‘Both of us experienced World War II from two opposite sides. We knew what it meant to be in the war. We knew how, suddenly, you could lose everything. We knew that people like us were the ones who really suffered, and the Generals and the politicians just kept dishing out lies to keep us pacified. That was an insult to kids like us. Two angry people… That’s what we were. So when we met and hugged each other, our back bones literally relaxed. Let’s change the world for the better together. YES! Never in a million years, did we think that promoting World Peace could be dangerous. Were we naive? Yes, on that account, we were. John sings on the CD: “Nobody told me there’s be days like these.” That was his true confession. ‘Gimme Some Truth’, another song in this collection, is a song only John could write and sing. It’s a John Lennon Special born out of that unmistakable Liverpool attitude. Nobody would ever write a song like this and sing it the way John did.’

‘The songs in this collection aren’t just about peace; they also focus on issues of social injustice that were so important to us back then, like ‘Attica State’. John was inspired to voice the injustice in the world he saw. He did it quickly just like the editorials of daily papers.

What’s fascinating to me is how these songs, taken from the original albums and used as score for the film, are given a whole new life. ‘I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier Mama’ and ‘Here We Go Again’ tragically speak to life in our 21st Century. These songs have become relevant all over again. It’s almost as if John wrote them for what we are going through now.

The filmmakers have chosen his best songs: powerful and insightful. There are the political slogans, ‘Give Peace A Chance’ and ‘Power to the People’ as well as the deep and tender songs like ‘Love’ and ‘Scared’ – songs from his heart that still touch us today.

Watching the film triggers in me memories of wonderful times, frightening moments, great victories and the final heartbreak – the moment the world stopped for me – and for so many people around the globe. At its heart is a story of a man who was driven to make a better world for all of us. I believe John would have loved this film. It’s not tabloid, but rather it tells it like it was. “Gimme Some Truth”, indeed.

It is with great pride that along with my filmmaker friends at Authorized Pictures (David Leaf & John Scheinfeld), Lionsgate, VH1 and EMI that I present the soundtrack to this important film, The U.S. Vs. John Lennon.

War is Over (If You Want It)’

Yoko Ono Lennon
Summer of 2016