With its reference to the 1971 hit Beatles song "Imagine," an idealistic song about a better world, and its beautiful starburst pattern, the mosaic provides comfort and inspiration for casual passerby and eager visitor alike. This contemplative space, fashioned in harmony with the original vision of Central Park creators Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, abounds with shrubs, trees, flowers, and rocks donated by 150 nations around the world.Īs part of the Garden of Peace constructed during the 1984 repairs and developments, Neopolitan artisans crafted a circular black and white marble mosaic impressed with the word "Imagine" at its center and donated it to the park. Using Yoko Ono's 1984 funding for the improvement of Strawberry Fields, Bruce Kelly designed the Garden of Peace. Two highlights of the landscape, the Garden of Peace and the Imagine monument, were created during this period of improvement (1984-1985). Thanks in part to a donation by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono in 1984, landscape architect Bruce Kelly was able to oversee the area's renovation. Strawberry Fields is located just yards away from John Lennon and Yoko Ono's home, the Dakota Apartments, where Lennon was shot. While Strawberry Fields is a popular spot for Beatles fans to gather year–round and for City residents to find solace, it is especially cherished and meaningful on the anniversary of John Lennon's death, December 8.įour months after his tragic murder on December 8, 1980, the City Council designated a 2.5 acre landscape in Central Park "Strawberry Fields," named such after the popular 1967 Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever." entrance and a mosaic themed to his 1971 hit “Imagine,” where fans have continued to return for four decades to pay tribute to Lennon.Bringing to Life "Strawberry Fields Forever"Īn essential pilgrimage for Beatles fans since John Lennon's death in 1980, Strawberry Fields, located in Central Park, is a living tribute to the man who inspired myriad of people through his music and social activism. The area consists of a five-acres near the W. Set in Central Park in New York City, Strawberry Fields is a memorial to Lennon, who was killed on Dec. The site is now used as a training site for young people with learning disabilities. In 2019, the Salvation Army reopened Strawberry Field to the public for the first time, allowing visitors to explore the grounds. Many of the original buildings and structures were torn down in the 1970s but many still stood-including the red Victorian-era Strawberry Field gates, which were later put into storage and replaced with replicas-and remained abandoned for many years. Though it’s still a tourist attraction, Strawberry Field closed down in 2005, and all the children were relocated to foster families. “There was a moment of stunned silence, broken by Paul, who in a quiet, respectful tone said simply, ‘That is absolutely brilliant,’” recalled engineer Geoff Emerick. Within six weeks, he wrote “Strawberry Fields Forever” and brought it back to the band. In ’66, Lennon trekked to Almería, Spain to star in the black comedy How I Won the War-his only non-musical acting role-and began writing in between filming shoots. Unbeknownst at the time, the band would go on to make six more albums and eventually play their final performance on the Apple Corps.
performance at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966. When Lennon wrote “Strawberry Fields Forever,’ The Beatles had played their final U.S. It’s getting hard to be someone but it all works out “There was something wrong with me,” he said, “I thought, because I seemed to see things other people didn’t see.”įor the song title, Lennon changed it from “Field” to “Fields” simply because it sounded better. Lennon later alluded that he felt a connection to the orphans since there was a sense of abandonment from his parents. “Strawberry Fields is just anywhere you want to go,” said Lennon in a 1968 Rolling Stone interview. The Victorian-era house was called Strawberry Field. Living under his strict aunt, Lennon found respite by secretly sneaking off to play in the gardens of the girl’s orphanage next door, run by the Salvation Army. Lennon didn’t see his father again for more than 20 years, and his mother was killed while crossing the street when he was 17 years old. After social services were called on his mother, Lennon was sent to live with his Aunt Mimi in the suburban town of Woolton.
His father Alf was often away at sea as a merchant, and his mother Julia eventually had a child (Lennon’s half-sister Julia Baird) with another man. Though the melody of the song is upbeat, the story of the song is a more somber one and a narrative of John Lennon’s hardships growing up in Liverpool. charts upon release and has been called one of the greatest pop songs ever written. A double A-side single to “Penny Lane,” February 1, 1967, The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” peaked at No.
0 kommentar(er)
