John Lennon: Libra

Yes, I was born 10 years after the Beatles disbanded, and I was but a 9-month-old baby when John Lennon was shot, but like so many people of various ages, the Beatles' music is an important part of my life.

I remember being a little kid and waking up in the mornings to my Dad listening to Beatles songs on his stereo. I would go about my way, subconsciously absorbing the music and, to this day, my familiarity with them could be likened to that of someone my dad's age. (Well, maybe not--my dad might protest. Daddy does vocals and plays the keyboards for a band and the Beatles' songs are usually part of their repertoire; whenever the audience requests for "Imagine," he takes over the mic, as the song is perfect for his baritone.)

I grew up with the Beatles' music, but it was only when I got older that I learned to identify the difference in the songs written by McCartney to those penned by today's birthday boy. John Lennon's songs were more complicated, sadder, more emotionally raw.



A lot of us have already joined him in imagining the world he wrote about in "Imagine." Will the world "live as one" now?

We'd probably need more people to get acquainted with the song for it to even get close to becoming a reality. Or, perhaps, this is nothing, really, but a dream, painted by people like John Lennon, people like us.