if you were here today, john lennon

my very first concert was a beatles tribute band show.

i tell you this because the beatles themselves, their music, and their message(s) to the world played a huge part in my growing up.

my dad is in said beatles tribute band. he started it before i was born. i remember around the age of of 5 i told people my dad was paul mccartney. well, i mean, he would perform on stage with three other guys singing beatles' songs for hundreds of people. (and i was 5 ok?!)

before grade one i knew the beatles' catalog in its entirety. if you were to have asked my six year old self to sing you any beatles song, i could.

my favorite movie as a kid- besides the mary martin version of peter pan, and besides my one my little pony vhs, was the beatles' movie, "HELP!" i L-O-V-E-D that movie. my whole family and i quote it whenever we can, still, today. (if you haven't seen it, and like the beatles, you totally should, its hilarious. also, watch "a hard days night," its quite funny.)

but *why* am i telling you this? its not friday and its clearly not a grandpa/grandma says post either.

today is the 30th anniversary of john lennon's death. and, even though he and i never walked on this earth together, he was such a huge part of my childhood, an important part in my growing up, and his music resounds in my heart.

i think about him often because i wonder what he would be like today if he were still alive. he was always changing, evolving not only his sound, but his ideals and his message to the world. he was a political being and used his voice- not only in his music with songs like, "woman is the n***** of the world," and "imagine," but, he also was known to put up billboards around nyc to support the cause he was speaking up for.

i just imagine what he would look like, sound like, dress like, and most importantly, what he would say to this generation of people, if he were here today.

so, to tie this all together, i want to share with you a song that paul mccartney wrote for his dear, dear friend john lennon after he died.

it's called, "here today."

"and if i say, i really loved you and was glad you came along, that you were here today, for you are in my song." --paul mccartney