A biography for John Lennonhasn’t been written yet.
“The basic thing nobody asks is why do people take drugs of any sort? Why do we have these accessories to normal living to live? I mean, is there something wrong with society that's making us so pressurized, that we cannot live without guarding ourselves against it?”
“Living is Easy with Eyes Closed.”
“When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream.”
“And God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he's no longer God... They'll turn on him, and I hope he survives it.”
“It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. You'd wake up in a concert and think, Wow, how did I get here?”
“We were all on this ship in the sixties, our generation, a ship going to discover the New World. And the Beatles were in the crow's nest of that ship.”
“If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that's a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”
“Nothing is real.”
“Being honest may not get you a lot of friends it’ll get you the right ones”
“Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.”
“I used to think it was mere homesickness, then I started getting it at home.”
“The cross of the Legion of Honor has been conferred on me. However, few escape that distinction.”
“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'.”
“You have to be a bastard to make it, and that's a fact. And the Beatles are the biggest bastards on earth.”
“Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It’s quite possible to do anything, but not if you put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don’t expect Carter or Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself.”
“Everything is clearer when you're in love.”
“כשהייתי בן חמש, אימי תמיד אמרה לי ששמחה היא המפתח לחיים. כשהלכתי לבית הספר, הם שאלו אותי מה אני רוצה להיות כשאהיה גדול. רשמתי 'שמח'. הם אמרו לי שלא הבנתי את המשימה, ואני אמרתי להם שהם לא הבינו את החיים.”
“אם הייתי חי בתקופת האימפריה הרומית, הייתי חי ברומא, אלא מה? היום, אמריקה היא האימפריה הרומית וניו יורק היא רומא עצמה.”
“מציאות משאירה הרבה לדמיון.”
“אני לא התבגרתי בליברפול, אני התבגרתי בהמבורג.”