WORKING CLASS HERO

JOHN LENNON

The day after John was murdered, a friend of mine left a note for me on his mailbox while I delivered his mail."The Dream is Over". As a Christian I can't say that I am extremely pleased about the lyrics of "Imagine" and "God". But I cannot deny that the music of John Lennon has made a personal impact on my life. The Plastic Ono album is unlike any piece of music I have ever heard before. The song "Mother" evokes a lot of emotion in me - a hurt, an anger, a frustration and indignation over my own personal situation. "Hold On" - I had no relationship back then to sustain me, but I longed for one. "I Found Out" - shortly after this album came out I did find out about the evils of society, the danger and wickedness potentially lurking behind every corner. I live my life very carefully. "Working Class Hero" - the education I received in Ontario was useless to me. Only as an adult have I found a hunger and thirst for knowledge. My career as a postal worker was a total waste of time, with stupid management making stupid rules, forever entrapped in this cat and mouse game. How humiliating. This song seems to go on forever with the recent cover by Green Day."Isolation" - alone with no one to blame, because they are victims too. "Remember" - sort of like what the Apostle Paul said in our living for today and forgetting about what hurts and failures lurk in the past. "Love" - the need to love and to be recepients of love. The song sung in such a beautiful melody, I often think of the opening piano notes. It slowly builds up until it washes over all me. "Well, Well. Well" is a song talking about the sheer lust and lunacy and togetherness that a couple experiences in their relationship. The joy of 2 becoming 1. "Look at Me' to me is a song about how the world looks at us, and what they see may not be reality, only we and our Creator know the real "me". "God" certainly impacted me as a song that triggered a spirtual search. Some faiths just seemed ridiculous to me, I always said I didn't become rastafari because I would look terrible in dreadlocks. But even as an unbeliever at the time, I would cringe when John would sing "I don't believe in Jesus." I can almost recall the times throughout my life when I used the name of Jesus in vain, sometimes before I came to Him, and even sometimes after. Whenever I have, I feel miserable for days and continually pray for forgiveness. How could I curse someone who loves me so? "My Mummy's Dead" - The intermingling of bitter/sweet and wondering how it could have all gone so freaking wrong?