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John Lennon Quotes

John Lennon
  • Mini Bio
  • Name: John Winston Lennon
  • Born: 9th October 1940, Liverpool, England
  • Died: 8th December 1980, New York City, U.S.
  • Alma mater: Liverpool College of Art
  • Occupation: Singer, musician and peace activist
  • Height: 5' 10½" (1.79 m)
  • Trade mark: Small round wire framed glasses, also known as teashade glasses
  • Marriage resume: Cynthia Lennon: 23rd August 1962 - 8th November 1968 (divorced) and Yoko Ono: 20th March 1969 - 8th December 1980 (his death)
  • Lucky number: His lucky number was 9 which had a recurring theme throughout his life from the day he was born, to the house number he lived in to the day he met Yoko Ono and the date his son Sean was born on
  • Trivia: Liverpool airport was renamed in his honour in 2001 as the John Lennon Airport and a few years later a sculpture of a yellow submarine was erected there as a visual reminder of the great man

"We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight"

John Lennon

"Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears"

John Lennon

"You won't get anything unless you have the vision to imagine it"

John Lennon

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"

John Lennon

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination"

John Lennon

"If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace"

John Lennon

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality"

John Lennon

"The more I see the less I know for sure"

John Lennon

"Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been the Beatles"

John Lennon

"We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock and roll or Christianity"

John Lennon

"Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones"

John Lennon

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end"

John Lennon

"Happiness is just how you feel when you don't feel miserable"

John Lennon

"They hate you if you're clever, and they despise a fool"

John Lennon

"I wouldn't say I was a born writer; I'm a born thinker"

John Lennon

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives"

John Lennon

"I really thought that love would save us all"

John Lennon

"Possession is nine-tenths of the problem"

John Lennon

"There are no problems, only solutions"

John Lennon

"I don't stand back and judge - I do"

John Lennon
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John Lennon Biography

John Lennon was the boy from Liverpool with the wry smile and glint in his eye who was destined to become one of the most famous musicians in the biggest band this world has ever seen. His journey from Liverpool's Cavern Club to sell out nights in Madison Square Gardens was at the start of the era of paparazzi that recorded the Beatlemania phenomenon at every turn.

At one point John Lennon was quoted as saying: "We're more popular than Jesus now", which led to an outcry from fascist American Christians who got their music banned, but that just had the consequence of generating more sales for the Beatles as banning music raises its popularity with people more determined to listen to it out of curiosity.

Undeterred he still found the resolve and inspiration to pen the classic song "Imagine" which also mentioned religion in a none too favourable light. Along with the other Beatles he was awarded by the Queen of England in 1965 an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) which he returned in 1969 citing Britain's involvement in the Biafra conflict and their support for the U.S. war in Vietnam as the reasons.

In reality he never wanted to receive the MBE in the first place with war heroes complaining about how little they had done to gain such recognition. Indeed, John was quick to respond when he quipped: "They got them for killing people. We deserved ours for not killing people. In a way it was hypocritical of me to accept it, but I'm glad I did, really, because it meant that four years later I was able to use it to make a gesture".

Gestures were a feature of his life as he understood the power of any statement he made and he used it to full effect when together with his wife Yoko Ono they refused to leave their suite in the Amsterdam Hilton hotel as they conducted the world's first "Bed-In" for peace.

He was a political activist encouraging "love not war" as his campaign for peace antagonised then President Richard Nixon who tried to have him deported for his anti Vietnam war rhetoric.

Beneath his anti establishment veneer he was an inspirational poet of the hippie generation who dreamed of world peace and used his artistry of music to become one of the most influential people of the twentieth century.

His quick witted repertoire of retorts to awkward questions added to his charisma and made him a delight for journalists to interview, it also made for the creation of fantastic one liners, so here is my compilation of 20 of the best John Lennon quotes

Quotes About John Lennon

Paul McCartney reflected about back in the day: "We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest and all that kind of thing"

His wife Yoko Ono was moved to say of him: "John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him"

When Mick Jagger was asked who he missed the most from his generation he quickly responded by saying: "John Lennon I miss the most. I was pretty friendly with him. He was talented and funny, and acerbic and to the point. Yeah, I miss him most"

Author Ray Comfort said about him: "John Lennon was a musical genius. All I have to do is think of some of his songs and even the titles make me feel good... and I'm not the only one. His music has crossed cultures and even generations"

Chuck Berry got emotional when he said: "I fell as if I lost a little part of myself when John died"


John Lennon image quote