A seemingly simple, sweet song about coming together and loving everyone, “Imagine” is so universally beloved that former president Jimmy Carter once said it was as ubiquitous as national anthems.
According to James Henke in his book Lennon Legend: An Illustrated Life of John Lennon, the same Communist-leaning themes present in Lennon’s earlier solo songs “Mother” and “Working Class Hero” were present in “Imagine,” but since the latter song was so much easier to listen to, it was more broadly accepted. Lennon even said, “Now I understand what you have to do: put your political message across with a little honey.”