The Beatles song Prince thought would be forgotten in 2000 years: “The rock star thing is dead”

Who remembers that out-of-touch moment at the beginning of the lockdown in 2020 when celebrities like Gal Gadot, Will Ferrell and Mark Ruffalo all filmed themselves singing lines from the John Lennon song ‘Imagine’?

The pandemic was a strange and equalising time for everyone, where no amount of wealth could protect you from the scary Covid-19 contagion, making for a future uncertain and the world a scary place to step out into.

Comfort was difficult to come by, and everybody’s feelings were valid.

That being said, whoever thought it was a good idea to have a load of wealthy millionaires try to cheer us up by singing “Imagine no possessions” needs a bit of a reality knock to the shin.

However, what’s interesting is that John Lennon received similar criticism when he originally released the song, already at the deep end of it for his newly political music, and this meant that a lot of his lyrics were held under a microscope.

When he released ‘Imagine’, both listeners and fellow musicians were quick to point out the irony in the song.

Steely Dan released their track ‘Only a Fool Would Say That’, which poked fun at Lennon and his supposed naivety.

“Oh world become one, of salad and sun, only a fool would say that,” they sang, before proceeding to criticise his ideals surrounding having no possessions and things in life being free.

“It just couldn’t be,” they said, reiterating, “And only a fool would say that”.

Other artists such as Elvis Costello and Elton John also gibed at the track and the harmonious stance Lennon wanted to establish.

One musician who was refreshingly on the side of Lennon and his message of world peace was Prince.

He was always an artist who looked towards the future, embracing different sounds and approaches to writing when he was putting different forms of music together.

As a result of his keen eye for evergreen tunes, he was able to pick out songs Lennon had written which would and wouldn’t stand the test of time, and ‘Imagine’ as well as a lot of his solo work made the cut.

He believed this because Lennon’s solo ventures championed authenticity, something that was always going to be relatable.

Meanwhile, a lot of his work for The Beatles followed a trend, and trends pass, which gives that kind of music an expiry date.

“The rock star thing is dead,” said Prince when talking about how image within art can change, and therefore the relevancy of music changes with it, “I mean, I still have bodyguards for my own personal safety, but that whole deal is over for me.

I’m not that anymore, the rock star trip, I did it.

It’s finished.”

So what Lennon songs were going to stand the test of time, and which songs would be forgotten? While Prince was pretty sure that people would still be listening to Lennon’s rousing single in 2000 years’ time, he also thought The Beatles’ classic ‘I Am The Walrus’ would trickle through the small hole of the hourglass, buried as the sands of time so gleefully slip into a mound.

“‘Imagine’, thank God, is going to be around in 2000 years, but a song like ‘I Am The Walrus’ isn’t,” he said, “You know why? Because John wasn’t the walrus”.

Related Topics.