Acer 9 alhmar’s Weblog

i was barely 6 months old when john lennon was shot dead on december 8, 1980. and yet, he is up there with ninoy aquino as my ultimate icon.

too many things have been said and written about the ex-Beatle. i am tempted to write facts and stories about his life, his music, his art, his lyrics, his influence, his death, his fortunes…but that wouldn’t be original or so expertly written as i want it to be.

so, i’ll just write something about john lennon through the perspective of a 28 year old filipino who has lived more than 16 years of his life continuously getting to know the man.

it was one summer day after circumcision in may 1992. a new channel was test broadcasting and one of the programs they ran over and over again was Beatles Forever.

he knew about the beatles before that. sesame street had this bit about the letter B. there were puppets with weird hair and wearing suits, has guitars and drums, with antennae on their head and small button-like eyes. they were called The Beetles and they sang Letter B to the tune of a song he instantly liked. later on, he learned it was taken from a song called Let It Be.

his father had a collection of CDs he bought abroad as he was a seaman. his faves from his dad’s collection was something from elvis presley, the beatles, and abba.

he liked the beatles album which had several of their rock and roll hits from the early years. the one that stuck, being a little kid, was yellow submarine.

and so when Beatles Forever by Steve o’ Neal (currently an RJ dj and concert promoter) was on, he felt compelled to watch. there was this four weird-looking guys in moptop hair and suits singing familiar songs like Twist and Shout, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, A Hard Days Night, and Help!, among others.

it was catchy, it was fun. just like how the beatles fan of the 60s started their affair with the Liverpool lads, he got hooked first on the rock n’ roll pop beatles.

when their more serious work started playing (the show played videos chronologically), his interest dies down a bit but he still stayed glued to the tv. they were running the same show 5 times a week, over and over. but he kept on watching.

as the summer vacation of that year ended, it was a done deal. he knew the lyrics to all the songs played on the show. he sang them almost every opportunity he got.

then, he started requesting beatles album one at a time from his parents. by the time he started high school, he almost had all the originally-released albums. by 15 years old, he knew all the lyrics to the beatles songs, knew what year it came out, who’s singing and playing what. he started cutting out beatles-related articles and pictures on newspapers and magazines. he started collecting documentaries and movies of the fab four.

now from the pop faves like She Loves You, he started to enjoy the more mature songs like Strawberry Fields Forever. he was growing with their music. he liked all the beatles since they were all unique and talented in their own rights. but it was john lennon whose voice, songs, hair, eyeglasses, character, photos, stories, and solo work that he was following more closely.

john lennon for him was a genius who got misunderstood a lot but was willing to live his life to the fullest.

lennon was a flawed but idealistic and realistic kind of person. these imperfections were reflected in his songs, words, and art. even in his choice of wife. he disregarded popularity and chose to be with the unconventional and weird woman he calls the other half of his sky.

he was a tormented soul trying to cope with the harsh realities of life since childhood. he didn’t always do the right thing but he continued to inspire the world by showing that we can learn from mistakes. we can express ourselves through music, talking, drawing and writing. as a result, we can inspire others, no matter how big or small the deal is, by doing what we think we do better, if not best.

a product of a broken family, john lennon had a mostly depressing childhood which he drowned throughout his teen years by forming a crappy band, drinking, smoking, potting, womanizing, bullying. but talent is talent no matter how covered in mud. but talent with no luck is useless. he got lucky in his 20s and became part of the biggest band in the world. he enjoyed and despised it at the same time. he enjoyed the attention and the “license” to do all the activities and vices he used to do.

he felt the downs of being trapped in fame. but he eventually learned to live with it as he approached his 30s by destroying the band that got too good for their own good and marrying yoko ono.

in his early 30s, he found an advocacy in promoting peace in the unlikeliest manners just to get attention. war is over, he says, if we want it. but still, the excesses of his career was taking its toll. he self-destructed when his marriage was on the rocks and his star was going nowhere. he was too bitter towards his “other” better half, paul mccartney. he went back with a vengeance to his kind of life in his younger years.

but by his mid30s, life gave him a break. he got his second chance at fatherhood after failing on the first one. he retired from the public eye and became the most unlikely househusband. it was the happiest 4 years of his life, spent with his son almost 24/7. he also reportedly reconciled with mccartney.

he may not be very successful in advocating world peace, but he found his personal peace eventually. now equipped with a better perspective in life, he wanted to spread the good vibes and returned to the music industry that thrusted him again on the public spotlight.

but as a remembrance to all of us that life ain’t really fair and perfect, on his 40th year, he was shamelessly and pointlessly gunned down. it gave him another version of peace…rest in peace. but the belief is, he died knowing he lived his life’s ups and downs to thefullest, left a legendary legacy that won’t be forgotten, and experiencing the family life he only wished for when he was young.

this was john lennon to that guy who felt most of his life, he lived to cope with the unfairness of reality. this was john lennon to that guy who learned that life is short and should be lived in a way that,

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It’s easy…all you need is love, love…love is all you need

that guy was me.