Empty's Theme Park

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Imagine - Chris Cornell

Imagine it’s 1993.  You’re seated in the bleachers of the gymnasium in an all boys Catholic school in Canada.  You’re a senior, and this is some kind of school assembly.   Maybe it’s Remembrance Day.  Maybe it’s Easter.  What’s important is that it’s lame and boring, as these things tend to be.  There is, however, one spark of light.  One of your classmates, a boy named Ben, has sat down at his keyboard and does a pretty impressive rendition of Imagine by John Lennon.  Ben is someone you went to kindergarten and first grade with, but then moved away.  These days, he runs in different circles.  He has long hair, is kind of quiet, and is big into music.  He’s seriously into it though.  It’s not just his “thing”.  You can tell he loves it, and is good at it.  

Imagine it’s November 2011.  You’re at a work conference in Ottawa and one night head down to the bar with some of your colleagues.  You grab a table near the stage where there’s some live music.  A lone figure stands on it with his guitar.  You recognize that it’s Ben and it puts a smile on your face.  You tell the people you’re with, “Hey.  I went to high school with that guy.”, and maybe even mention that he did a great version of Imagine back then.  During a break, you wander over and say hello, briefly catch up and then let him get back to his next set.  On the next break he wanders over to the table and talks to the group.  He asks if anyone has any requests.  One of your colleagues says he’s heard he does a great version of Imagine.  Ben says, “Imagine?  That’s a good one.  Haven’t played that in a long time.  I’ll give it a try.”  And he does.  And, not surprisingly, it’s great.  Applause.

Imagine it’s December 2011.  You’re shopping on iTunes and come across a live album by Chris Cornell which you decide to download.  One of the tracks?  Imagine.  You smile, because you know that Ben has sometimes been compared to Cornell, so it seems serendipitous.  And thinking about it, you realize that singing Imagine at a religious assembly in a Catholic high school was pretty bold, and that maybe that day, sitting at his keyboard in front of a thousand peers and his teachers, a boy named Ben was quietly smirking on the inside.

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace

You, you may say 
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world

You, you may say 
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one