RIP JOHN LENNON
12/8/1980--12/8/2020
It's hard to believe it's been 40 (!) years
since John Lennon was shot.
Now gone as long as he was alive.
I'd rather celebrate his life, than commemorate his death.
But I have to acknowledge this terrible anniversary as
one more bad thing happening in 2020.
In 1980, it was just over a year since I lost my father to cancer.
Watching a loved one suffer & slowly slip away is heart wrenching.
It changes you.
The shock of the killing of an icon, in his prime, making a come back,
does too.
Like the Kennedy & Martin Luther King assassinations before it.
I was 20 & working the late shift at the Empire Bowl.
Tending the machines in the back, KCAL 96.7
on the radio, when the word came in.
John Lennon's life & death ignited my activism in
political, environmental & social justice causes
that still inspire & drive me today.
I owe a debt of gratitude to him for the idealism he planted.
Below is a song I wrote at the time in Lennon's honor.
I used a few of his song titles in the words.
Like a lot of my songs, it's personal and raw, written with
a sorrow & honesty I'd guard more closely today.
It didn't matter then, it seemed the world was mourning.
Funny I still get emotional about it, all these years later.
Some things are like that
since John Lennon was shot.
Now gone as long as he was alive.
I'd rather celebrate his life, than commemorate his death.
But I have to acknowledge this terrible anniversary as
one more bad thing happening in 2020.
In 1980, it was just over a year since I lost my father to cancer.
Watching a loved one suffer & slowly slip away is heart wrenching.
It changes you.
The shock of the killing of an icon, in his prime, making a come back,
does too.
Like the Kennedy & Martin Luther King assassinations before it.
I was 20 & working the late shift at the Empire Bowl.
Tending the machines in the back, KCAL 96.7
on the radio, when the word came in.
John Lennon's life & death ignited my activism in
political, environmental & social justice causes
that still inspire & drive me today.
I owe a debt of gratitude to him for the idealism he planted.
Below is a song I wrote at the time in Lennon's honor.
I used a few of his song titles in the words.
Like a lot of my songs, it's personal and raw, written with
a sorrow & honesty I'd guard more closely today.
It didn't matter then, it seemed the world was mourning.
Funny I still get emotional about it, all these years later.
Some things are like that
tribute
Eight P.M. the word came in
The news wasn’t good -- but had it ever been?
A shining star fell from the sky tonite
You gave your life to the cause
Of what’s right, you set the example
You lead the fight for love and peace
The only way -- we can be saved
To fight without violence, is the truly brave
And for an instant, the world stopped
The people stopped, wherever they may be
And in that instant, the world lost
And once again learned to “Let it Be”
Now we’ll never know -- what good
There had yet to come
All because of one mad man’s
Fatal date with a loaded gun
We will “Remember”
How could we ever forget
The man who touched our hearts
A friend we never met
Even from “Across the Universe”
Your inspiration will never cease
All we need is love (you said)
And with it a chance for peace
I wish I could go back
To nineteen sixty four
To relive again
What I missed out on before
© 1981 J.Lucken
The news wasn’t good -- but had it ever been?
A shining star fell from the sky tonite
You gave your life to the cause
Of what’s right, you set the example
You lead the fight for love and peace
The only way -- we can be saved
To fight without violence, is the truly brave
And for an instant, the world stopped
The people stopped, wherever they may be
And in that instant, the world lost
And once again learned to “Let it Be”
Now we’ll never know -- what good
There had yet to come
All because of one mad man’s
Fatal date with a loaded gun
We will “Remember”
How could we ever forget
The man who touched our hearts
A friend we never met
Even from “Across the Universe”
Your inspiration will never cease
All we need is love (you said)
And with it a chance for peace
I wish I could go back
To nineteen sixty four
To relive again
What I missed out on before
© 1981 J.Lucken
The envelope below was taped in the back of my old lyric book.
A few ideals I attached for inspiration.
Also a letter to the editor I wrote in 1980.
A few ideals I attached for inspiration.
Also a letter to the editor I wrote in 1980.
I listen to
Breakfast with the Beatles
with host Chris Carter
every Sunday from 9am-Noon
on KLOS 95.5
Join me!
Breakfast with the Beatles
with host Chris Carter
every Sunday from 9am-Noon
on KLOS 95.5
Join me!
