"God" by John Lennon

The lyrics to the song "God", by John Lennon.

God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I'll say it again,
God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I don't believe in magic,
I don't believe in I-ching,
I don't believe in bible,
I don't believe in tarot,
I don't believe in Hitler,
I don't believe in Jesus,
I don't believe in Kennedy,
I don't believe in Buddha,
I don't believe in mantra,
I don't believe in Gita,
I don't believe in yoga,
I don't believe in kings,
I don't believe in Elvis,
I don't believe in Zimmerman,
I don't believe in Beatles,
I just believe in me,
Yoko and me,
And that's reality.
The dream is over,
What can I say?
The dream is over,
Yesterday,
I was dreamweaver,
But now I'm reborn,
I was the walrus,
But now I'm John,
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.


Blasphemy? Perhaps, but that depends on your point of view I suppose. I think Lennon was more talking about all the junk that was imposed on him (and all of us), taking a step back, and basically saying "look, I'm going to believe in me...and that's reality". Interestingly enough, the only other person he believes in (based on the song) is Yoko Ono, who you could argue was a master at manipulating him (which in turn contradicts the intent on the song).

By the way, "Zimmerman" refers to Bob Dylan, whose real name is "Robert Zimmerman".

A final note: I don't especially consider this to be a favorite Lennon song. Among his solo stuff, here are my favorite 5, listed in order:

1. #9 Dream (almost mystical when you hear it...headphones are must, turned way the hell up)
2. Stand By Me (cover of the Ben E. King tune; Lennon sings the hell out of it)
3. Watching The Wheels (we should all have our heads screwed on this well)
4. Whatever Gets You Through the Night (listen for the chorus, with Elton John joining in)
5. Beautiful Boy ("goodnight Sean, see you in the morning"...pure love)