know, he could take a taxicab. He was like a
normal person here."
In 1975, when he was 35 years old, Lennon stopped writing
and recording music. And for five years settled in the life as a house-husband
and dedicated father to the couple's young child, Sean. Yoko handled his multi-million dollar music business. This
reversal of gender roles was in itself unusual for that era.
In 1980, the couple recorded and released a new album called "Double
Fantasy." Its hit single, "Starting Over," proved to be John
Lennon's last. |
It's been too long since we took the time
No-one's to blame, I know time flies so quickly
But when I see you darling
It's like we both are falling in love again
It'll be just like starting over, starting over
Everything we used to make it love
Why can't we be making love nice and easy
It's time to spread our wings and fly
Don't let another day go by my love
It'll be just like starting over, starting over
Starting over
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Source:
VOA - Voice of America |
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