John Lennon

“You have to be a bastard to make it, and that's a fact. And the Beatles are the biggest bastards on earth.”

“We were all on this ship in the sixties, our generation, a ship going to discover the New World. And the Beatles were in the crow's nest of that ship.”

“Guilt for being rich, and guilt thinking that perhaps love and peace isn't enough and you have to go and get shot or something.”

“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'.”

“And God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he's no longer God... They'll turn on him, and I hope he survives it.”

“Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.”

“Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry.”

“I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity.”

“We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity.”

“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock a...”

“I'm not claiming divinity. I've never claimed purity of soul. I've never claimed to have the answers to life. I only put out songs and answer questions as honestly as I can... But I still be...”

“If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal.”

“It doesn't matter how long my hair is or what colour my skin is or whether I'm a woman or a man.”

“It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. You'd wake up in a concert and think, Wow, how did I get here?”

“The cross of the Legion of Honor has been conferred on me. However, few escape that distinction.”

“We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep waterin...”

“Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.”

“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one.”

“When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream.”

“If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that... I believe in what I do, and I'll say it.”