Lyric Of The Week: John Lennon, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”

John Lennon was already using his music and his stature as a Beatle to crusade for peace and love when he met the woman who would become his second bride, Yoko Ono. The duo made peace on earth their mission, renting billboard space in 1969 denouncing the Vietnam War and inviting reporters into their hotel rooms during their “bed-ins” for peace. The idealistic Brit was as omnipresent on the airwaves as he had been with the Fab Four, with songs of harmony and unity like “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine.” In between those two songs, Lennon (and supposedly Ono, to an unknown extent) penned what has become a modern Christmas carol of sorts, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”

While “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” is generally regarded as an innocent, celebratory yuletide song with a children’s chorus, it was also intended to be a war protest song. The lyric is a simple one, short and to the point, replete with elementary rhymes (year/fear, strong/long, white/fight) that make it one of Lennon’s simplest, least intellectual or abstract songs. No eggman or Semolina Pilchard here. To what degree he intended it as a song of dissent vs. a positive Christmas composition has been a subject of conjecture for decades. Whichever, he and Ono still seemed to think that they could make a difference with songs like this one.

Lennon’s real affection for Christmas as a Christian holiday was unclear, as was his actual belief in the divinity of Christ, both prior to this song and during his brief “born again” period that followed it a few years later. People continue to debate the degree of Lennon’s naiveté, saying that it would take a lot more than simply having some children sing “War is over if you want it” to ever make peace a reality. Whatever the truths, Lennon would probably be dismayed that, 35 years after he was shot to death, things haven’t changed much in the world. We still have war, we still want peace, and we still miss The Beatles. This isn’t supposed to be the time of year for debating such things, though. So in the true spirit of the holiday, let’s enjoy the song and sing along with it and forget about all that war stuff. All in all, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” may be the most memorable Christmas song of the rock era. So Happy Christmas, and let’s look forward to some great music in 2015. And unlikely as it seems, hopefully peace on earth too.

Read the lyrics.