John Lennon

1940–1980 · English musician and songwriter, co-founder of the Beatles

John Lennon (born 9 October 1940, died 8 December 1980) was an English musician, songwriter and activist, founder and co-lead vocalist of the Beatles, and half of the most commercially successful songwriting partnership in history with Paul McCartney. He was genuinely and lastingly evangelical about Elvis Presley — he traced his own start to hearing “Heartbreak Hotel,” and told the press after meeting him in 1965 that without Elvis there would have been no Beatles. He was also unsparing about him: he reportedly said Elvis died the day he went into the army, and later dismissed the Bel Air meeting as a letdown. That range is why the smoothed-out five-word version reads as someone else’s writing.

Traced to source

8 quotes we’ve traced to John Lennon

“For our last number, I'd like to ask your help. Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewellery”

Verified

“I think our society is run by insane people for insane objectives”

Verified

“Imagine all the people living life in peace”

Verified

“We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock and roll or Christianity”

Verified

“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one”

Verified

“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination”

Attributed

“Before Elvis there was nothing”

Disputed

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life”

Disputed

Not actually John Lennon

Often misattributed to John Lennon

Famous lines widely pinned on John Lennon that we’ve traced to someone else.

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality”

actually Yoko Ono

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears”

actually Dixie Willson (the leading candidate)

“Everything is OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end”

actually Fernando Sabino

“It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love, or how you love, it matters only that you love”

actually Rod McKuen

“Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans”

actually Allen Saunders

“Ringo isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles”

actually Geoffrey Perkins

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time”

actually Marthe Troly-Curtin

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life”

actually Unknown

On the research bench

Commonly pinned on John Lennon — under review

1 line flagged as pinned on John Lennon and queued for a full source trace — not yet verified.

“The Price of Fame Is Not Being Able to Go to the Pub for a Quiet Pint”

Disputed

Did they really say it?

Thought John Lennon said something else?

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